For some reason even though I live in Hong Kong, I had never tried DUNU products until I went to LA and attended CanJam. I immediately spotted the uniquely named DUNU Falcon C and tried it, happily finding another extremely tasteful mid priced product.

When I talked to the folks at the DUNU booth, they explained to me that they used to be an OEM company, producing audio products for other companies. Eventually, they realized that they had the experience and expertise to design and make their own products, and so DUNU was formed.

I had seen the DUNU Falcon-C on several sites and was quite curious about it, not only due to its sleek design, but because DUNU products have always been quite well regarded on HeadFi. The DUNU reps also noted that it was one of their more popular products – I was not surprised by this due to its very accessible price.

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We would like to thank DUNU for sending this unit for review. Accessible Audio is and always will give our honest and independent opinion on all the products we review. The DUNU Falcon-C can be bought for 220USD!
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Contents
1.Specs
2.Packaging & Accessories
3.Design & Ergonomics
4.Detailed Sound Review
5.Comparison
6.Measurements
7.Summary

Specifications
Product Type Wired In-ear
Driver Type 9mm carbon nano-tube dynamic driver
Frequency Response 10 – 40 kHz
Sensitivity 108+/-3dB/mW
Impedance 16 Ω
Cable 1.2 m MMCX Detachable cable
Weight 28g
Connector 3.5mm Gold plated

Packaging & Accessories
Although the packaging is quite spartan, with really only just the IEMs, the cables, and a small carrying case. the Falcon-C comes with a generous set of accessories all of which are hidden inside the carrying case. There is a good selection of tips with different fit and different sounds perfect for anyone who needs to tip roll to get that perfect audio listening experience.




There are 8 blue tube tips for a balanced sound, 6 clear tips for bright sound, and a set of SpinFits as well which can emphasize bass slightly. SpinFits don’t come cheap, and they’re consistently one of the most popular and comfortable tips in the audiophile community so it’s always nice when they’re packaged with products. In addition to the tips, there is an airplane audio plug adapter as well as a 1/4″ jack adapter.



Design & Ergonomics
The Falcon-C is a very well designed IEM – it uses high quality materials in all parts of the product and has a very an ergonomic design.

Starting from the bottom up, the 3.5mm jack is a custom L-shaped jack made out of a smooth hard plastic which matches the aesthetic of the smooth metal in other parts of the IEM. A soft plastic strain relief extends out of it the body of the plug. My favourite detail here is the subtle glossy red stripe which can only be seen on the underside.



DUNU was also generous with the cable, supplying a very sexy and premium feeling 4-braided, silver plated copper 6N OCC, gunmetal coloured cable complete with a metal Y-cinch, memory wire, terminating with colour coded MMCX connectors. I had a positive experience with this cable, as it is moderately stiff enough to feel very sturdy and not be extremely prone to tangling, but not so stiff that it causes microphonic noise.



Similar to Campfire Audio’s IEMs, the DUNU Falcon-C shells are also made of a liquid metal material, finished off with a sleek matte finish. It all looks and feels very premium in addition to being solidly built. Unlike Campfire’s designs though, DUNU has in my opinion and experience, done a better job of ergonomics as it fits much more securely. The nozzle length is a little shorter and manageable, and the shells don’t stick out and wobble as much. The form is also a little rounder and fitting for the ears, making it an overall comfortable experience. It is quite compact and lightweight compared to many IEMs these days, so I would definitely recommend the Falcon-C to people with smaller ears.



On the interior face of the shells is a big metallic mesh for what I assume is venting, accompanied by another small vent hole at the base of the nozzle. If you are worried about the level of isolation being compromised, the Falcon-C isolates surprisingly well for a design with so much venting.

Detailed Sound Analysis
I think I pretty much fell in love with the Falcon-C within the first 30 seconds of trying it at CanJam SoCal; with a price tag of 220USD, it undoubtedly gives greater quality than its price would reveal. The DUNU Falcon-C’s sound signature has wonderfully extended highs, neutral mids, with a tight, punchy, natural sounding bass. Its soundstage is also wide and spacious sounding, with a moderate amount of height to match. In terms of its tone, it definitely has the warmth of a dynamic driver sound, stemming not from a massive bass, but from what seems to me like a good dose of even-order harmonic distortion. I love the amount of control and resolution it exhibits; so much that using the Falcon-C daily to review it did not make me miss my significantly more expensive daily drivers much.



The DUNU Falcon-C is armed with 9mm CNT (carbon nanotube) dynamic drivers which perform superbly throughout the frequencies, and one of the highlights is the level of high frequency extension. This was the thing that really caught my attention when I first tried the DUNU Falcon-C. The high frequency details sound ultra crisp and refined without being too harsh, something that’s rather uncharacteristic for dynamic drivers. This is because getting well extended highs without introducing sibilance requires a high quality dynamic driver, and at this mid-range price point, it was something that I certainly did not expect it to do so well. What this means in very broad terms, is that there is a certain amount of rigidity to the dynamic driver that allows it to vibrate with enough control to produce a high quality, undistorted sound.



With the blue tube tips, the DUNU Falcon-C takes on a brighter, wide open sound as they allow the highs to shine unfettered. Whether this is desirable will depend on your personal preferences. For me, although I enjoyed the soaring high frequency extension with the blue tubed tips, after having used it for a while I did find the highs a little too hot for my liking and so settled with for SpinFits instead, which tempered the highs but also moderately boosted bass impact and quantity. Even with the SpinFits softening the high frequencies, the Falcon-C gives an addictive crisp treble extension that helps extend the soundstage, and reveal small details of airiness in vocals and hi-hats twinkling in the background.

The treble is not the only notable characteristic of the Falcon-C. It’s bass frequencies are also very noteworthy. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most bass impact I would give it around a 6-7. It is not so boosted that I would call the it V-shaped, since it is a very agile, taut bass with a luscious amount of subbass, and certainly makes music sound lively and engaging if you are into bass. I found it to be very well controlled, giving not just tight impact but also tonally warm and detailed.



The gentle transition to the mids is also a welcome change to the recent trend of boosted 1-3kHz mid-high frequencies which pushes vocals and instruments to the forefront. The Falcon-C’s mids seem to be positioned very neutrally to me, neither sounding very recessed or overexposed. Percussive attack is quite evident, but not the most prominent.

The Falcon-C certainly excels as a 220USD IEM, running a tight ship with its agile bass, neutral mids and brilliant highs along with a considerable amount of resolution to the entire frequency range. Despite having such a well resolved sound, unfairly compared to the TOTL offerings, it does lack slightly in terms of layering and resolution. However, the value for money with the DUNU Falcon-C is just so great – it is definitely on my recommended IEMs list for sure.

Comparisons
1More Quad Driver

Both are very strong IEMs in the 200USD price range. The 1More Quad Driver is much warmer in the bass with a boomier bass, and is a little slower and laidback while the DUNU Falcon-C is more engaging and not shy about have a more strident high frequency. I would put them on equal footing, and choosing a winner would be highly dependent on sound signature taste.

Massdrop Plus IEM

The Massdrop Plus is certainly a very strong contender with a slightly higher price tag. It would be hard for me to choose between these two IEMs. While the MDP seems to exhibit a cleaner sound, it does have a tinge of mechanical-ness of balanced armatures. The DUNU Falcon-C excels in its own way on the opposite end of the spectrum with its dynamic driver warmth and natural sound. The MDP also has a bit of mid-high frequency boost while the Falcon-C’s mids are a little more neutral. I might give the edge to the MDP, but it does have a higher price tag.

Campfire Audio Lyra II

If I had to compare it to another IEM, I would say its sound reminds me very much of the Campfire Audio Lyra II, and in fact it does so in both its sound and its looks. Even the drive diameters are similar; the Lyra II’s is 8.5mm while the Falcon-C’s is 9mm. Of course, with its price tag of 699USD (599USD now?) the Campfire Audio Lyra II is generally better resolved in its sound, but the sound signatures are very similar to me, with the Lyra II having more presence region boost while the Falcon-C is more neutral. Dare I say at some moments though, the Falcon-C’s highs seemed a little more controlled than the Lyra II’s.

If you are looking for a nice single dynamic driver with a somewhat bright treble range and tight bass but can’t afford the Lyra, I would really highly recommend the Falcon-C here as it comes at around a third of the price.

Measurements


With the Vibro Veritas, we can see that the DUNU Falcon-C measures very well in terms of frequency response. With quite a flat, neutral bass to mid range, you get that nice solid low end, and the obvious spike in the 6-7kHz region that gives it that characteristic treble extension. The slight dip in 2-5kHz region also reflects the slightly laidback character as it doesn’t have a huge boost to the presence region.

Summary
Pros

-Great value
-Lovely well controlled sound with tight bass and gorgeous highs
-Ergonomic fit
-Sleek design
-Well resolved, transparent sound

Cons

-The highs can be harsh at some moments with some music

ChiFi audio products often get a bad rep. Especially Knowledge Zenith (KZ), who has become infamous for straight up copying the aesthetics of many other companies. But the KZ ZS10 is something different.

We would like to thank Gearbest.com for sending us the KZ ZS10 for review. Gearbest is a site that sells many affordable and quality electronics. We are not commercially affiliated in any way and this review is our honest and independent opinion. You can get the KZ ZS10 from them for just 40USD!

Knowledge Zenith is a small Chinese company that started off by making really budget products like the KZ ED9 and the KZ ZST, and started to garner more interest from the audio community when they released the KZ ZS5 which looked, well, pretty much exactly like the Campfire Audio Andromeda. And then they did it again with the ZS6. But that hasn’t stopped budget minded audiophiles from buying their products.

I never had a chance to try those previous products myself, but from reading reviews, it seemed like the past products were pretty unrefined. The ZS5 and ZS6 were known to have unpleasantly harsh highs, and build and cable quality were, to put it nicely, pretty crappy.

I was still eager to try out the ZS10, because with its non-copied design and a big KZ logo on the crossover circuit, it seems as if this is something that they are proud to have designed from the ground up, and I do think that this may be a turning point in the company’s image.

Specifications
Driver Type 1 x 10mm Dynamic Driver + 4 x Knowles Balanced Armatures per side
Frequency response 7Hz ~ 40kHz
Sensitivity 104 dB/mW
Impedance 32 Ω
Plug 3.5mm stereo jack
Cord length 1.2 m
Weight 24 +/-5 g
Colour Red
Detachable cable design 0.75mm 2pin Cable
Packaging

There’s really not much to talk about in terms of packaging and accessories here. We’re in the realm of the extreme budget ChiFi market, so any corners that can be cut will be cut.



While you only get the bare minimum here – that’s not to say what’s supplied is of extreme low quality. In fact, the cable is still a very decently made, soft, braided cable which serves to significantly reduce microphonics. It’s also connected to a one-button control in-line microphone, which is a small bonus for people who want mics. You also get a small packet of earphone tips in S, M, L sizes.



Admittedly, it isn’t a 100% perfect product by any means – the 3.5mm connector and the 2-pin connectors are made of cheap feeling plastic and aren’t fancy Oyaide connectors or anything, the cable is really prone to tangling a lot, and the in-line control doesn’t have any volume adjustment buttons. You don’t even get a little pouch or any sort of carrying case with it. But, if you’re only paying around 40USD for this IEM with a pretty decent braided cable and standard set of tips, you have no right to complain because honestly, with the quality of sound it provides, it’s a steal.



Design & Ergonomics
The first thing you will notice about the KZ ZS10 is that it is pretty massive for an IEM. It is basically a big “D” shaped IEM that covers up the entire concha portion of the ear. Even as someone who has no problems wearing larger IEMS such as the Oriolus or iBasso IT03, I was slightly taken aback by is size. Upon closer inspection, it would seem that apart from having to fit 5 drivers into the shell, they also created a massive crossover circuit, with The letters KZ emblazoned on the surface, hence the massive form factor.



KZ tried to mitigate this problem by making a slightly longer nozzle so that unlike designs that actually lie against the concave surface of the ear, the main bulk of the IEM hovers just above it. Despite this, I can see its size being a potential problem for some. While the unit we received for this review is an eyecatching red, those looking for a more discreet colour will be happy to know that it is also offered in transparent black and blue, although it seems that the big crossover circuit board can’t be changed from the bright red look.





As with all IEMs that make use of dynamic drivers, there’s always a small hole for venting which allows the driver to flex properly as it moves back and forth. This will reduce the isolation of the IEM as sound can also get into it. The ZS10 oddly has 3 small holes for venting and despite being on the inside face, I still felt that its isolation was a little worse than some other IEMs with vents.

Detailed Sound Analysis
The KZ was an interesting budget IEM for me to review. I went through wildly different phases when I thought it was horrible, then OK, then even considered it to be what they call, a giant killer. And then I found out it was due to it being more source dependent than the other IEMs I’ve reviewed before. It was basically pure mud when I ran it out of a Lenovo laptop, significantly improved from my phone, and only was I satisfied when I ran it from my FiiO E07K or the iPad Pro. Finally, with my gear setup did I feel like I could enjoy listening from the ZS10.



With hybrid designs, it is more often than not that is designed to take advantage of the natural, slightly boomier bass sound of dynamic drivers. The KZ ZS10 is no exception to this rule and doesn’t shy away from using the 10mm dynamic driver inside, bringing an impactful bass that I greatly enjoyed while listening to EDM. Add onto that the clarity and high end extension of its 4 balanced armatures to highlight the myriad of twinkling and shimmering synth notes and cymbals and you get a perfect symphony of trance enjoyment.

The ZS10 also performs wonderfully with progressive metal and rock tunes, able to render bass notes with above average levels of detail and control, as subbass notes show themselves but quickly fade away so as to not take over the other frequencies. Though soundstage is not the widest, there is still a decent sense of positioning especially noticeable in the high frequencies allowing you to clearly differentiate positioning of instruments. Guitars also chug with pretty sweet amounts of textural detail as well.



Unfortunately, things began to sound a little off when I tested tracks with vocals mixed in. It wasn’t apparent to me at first what the issue was, and only revealed itself over time. The main issue lies in the fact that there is what I perceived to be too much mid-high and high frequency boost at certain frequencies which made it sound harsh and fatiguing over long listening sessions. To be fair, it will probably not be very obvious to a non-audiophile, and the brashness of the mid-highs can be tempered with a good source that is either a little warmer to add a pinch more bass or something very neutral.

Overall, the KZ ZS10 is a very admirable effort from this still growing Chinese IEM company. Though it is a little rough around the edges and reveals a certain lack of refinment and attention to details, at times, it can sound quite close to IEMs that go for much higher prices.

Comparisons
Oriolus Mk2
The KZ ZS10 tries to be an Oriolus at the fraction of the price, and it sort of, nearly succeeds. Like I said, the KZ ZS10 does have some flaws and if you are a discerning audiophile nerd like myself, you will be able to spot them here and there. Resolution is generally lower although with certain more forgiving tracks it’s harder to tell, the bass goes deeper in the Oriolus, and the KZ ZS10’s midhighs are elevated more so than even the Oriolus. It’s informative of the fact that more driver count does not necessarily mean better quality, but the fact that I’m even comparing a 30-40USD IEM to a 800USD one just goes to show how great the ZS10’s value is.



“X” Budget IEM
There are simply too many earphones in today’s market for me to really choose any particular IEM to compare to, but I would say compared to the typical budget earphone offering the ZS10 has a much more refined sound that leans a little bright instead of the bass focused sound signatures that others have. Feel free to leave a comment with any questions!

Measurements


I measure everything with the Vibro Veritas v1, and while it is not a professional rig it can still give pretty reliable results. Right off the bat we can observed the hump in the bass with its gentle subbass rolloff. Despite appearing to be the largest dB, the low frequencies are not the main attraction in my experience. Rather, the perceived sound tends to seesaw between bass and boosted mid-high frequencies, and I think that this may be the case due to our innate sensitivity to the frequencies of the human vocal range. Lastly, although I doubt the Veritas suffers in accuracy are around 10kHz, the peak there also seems like it might be contributing to the occasional harshness.

Summary




If I haven’t gotten the point across clearly enough, the KZ ZS10 has really good value. It’s got some issues, but they’re not big enough that I would instantly discredit it, especially given its price. It has a pretty refined sound with warm-ish bass combined with pretty extended mids and high frequencies although they can get a little too much at times. Resolution sounds grainy at certain moments though for the most part it sounds okay.

Audiophiles who can afford the big budget TOTL offerings will probably appreciate it for its value but ultimately not give it a second look, but I am sure that budget audiophiles will love this little gem. Let’s hope that KZ continues to improve their designs!

Pros

• That great price and value, beating out a ton of other budget earphones
• Overall good resolution
• Pretty decent, solid bass
• Comes with a nice very soft braided cable, so no microphonic noise

Cons

• Mid high – high frequencies slightly too boosted; can become fatiguing
• Slightly mechanical sounding
• Needs a good source to smoothen things out a little, and bad source can make it sound very muddy/especially harsh in the mid-highs
• Slight graininess, but hard to complain at this price point
• Form factor is pretty darn big

We review another great budget friendly giant killer earphone from Kinera, the H3.


The personal audio market has grown significantly. Even my dad had just recently asked me about my thoughts on Bang and Olufsen, saying that he heard his colleagues talking about the brand. I firmly believe it has not been without the help of popularly bashed brands such as Beats and Skullcandy. Hate them all you want, but they have attracted mass attention to a niche product that many consumers did not even care for before. We are now seeing a trend where these people have gotten a taste of what can be offered outside of these fashion brands and want to go deeper into the audiophile trap.

Kinera is a Chinese brand which caught our attention with its breakout budget model, sporting a single DD and single BA, the hybrid Kinera BD005. Packing quite a controlled, bassy punch, we were excited to hear that Kinera was coming out with a new model – the Kinera H3.

Summary


Pros
-Great value
-Ergonomic form factor
-Nice hybrid sound with solid bass and good highs

Cons
-Cheap cables oxidize
-No lip on nozzle causes ear tips to fall off easily
-Slightly lacking in mids

The Design
The H3 features one dynamic driver and two balanced armature drivers, making its entrance into the already stacked hybrid 1DD+2BA (1 Dynamic Driver + 2 Balanced Armature Driver) arena. In the past year, we’ve seen the likes of Simgot, iBasso and even Fiio putting forth their contenders in this specific category, and with good reason. With a price tag just short of 100 dollars, the hybrid setup allows for a considerable bump in performance from the single dynamic driver. By allowing the mids and highs to be delegated to the balanced armature drivers, the manufacturers can then choose a dynamic driver that focuses on doing what dynamic drivers do best – pump bass. This creates a considerable leap in sound signature, easily recognizable for most entry level enthusiasts.



The H3 comes in three different colour schemes – red, blue and black. After seeing all the gorgeous photos online, I had a tinge of hesitation, but finally decided to go with the blue. Kinera proudly claims that every IEM housing is created through the identical steps with which custom housings are made – cast with poured resin, and then hand polished. The ergonomic shape is the sum total of over a hundred human samples taken, and it really does feel that way. Each shell features a black faceplate with the word “Kinera” engraved into it in gold letters. The cable connection is a classic two pin, with a white, four braid copper cable ending in a straight aluminium 3.5mm plug. The standout feature for me is that there is no memory wire, but some sort of springy plastic for the earhooks. This is a most welcome design, as I personally have always had a bit of an issue when trying to shape the memory wires for other IEMs. The cable is a brilliant white, almost silvery, with very little microphonics. All in all, the look and feel of the H3 is definitely above its price bracket, especially the smooth, translucent housings with absolutely no seams between the shell and faceplate. Fit and comfort is great for me and has been for the handful of friends that have tried them.



The Sound
The sound signature of the H3 is prominently V-shaped, with a slightly wider than average soundstage. Although there may not be too many surprises in terms of width and height, the instrument separation is clear and comfortable, never did I feel any congestion.

Compared to the BD005, every aspect of the sound signature is an improvement. Bass reaches deeper, with even better control and dynamism. Mids sound more lush and the highs have much more soundstage and clarity. Although the two share similarities, there is no doubt that the H3 is the big brother and outclasses the BD005 easily.



The bass of the H3 is incredibly enjoyable. Thick yet tight. Voluminous yet not bloated. Bass response extends deep, to the point where I’ll be listening to an old song and finally realize that there was a bassline there when I previously thought there was nothing. Air movement is satisfyingly dynamic but never head throbbing. I would have to say that there is an emphasis on the subbass, with just a slight drop in volume at midbass and a light warm bleed into the mids.

The mids are lush and vibrant, almost candy like. Detail retrieval is very good, with a high resolution and clarity. Vocals can take a back seat during some songs where other IEMs will give them more focus. However, the overall sound is still very pleasant and very obvious the first balanced armature is to be credited.



The highs of the H3 really remind me of the house sound of Audio Technica, where everything is extra shimmery and sparkly, as if a herd of miniature unicorns are flying into my ears. Soundstage opens up a bit, with excellent detail retrieval and speed. Decay is a little extended, giving the highs more body and significance. Cymbals splash nicely and the high hats are crisp. I would like to mention that there is a lot of feedback online about the H3 being a bit too harsh. This has never been an issue for me, but my ears could very well be biased after more than a year of heavy Andromeda and Dorado usage so take what you will.

The H3 is very easy to drive, reaching good sound volumes with smart phones at around 70% max volume.

Not without fault
Despite all this, I must point out my single biggest gripe with the H3. There is no eartip nozzle lip. I am very OCD about the location of the eartips on my IEMs. This means that every time before I put in my H3s, I will spend a few seconds tweaking the exact location of the eartips so that they are absolutely identical to my naked eye. This calms my brain into believing that there is no differentiation of the time it takes for the sound from either sides to reach my eardrums, causing a distortion in the audio cone of soundstage. This may not be a big problem for others, but for me caused much hesitation when deciding if I would purchase the H3.



The other issue is of course eartips slipping off and losing them. Which I did. On my first day. Luckily, the customer service department gratuitously sent me a free pack of six M sized eartips so that I could “replace them whenever they’re lost”. Sure, this was a great gesture but I’d much rather they just add the nozzle lip instead. Up till now I’ve lost a total of two eartips. A couple other times I’ve been able to crawl around on the floor and find the little bugger, often having to get some tissue, twist it into a little pointy end, and furiously wipe both the interior of the eartip and the nozzle itself so as to get rid of the wax and oil that is making it slip off. Fortunately, Kinera has promised that they will improve the design and add a nozzle lip in their next generation of updated H3.



Another point I’d like to make is that the zipper on my carrying case broke within a few weeks of usage. I do not directly blame the build quality of the case, but I’d just like to point out that I have no less than six or seven different carrying cases from varying price brackets and they have all outlived the Kinera case.

Cheap cables or…?
Not entirely as a direct result of the above, I have just not been putting my H3’s in any bag or case. This may or may not have resulted in a significant discoloration of my cable. From the plug to the cable splitter is a copper, oxidized color and from the splitter to both earphones is a blue tinge. Now I do admit I have not taken care of these even half as well as I should have, but they sounded so great at this price that they immediately turned into my every day carry that I’ve been abusing them quite a lot. Is the discoloration a result of my not taking care of them or cheap cables? I guess we will find out when I get my new cables.





Conclusion
To conclude, the Kinera H3 is a worthy entrant into the realm of iems, finding its own spot in the already star studded 1DD+2BA hybrid market sector. The gorgeous aesthetics, detailed ergonomics and housing build quality is a testament on its own. The energetic, V-shaped sound signature is definitely a crowd pleaser and a clear upgrade from entry level units. It is not without faults, with issues like no nozzle lip and heavy oxidation in the cables to remind you that Kinera is still a budding earphone company with cost control to consider. However, that only detracts slightly from my personal love of these earphones. Their fit and comfort is top tier, with the ear guides being soft and springy plastic instead of the usual memory wires. The sound is incredibly fun and I know we repeatedly say this, but the H3 definitely punches above its weight class both in the quality of its bass and the clarity of its highs. Bearing in mind its humble beginnings and the path Kinera has cut itself, it is truly a contender that cannot be ignored and makes us salivate in anticipation for what is to come.

I’ve been anticipating the release of the Acoustune HS1551 for ages, and now that I’ve finally gotten my hands on one, I’m happy to say that this is a very refined single dynamic driver design, not only in terms of sounds but also looks and build quality.

I first encountered Acoustune in the Hong Kong High End AudioVisual Expo 2016 in the Soundwave Booth, when the Acoustune HS1551 was still a prototype known as the HS1301 (as far as I know). I had never heard of Acoustune before, but I was open to trying new IEMs, and although I only had a brief moment with them, they sounded really good. Very satisfying bass coupled with non sibilant and extended highs, all coming out of a single dynamic driver. The metallic form also appealed to my tastes, and so ever since then I’ve been waiting for their final release, and I finally got a chance to try it at this year’s Expo.


Acoustune’s HS1501/1551 prototype at the 2016 Hong Kong High End Audio Visual Expo.
I would like to thank Soundwave Hong Kong for lending us this demo unit of the Acoustune HS1551 CU for our review. We are not commercially affiliated in any way. The Acoustune HS1551 goes for $3980 HKD – around 500USD.

As far as I know, Acoustune is some sort of joint Hong Kong-Japanese partnership, and they’ve been around for at least a few years, developing several single dynamic driver designs. They pride themselves on using Myrinx driver membranes in their drivers which they claim can provide the highest resolution audio (at least in earphones!). I’ve tried their HS1004 at HMV as well, and was also pleasantly surprised by it – quite a tight and spacious midbass sound with strong highs, but it was a little sibilant and unrefined at certain moments. However, I followed their posts on Twitter about the development of the new HS1551 and HS1501 series closely, and seeing how much attention to detail they put into it as well as the length of time taken, I knew it was going to be something good.

Note: The HA1551 CU is different to the HS1501 AL; don’t get confused by the confusing naming system.

Summary

For people who don’t want to read too much, here’s the verdict: The HS1551 CU is just so warm, liquid, and comfortable sounding. But it’s not all about the bass here – there’s a smooth transition from bass to mids so vocals never disappear, and while the highs don’t take centre stage at all, they’re still extended and noticeable in the background. It’s got a fantastic design and build quality too.



Pros

• Luscious, warm, bass and mid frequencies give a comfortable fullness to bass and instrumental/vocal range
• Bass is solid but not overly aggressive; liquid sounding at times combined with the smooth midrange (but not so much that it’s loose and flabby)
• Very refined, extended highs twinkle in the background – not even a slither of sibilance here folks.
• Just so natural sounding, it really lets you focus on the emotional qualities of the music rather than the minor details.

Cons

• Bass could be slightly loose sounding for some discerning listeners
• If you want something brighter or more analytical, this probably won’t be for you. Go check out the Acoustune HS1551 AL or balanced armature options from other companies.
• Not the widest soundstage but it is very decent.
• I know some people hate memory wire, but since the cable did not have memory wire it did not always settle over my ears and I had to readjust the cable around them sometimes. At least the cable is replaceable!

Specs

Transducer: Φ10mm Single Dynamic Driver
Impedance: 32Ω
Sound Pressure Level: 110dB/mW
Frequency Range: 10Hz～25KHz
Cable: MMCX Re-cable, L=1.2m (4-core)
Plug: Φ3.5mm plug (gold plated), L-type
Shell: Chamber – 100% Brass CNC milling, Housing – 100% Aluminum CNC milling
Color: Grand Blue & Gold / Burgundy & Gold
Accessories: Earphone, Cable, Ear-tips (4 types)*, Earphone Case, Cable Clip & Tie, Warranty, Safety Instructions
* Ear-tips: AET02 (F), AET06 (M+), AET07 (S/M/L), AET08 (S/M/L)

Packaging & Accessories

The Acoustune HS1551 CU comes in a pretty hefty box. Removing the cardboard packaging and you’ll come face to face with a tiny metallic briefcase complete with sturdy set of hinges and a briefcase style latch. If you’re laughing at the slightly ridiculous size of the carry case and are wondering how anyone could carry this around, don’t worry because they’ve actually included a beautiful and much more portable leather carry case.



Regardless of the size though, it’s clear that they’ve paid lots of attention to giving the best first impression possible to the user, and it does give me that little bit of audiophile geek unboxing giddiness getting to open this elaborate packaging up to see the two shiny red and gold earphones nestled inside the foam container, just enticing me to take them out. Wrapped around the circular foam block is a 3.5mm braided, plastic sealed MMCX cable ready to be attached to the beautiful earphones.




Hidden underneath all of this is a large set of tips for your choosing with a variety of sizes and types including silicon and foam. I did not notice any huge differences between the yellow and blue centred tips, but you may want to try tip-rolling them.



Design

The Acoustune HS1551 CU is in my opinion one of the most attractive and unique IEM designs I’ve seen. The beautifully milled smooth aluminium shells combined with the more industrial looking brass “damper rod” (that’s what they called it on the packaging) that protrudes from the centre exudes a bold, futuristic appeal that you wouldn’t be surprised if it was one of Iron Man’s gadgets. Construction is rock solid and flawlessly put together – no rough edges to be seen anywhere, the parts are seamlessly combined and secured with 3 tiny hex screws.



While the form may seem odd and angled strangely at first, it actually is pretty straightforward once you take a closer look at it. Ignoring the more angular, detailed exterior, the HS1551 CU is actually very smoothly rounded on the ear facing side. In fact, there are no sharp edges to be found at all, with every corner finely chamfered and rounded for comfort. A clever design choice made by Acoustune is that unlike most dynamic driver designs which have the vent facing outwards, they hid the driver vent right next to the sound nozzle, significantly decreasing the chance of external noise from affecting it, and it does make for good amount of isolation.




If at this point you are still wondering how this odd looking IEM is worn, it’s actually a cable over ear design that will make all the sense once you try it on. Which brings me to my next point. The rather heavy stock cable has many things I love such as having a hefty L-plug, a thick, dual braided, plastic sealed cable which splits into two individual cables, all very sturdily built. I’m pretty sure that it’s going to be a long time before any of the strain points fail. The big, heavy set aesthetic of the cable does really match the bold, industrial design of the earphones but it does have some problems. It’s a little too sturdily built in my opinion, as the stiffness of the cable sometimes causes a slight amount of microphonics when I’m moving around. Another point is that because there is no memory wire, the cables sometimes rebound from the position behind my ears and I’ve found myself occasionally having to adjust them back in place. Finally, the stiffness does lead to a bit of microphonic noise when using it on the go whenever the cable swings and comes into contact with anything. Maybe they should have used something slightly more delicate looking and softer. At least there is an option to replace it!

Sound

There’s just something about a good single dynamic driver design that sounds so good. I started my audiophile journey as a diehard dynamic driver lover, discovered the possibilities of multidriver balanced armature designs, fell in love at the obvious strength of combining both types of drivers, but to this day I still have a huge fondness for single dynamic driver designs and in fact it has been growing with better and better dynamic drivers being implemented. Compared to multi driver balanced armature designs, single driver designs typically have the advantage of better, natural bass response and an unmatched sense of cohesion, but often suffer by the bass being too boomy and loose, less detailed mids and even sibilant, weak high frequencies but a high quality, well implemented dynamic driver can overcome all of those obstacles. Veterans like Sennheiser have never given up on dynamic drivers, while newer ones such as Campfire Audio are pushing the possibilities of driver design, and it seems like Acoustune is also keen on dedicating their craft into the perfection of single dynamic driver design, hitting a new sweet spot with the HS1551 CU.



Listening to the Acoustune HS1551 CU is just like that warm, comforting feeling when enjoying a nice cup of hot chocolate at home when it’s cold out. Like receiving a warm hug, the HS1551 CU gently but firmly pumps out an extremely smooth, natural bass response, the kind that only a dynamic driver can produce – full of air and with natural, robust impact. Every low frequency detail, from the lowest subbass rumble to the quicker strikes of the tom toms is reproduced with a warm clarity. Bass impact is very controlled and actually quite gentle, with nary a sign of bass bleed, and just the slightest boost in quantity in the lower bass frequencies so that it’s still “musical” and “fun” sounding when it needs to bring out the big bass. There’s definitely enough bass quantity to enjoy heavier genres like rock and trance here, but it doesn’t have a very aggressive majorly boosted bass attack unlike something like the Campfire Audio Vega, which hits very hard.



The liquid warmth of the low frequencies persists all the way up to the midrange, producing rich, full bodied vocals and instruments. While the low and mid end of things is full of luscious warmth, the HS1551 CU is also superbly refined up top as well. Carrying just a tad bit of a bright edge and flavour to the vocals and highest details, the HS1551 CU adeptly adds these smooth final touches to its presentation making the music just that much more convincing. Highs are extended enough for those details to be obvious, but far, far away from any sense of sibilance. Listening to this IEM is an engaging but relaxed affair; a slight boost in the mid and high regions to pique your interest in the minutae of the singer’s voice, or the finely resolved pitter patter of the live audience’s clapping in the distance is what distinguishes it from weaker IEM designs. Apart from my own preference for warmer sound signatures, it’s this refined sound tuning that seals the deal for me.



The HS1551 CU is neither a reference nor a extremely “fun” hard hitting IEM, but it manages to straddle both of these extremes in its own way. The bass might be a little too warm or boomy for some, the midrange not analytical enough, or the highs not bright enough, but for those looking for an IEM that can just hit that sweet spot in the middle with magnificent mids, resolved highs, with a bit of oomph from the bass end, and let you listen to it for hours on end, the Acoustune HS1551 CU is the perfect choice.

Measurements



Notice the relatively flat 20-500Hz low end with a very gentle boost; followed by a small peak at 1-2kHz, this makes for a very lovely and rich low-mid frequency listening experience!

Comparisons

• Sennheiser IE80
  As they are in a similar price range, I thought to compare it to the legendary IE80. Personally, I think the IE80 sounds a little flatter and more neutral, with less sparkly highs, and the low end also sounds a little darker as well. I prefer the Acoustune over the IE80, but if you want more aggressive bass impact and don’t really care for vocals or highs, the IE80 would be preferable. Otherwise, the Acoustune wins in all other aspects.
• Campfire Audio Lyra 2
  I would say the Acoustune is a better value for money deal than the Lyra 2, but sonically, they are quite different. The Lyra 2 has a slightly more aggressive bass, and the rendition of details is more precise and fine, with slightly more high frequency detail. In contrast, the Acoustune has fuller vocals and is richer, but also more laidback. I really like them both!

Conclusion

I really like the Acoustune HS1551 CU. Sure, I have some complaints about the cable, but it’s got an amazing design, build quality, and most importantly, it’s just got a great sound signature. It ensures that none of the details are missing, but has that gentle boost on the low end to keep things fun. There are not many single dynamic driver IEMs out there that sound so refined. Definitely a recommended buy!

Reposted this on HeadFi for the lovely community!

We review Rock Jaw Audio’s Resonate hybrid earphone as part of the review tour on HeadFi. Does this small indie company have another hit product in the making?



Rock Jaw Audio is a small audio company from the UK. Their latest product, the Resonate, is yet another earphone with the increasingly popular hybrid design configuration – basically combining the bass reproduction prowess of dynamic drivers with the mid and high refinement of balanced armatures. Since balanced armatures are generally weak at producing convincing, natural sounding bass, more and more companies have gone to hybrid designs instead. Before we move on, we’d like to give a quick shoutout.

Thank you to Rock Jaw Audio for sending this earphone to us for our unbiased opinion and review as part of the Review Tour on HeadFi. The Resonate goes for 124.95GBP. Click here for more info.

The Resonate also features replaceable tuning filters, another design that some companies such as Shure, RHA, and MacaW have used to give the user a chance to tweak the sound more to their liking.



Specs

• Drivers: Balanced armature + 8mm dynamic – Hybrid
• Cables: MMCX detachable cables
• Impedance: 16 Ohm
• Sensitivity: 103+/-3dB
• Frequency response: 20 – 20000Hz
• Cord Length: 1.25M
• Jack type: Gold plated 3.5mm
• Eartips: (S/M/L) silicone | (M/L) memory foam | (S) double flange.
• 3x Interchangeable tuning filters
• Can be worn as a standard earphone, or upside down with the cable over the ear
• In-line microphone with universal pause/play button
• Compatible with iOS / Android / Windows Smartphones

Summary

Pros:

-Generally comfortable, easy to wear design
-Comfortable mic
-Tuning filters to customize your own experience

Cons:

-Muddy separation of frequencies
-Too much emphasis on high frequency overtones
-Slightly flat, unrefined sounding bass
-Vocals lack presence and strength
-Plastic around MMCX connection point feels cheap



Accessories & Design

The Resonate comes in a humble little cardboard package with a clear acrylic window on the top lid flap. Encased in 2 layers of soft foam are the earphones themselves, 2 sets of tuning filters, and 6 different eartips including a variety of silicone and foam tip sizes.

If well designed packaging is important to you, this isn’t the most attractive design around, but as a fan of economical and environmentally friendly packaging given the state of our planet right now and the Resonates’ packaging does have this done decently well. However, one small annoyance for me is how all the eartips would fall out from behind the foam separator when lifting the first layer up, leading me to have to clumsily pick everything up from inside the box.



The MMCX cable is also neatly wrapped up for you to unfurl and plug in to the Resonate. The cable is very soft and flexible, and is sleeved with a woven soft synthetic fibre material that is very lightweight and gets points for being not microphonic at all.

The design of the earphone itself is quite simple – a cylindrical design that looks somewhat like a kendama with the MMCX socket sticking out from the centre of the housing. It’s made of some sort of lightweight metal which feels smooth to the touch, and as combined with its simple design with in a nicely sized package, insertion into the ear is overall comfortable.





The Resonate comes with an inline mic with volume and playback controls that comes in a very basic looking black plastic form with 3 rounded square buttons. Nothing to really comment on here, though perhaps it would have been nice to have it be made of the same metallic looking material as the 3.5mm plug and y-cinch. There is an interesting detail at the cable strain relief end of the 3.5mm plug as there is a spring wrapped around it. Although it looks a little odd, it does seem to serve as good strain relief as it gives both enough rigidity and flexibility to this area where wire breakage often occurs after some use.



The Sound

This section was done with the Green filters (“Energy”) in place, as it was the filter that the product was shipped with, and also suits my own personal preference for slightly bassier sound signature. All testing was done through the FiiO E07K DAC amp with the OnePlus X as the source.

Bass is evident all the way to the lowest frequencies, but there is not much quantity and impact is loose and a little boomy with the Energy filter in place. The bass sound signature sounds somewhat evenly distributed between subbass and midbass, with a medium length decay. However, impact sounds very muddy and lacks definition, in a way that it doesn’t feel solid, nor especially clean and fast despite using the "Energy" filter. The Resonate does not produce very much bass even when pushed with bass heavy tracks, and when it does reach higher bass volumes, the texture is not realistic. It is an overall lackluster performance here.

Unfortunately, in my opinion the bigger problem with the Resonate lies elsewhere due to its weakness in separation and peakiness in the higher range frequencies which I think is causing too much emphasis on overtones, causing a lack of fullness in the reproduction.



Listening to simpler songs with mainly vocals is actually passable, especially with baritone male vocals – tests with some quieter John Mayer and Norah Jones tracks revealed some ability to produce adequate clarity in the vocal region. It is distinctly better in the lower vocal range – the higher the pitch, the thinner the sound gets.

Serious flaws begin to show when many different instruments begin to layer and mix together. The bass begins to sound very muddy, vocals and instruments nearly vanish and sound extremely thin and brittle. Drums are an area I pay a lot of attention to, and with the Resonate they seem to lack distinction except in the cymbals and hi-hats, which, pronounced as they might be, do not sound very convincing. Snare attack seems as if it is barely brushing against my ear and there is an overall thinness to most instruments and lack of fullness especially noticeable in vocals. The difference in the characteristics between dynamic driver and balanced armature are also unforgivingly revealed. The bass sounds increasingly boomy and dark in more complex passages whereas the reproduction of mids and highs is unmistakably more exacting and mechanical sounding, creating an incoherence in the presentation.

I also experienced an incessant scratchy, distorted sound especially when distorted guitars and higher frequency noises were being produced.



Tuning Filters and Measurements

Below is the FR chart of the 3 different tuning filters, taken with ARTA and the Vibro Veritas setup. Each FR result colour corresponds with the respective filter colour; Green for “Energy” (Bass boost), Blue for “Emotion” (Treble boost), and Yellow for “Fusion” (Reference tuning) as described on the Rock Jaw website.



As it can be seen in the chart, the tuning filters probably consist of different dampers that reduce the amount of bass frequencies that are let through, leaving the rest of the frequencies untouched, creating the illusion that the other frequencies have been boosted.

My overall experience with them is similar to my experience with other products that make use of filters – they provide some customisation but aren’t drastically different and are not going to make one product sound like another.

Due to the bass being a little too boomy for my liking, I found that the Reference and Treble Boost to actually be more preferable, as it reduced the boominess of the bass for slightly more clarity in the bass to midrange transition area. They do not, unfortunately, eliminate the mechanical harshness of the sound in the mids and highs. There was not too big of a difference between the Reference and Treble boost filters apart from the most minor changes in bass quantity between them (refer to measurements).

Conclusion

Judging by their product design Rock Jaw Audio seems to have the right general idea, but to me, the Resonate is overall quite a weak product with its muddy bass, weak instrumental separation and peakiness in overtones. It is a shame that the quality of audio is not better, as the overall design and build quality seem to have been quite well thought out. With some adjustments to the peakiness in the high frequencies and perhaps replacing the dynamic driver with something more capable and less flabby cardboard sounding, hopefully Rock Jaw Audio can redevelop their product to something better.

 
1More just can’t stop shaking up the audiophile market – the 1More Triple Driver was a huge success and gave superb sound quality for its price, even beating out many more expensive earphones. Luckily for us consumers, they’ve gone and one-upped themselves with the Quad Driver.

We would like to thank 1More for sending us this 1More Quad Driver Hybrid Earphone for review purposes. The Quad Driver currently goes for $199.99USD, click here to find out more about these excellent earphones!​

​

With the tremendous success of the Triple Driver which was 1More’s original hybrid design (1 dynamic driver, 2 balanced armature), it seemed like it would be an extremely difficult task for them to repeat their achievement. The Triple Driver sells for only 100USD but hits way above its price bracket – a high quality yet price disruptive product in a market that seemed to have relentlessly increasing prices. When the Quad Driver was announced as another hybrid but with 1 more balanced armature added, I was cautiously optimistic towards it. On the one hand, I was extremely impressed with the Triple Driver and so had some confidence, but on the other, it seemed like 1More was just following the trend of adding more drivers.

Well, I’m happy to report that the Quad Driver is not just an extra balanced armature. Despite the glowing reviews for the Triple Driver, it wasn’t a perfect product for the most discerning audiophile fans as many felt that its sound was just a little too scattered and soft at times, especially the bass response. With the Quad Driver, it is plain to see that 1More has taken all the previous comments and reviews to heart, and gone back to the drawing board to create a new product with the next level of sonic excellence.



Summary

A short summary for people who don’t like reading – if you’re willing to spend a little more for quality audio at a still affordable price, look no further. 1More’s Quad Driver delivers a high resolution silky smooth sound with a fashionable and comfortable design. Bass is close to neutral but hits with enough punch and authority to keep up with heavier tracks, while mids and highs are amazingly clear and never sibilant – this is the Triple Driver taken to the next level. It’s hard to beat the Triple Driver for value, but the Quad Driver still hits way above its price bracket.


Pros
-Amazing quality for price
-Superbly well resolved sound
-Neutral tuning that will work with all genres
-Silky smooth highs that never offend the ears
-Natural dynamic driver bass quality combined with seamless transition to balanced armature driver mids and highs
-Comes with inline mic and volume controls that work with both iOS and Android!

Cons
-If you are looking for a more coloured sound (e.g. heavy bass/brighter sound/mids only), these might not be for you
-No replaceable cables if these beauties get damaged 
-Metallic material makes it a little heavy

 

Specifications

Weight: 18.5 g
Cable Length: 1.25 m
In-line Remote Control and Microphone
Oxygen-Free Copper Wire
Plug: 3.5 mm Gold Plated
Frequency Range: 20-40,000 Hz
Impedance: 32 Ω
Sensitivity: 99 dB
Rated Power: 5 mW

 

 
 

 
Accessories

The Quad Driver comes in the same box as the Triple Driver – a beautiful heavy weight cardboard box complete with metallic magnetic clasp that snaps shut satisfyingly. Unlike the Triple Driver, it has a sleeve that covers the whole box and the interior compartments for all the accessories has been redesigned to be more accessible with less hidden layers and boxes. Just like its predecessor, it comes with a nice faux-leather case with magnetic lid, a generous amount of eartips of different sizes and types, as well as adapters for airplane plugs and a cable clip all made with a nice brushed metal finish to match.

Design

The Quad Driver is a beautifully designed earphone, with sleek, modern curves and aggressive red accents in premium metal body. Some of the initial reveal vids have mentioned that it looks somewhat like a jet engine, and I would agree with that statement. The design is beautifully polished in all aspects – every component from the earphone all the way down to the colour of the visible wiring in the cable has been made to match the modern aesthetic.



The metal parts, cool to the touch, exude a sense of quality and feel supremely premium. Overall, it is decently ergonomic as the housing is comfortably smooth and rounded out and fits most ear shapes easily with its cable down design. However, while it generally felt secure, I found that it felt slightly heavy due to the metal and amount of drivers inside, and perhaps would have benefited with a over-ear cable design to counteract the weight to feel safer.
 
 
 
The Quad Driver also features inline mic with 3 buttons for volume and playback control, also with the same gunmetal grey look. To my pleasant surprise, they have also listened to their reviews and users and changed the straight 3.5mm plug in the Triple Driver to an L-plug which makes for a better experience when using this (with the phone in your trousers). The “Kevlar-core” cable is sleeved with a slightly stiff plastic which helps with the tangling a little, and feels very durable, though the stiffness does tend to impart a very slight amount of microphonics when walking.

The Sound

The first word that came to my mind when I listened to the 1More Quad Drivers was balance. 



It has become one of my favourite midrange price bracket earphones. It’s comfortable, affordable, and has fantastically natural and smooth sound with no evident peaks anywhere, nor any hint of sibilance in the highs.

According to 1More, they have used a new “Diamond-like Carbon Driver” for the dynamic driver inside. While I wont be able to take the product apart to check, my experience with it is very positive. Hitting all the frequencies in the bass range, the Quad Driver’s dynamic driver produces an extremely natural and neutral sounding bass. It is strong enough that it will hit the spot for most listeners apart from very strong bass lovers, but not so strong that it is offensive to the more neutral oriented. It has a certain quality of “roundness” and realism in impact that I’ve always felt dynamic drivers had over balanced armatures. Subbass all the way to upper bass region is present, but has a quick decay that places the Quad Driver’s bass sound firmly in neutral territory, as it never goes out of its bounds to dominate over the mids and highs.

In fact, the cohesion between dynamic and balanced armature driver in the Quad Driver is one of the best I have heard. Vocals sound just perfect with the support from the bass driver in lower notes that adds a touch of realism, and never do I feel that the dynamic driver is lagging behind the speed and clarity of the balanced armature drivers. Conversely, the frequencies covered by the balanced armatures here also don’t sound too mechanical and harsh as they often tend to, yet still showcase their advantages in reproduction of micro details. Separation of instruments is spot on, and soundstage just sounds just right  – it doesn’t sound too artificially widened, but it’s not too in your head either (for example, like the IM50). I don’t know what 1More is doing here and how they’re doing it, but this earphone is really superbly tuned.



Personally for me though, the most pleasing frequency range in this is the bass-mid and midrange frequencies. I am not exaggerating – it is simply silky smooth and very realistic sounding. Perhaps that extra BA driver really is making that much of a difference as I can hear a gratifying sense of space and air around every instrument. Again, I have to reiterate that vocals and instruments in the midrange really sound magical, combined with just the right amount of highs to bring out the micro details of every word being sung and played.

The Quad Driver also has no problems with the high frequencies, able to smoothly reproduce everything without a hint of sibilance. For me, the highs aren’t the star of the show here, but they are definitely not recessed, and the absence of any evident peaks makes for a very enjoyable listening experience combined with the gorgeous mids.

Comparison to Triple Drivers

I know everyone will be curious about this – how does the Quad Driver matchup to the highly acclaimed Triple Drivers? I would not say it is leaps and bounds above it, but the results are obvious for an experienced listener, and some of the design changes also just make for a better overall experience.



Design
Straight vs L shaped plug
Basically same size and weight – still comfortable!
Different colour – a more reserved grey instead of a more unique purple and rose gold.

Bass
Bass is tighter in the Quad Driver. It is just that much better in every way that provides an overall better sense of cohesion with the mids and highs. Faster, more detailed, with a more controlled subbass that isn’t as loose and boomy (note that the Triple Driver’s bass isn’t very boomy to begin with), the Quad Driver’s dynamic driver retains all the flavour from the Triple Driver with a gentle smattering of refinement.

Mids
The midrange is my favourite part about the Quad Driver. This frequency range has a much better sense of refinement to them especially in the lower-mid region transitioning from the dynamic driver upwards. While the Triple Driver seems a little rough around the edges in this area with a slight hollowed out sound, in comparison the Quad just gets out more luscious, rich mids. The Triples mids also sound a little distant in comparison to the quad driver, a little bit of mechanical grittiness to it , while the Quad’s mids are just silky smooth .

Highs
While neither the Triple or Quad exhibit any sort of harshness, the Quad’s highs sound slightly more sophisticated and discerning and bring out a little more detail, sense of atmosphere, and air from the recordings. Is it a day and night difference? I wouldn’t say it is, but it will definitely be audible to an experience listener.

Overall the sound signature is very much the same, but the Quad just edges out the Triple in every aspect. The timbre is more realistic in the Quad Driver, especially in bass-midrange and the cohesiveness is much better.

 


 
Measurements

Took some quick measurements with the Vibro Veritas – it seems that the FR is unsurprisingly verysimilar to the Triple Driver’s, but a simple FR chart doesn’t show everything. Take what you will from this, I’m just a geek for this sort of thing. 



Final thoughts

I have been extremely pleased with this earphone and congratulate 1More with their excellent product. While the Quad Driver is a little less accessible coming at double the price of its predecessor, it is definitely a top pick in the budget – midrange price bracket, bringing a quality of sound that reaches much higher than its price may suggest.

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Originally written for AccessibleAudio, my personal collection of reviews! Thanks for reading.

The Lyra, released back in 2014-15 was refreshed along with Campfire Audio's dynamic and hybrid lineup as the Lyra II, and is a personal single dynamic driver favourite.

We would like to thank Campfire Audio for supplying us with the Lyra II free of charge for this review. The Campfire Audio Lyra II goes for 699USD. You can click here for more information.

Click to expand...

You should be ashamed of yourself if you're an audiophile or earphone enthusiast and aren't already acquainted with the name Campfire Audio. A small boutique earphone maker that started off making cables as ALO Audio, they've released hit after hit with their original lineup of Orion, Lyra, Jupiter, followed by the critically acclaimed Andromeda alongside the Nova. In late 2016, they released the more bassy and energetic hybrid Dorado and the fiercely powerful single driver Vega.



 
Where does this place the Lyra II in the lineup? Well, it's hard to say since one of the things that I admire about Campfire Audio's products is that it's difficult to pick that one is definitively better than another and hence there's no fear of an older release being made obsolete by the newer ones. I've tried all of their lineup and actually prefer some of the cheaper offerings. The soaring highs and clean cut sound of the Andromeda isn't quite for me, and while the Vega is extremely engaging, and the Dorado has its own special energetic flavour, I've found that the Lyra fits my tastes better than any of the others.

Summary for the lazy



 
Pros
-Audio quality sounds very clean and undistorted
-A refined amount of bass, upper mid and high boost (a gentle "W" shaped sound signature) makes for a balanced sound which still has enough pressure and energy for musicality
-Great liquid alloy build quality
-Campfire Audio's cable is sturdy, beautiful, and non-microphonic

Cons
-Exhibits a smidgen of harshness at the very high notes which seemed to be resolved over time (burn in is real? )
-Fit doesn't feel as secure as some other IEMs



Specs

Driver Configuration (per side)	8.5mm PVD Beryllium Dynamic Driver
Frequency Response	5Hz-22Hz
Sensitivity	103 dB SPL/mW
Impedance	17 Ohms @ 1kHz
Cable	3.5mm plug Litz Wire Cable by Campfire Audio
Accessories	Faux leather earphone carrying case 2 small carrying pouches 3 pairs of Foam tips (S, M, L) 3 pairs of Silicon tips (S, M, L)  3 pairs of SpinFit tips (S, M, L) 1 Campfire Audio logo metal pin

I'm sure someone is going to ask, so I'm going to say it now - the Lyra II has the same specs as the original in terms of driver design, the only difference is the packaging and housing material (it used to be a glossy black ceramic instead of the "Dusk" coloured liquid metal alloy shell used now)



Design and Comfort

Having reviewed the Campfire Audio Dorado before, which features the same liquid metal alloy earphone housing with the same form, I don't want to spend too much time going over the build quality and design for the Lyra II. Like the rest of the new released lineup, it has excellent and sturdy build quality that's a little heavy due to its metallic nature, but is fitted into a small but sturdy package that will leave you feeling confident that it will last. The Lyra II is "Dusk" coloured, as opposed to the rose gold of the Dorado. It is also different to the Dorado in that it has a shorter, more standard length to the sound nozzle which lends itself to a more comfortable experience.



I picked the SpinFit tips as my eartips of choice for the Lyra II. I initially used the medium black silicon tips but found that the insertion was too deep as it allowed the nozzle to lie level with the end of the tip as well, so  it was a little uncomfortable and seemed to boost the highs too much that it became sibilant. For what it's worth, the Campfire team recommend using foam tips, but it feels a little dark for me and so I settled for SpinFit.
 

 

Well balanced musicality

I've come to expect a certain sort of "house sound" to Campfire Audio's products - Ken Ball and his team have always remarked that they simply design it based on the kind of sound they enjoy, and I must say they have exceptional taste. Their products generally lean a little brighter sounding with very extended highs, and always have a very tight, clean kind of sound throughout the entire frequency range - but not with the Westone kind of overly smooth and polite cleanness.

The Lyra II possesses the qualities of a dynamic driver sound with a warm, full bodied sound, but eliminates the flaws that many cheap designs exhibit. With tight bass notes that go deep, and a certain precision in the highs that rivals balanced armature designs, it places right at the top of high end IEMs. It has one of my favourite sound signatures - a gentle W shaped curve with well-balanced boosts to the bass, mids and extended highs, making it a personal favourite.



Its soundstage is not the widest, with more height than width, but the sense of height to the presentation brings into focus a very enjoyable spaciousness that gives room for every instrument to breathe.

The Lyra II's bass frequencies brings a a lot of warmth to the sound, and while hefty and deep reaching enough to effortlessly blast out bass heavy tracks, it's also quite fast, with deep subbass tones only lingering on for a fraction of a second. The result is a solid hitting bass that doesn't bloom too much, leaving ample room for textural detail reproduction.



Mids are natural sounding with even distribution throughout this region. It doesn't sound like a completely flat midrange, but the Lyra II puts out plenty of pressure throughout to maintain decent instrumental and vocal presence and energy. The midrange frequencies aren't pushed unnaturally forward, and typically don't become the focus in more layered tracks, but they are undoubtedly well resolved. Coupled with the generously extended high end, there is a bit of emphasis on light airiness and openness in the sound, which again reinforces the Lyra's slightly bright sound tuning.



 

 
With a fast bass range as well, there is a feeling of precision and energy noticeable in its very snappy and authoritative snare drum reproduction that weaker dynamic driver IEMs often lack. The Lyra II is able to crack out clear snare drum attacks with impressive surgical precision and energy - attack is quick and focused more on high end impact crispness than lower frequency body. The very high frequencies are very extended, sometimes to the point of being slightly aggressive at times - this was especially noticeable when I first tried the Lyra II with the stock silicon tips, and seemed to be tamed over time but may be attributed to the better fitting SpinFit tips.

Comparisons

Campfire Audio Vega 

To me, the Lyra II is like the Vega's little brother. The tuning is very similar, and I would say in terms of technicality, the Vega is better, with an even cleaner sound, an awesomely deeper reaching, tighter and heavier hitting bass, a similar midrange but even more precise and impressive highs. But after extensively comparing both, I feel that the Lyra II is more comfortable for a leisurely listening experience - the Vega is like an unrelenting juggernaut of sound which becomes a little fatiguing in extended listening sessions for me.

Campfire Audio Dorado

A much warmer, boomier bass is the most noticeable difference, and the midrange generally a little more recessed in comparison to the Lyra II. Dorado's highs have the cleaner, more exacting sound of balanced armatures and are slightly more extended though.

Shure 846

The 846 is well known for its bass prowess, but the Lyra II is no slouch either and excels in different areas. The 846 bass is harder hitting but has a drier, more flat thwacky sound to it  whereas the dynamic driver of the Lyra II reproduce a more natural sounding rounder impact. The 846 also rolls off at the highs (using the neutral filters) and has a fuller lower mid range and will have a darker sound in comparison.

Oriolus mk2

The Lyra II has a tighter, more surgical precision to it's sound that the Oriolus which exhibits a more robust, flatter mid-high to high range but at the expense of sounding less extended in the highs. The Oriolus' bass is also fatter and a little "lazier" with slower decay as the rumbling notes last longer. Soundstage is more wide than high here. If I only listened to dubstep and trance I would probably choose the Oriolus over the Lyra for an even warmer, rounder sound with heavier bass.



Measurements

Disclaimer: I'm still a beginner at measuring IEMs, and am only using a Vibro Veritas for my setup. Accuracy should not be trusted before 10Hz and after 10000Hz (according to the Vibro site). But overall I have found decently accurate results with this cheap measurement setup.



A personal favourite

The Lyra has rekindled my love for single dynamic driver designs in an industry that has been incredibly reliant on multi-driver balanced armature designs with a focus on bigger numbers rather than perceived audio quality. This is another example of Campfire Audio's dedication to getting the best sound out of every one of their designs. I find myself constantly going back to the Lyra II for its dynamic driver warmth which gives enough liveliness coupled with its refined precision to its sound that really resonates with my personal tastes. The Lyra II isn't cheap - but it's an earphone I would surely recommend to someone wanting to drop their money on one high end purchase.
 
Originally posted on my own blog

My first Bluetooth earphone review is from non other than 1More, a US/Chinese company that has been making waves in the earphone market with their very affordable and high quality designs.
 
1More  is an audio company headquartered in San Diego, California but probably has strong ties to China, which in my opinion is great because the Chinese personal audio market is hyper-competitive. I first heard of them a few years back when I had just started to get interested in the audiophile community and hobby, as the Xiaomi Pistons 2.0 in ear earphones was making waves in the budget segment and it turned out 1More was the company behind the production of that cheap wonder. They eventually decided to go off on their own to make their own products, and needless to say, with their great track record I only had high hopes for their newest earphones.

Since the launch of the iPhone 7 there's been a surge in wireless solutions for the 3.5mm jack-less smartphone, and 1More is probably also targeting this market. I haven't tried that many Bluetooth earphones before, but there were a few that were trying to target a budget segment while claiming quality that utterly failed.

1More hasn't let me down so far (check out the 1More Triple Driver review!) with their aggressive pricing yet ability to achieve amazing sound, so I was also interested to see what they could achieve with their first Bluetooth product.


 

 
Summary for the Lazy

Pros:
-Comfortable and well built, modern design
-Extremely ergonomic and snug fit
-Long lasting battery life
-Acceptable sound quality

Cons:
-Low amounts of bass impact; not for the bass lover
-Mids and highs are artificial sounding



 

 
Specs

Driver: Single dynamic driver
Charging Time: 2 hours
Standby Time: 240 hours
Talking Time: 10 hours
Music Play Time: 8 hours
Wireless Range: 10 m
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.1
Bluetooth Protocol: HFP / HSP / A2DP / AVRCP
Input: 5V 1A
Weight: 14 g
In-line Remote Control: Included
Color: Red/Black/Green/blue


 
 
Design, Comfort, & Connectivity

If there was one thing that stood out to me as a relative wireless earphone amateur, it would be the design and build quality of the iBFree. Aesthetically, it's not especially unique - it has a time tested cylindrical barrel design, but the finishing is nicely polished. The nozzle area is made out of a smooth matte plastic which transitions to a metallic material for the rest of the housing. In this case, we received the red coloured version of the iBFRee (it also comes in grey, turquoise, and lime!), stylishly interjected by bands of black due to the cable strain relief attachment point being black as well. From here, the colour shifts yet again back to a red for the cable. The volume, power control and mic is made out of a sturdy, smooth, high quality plastic that I could find no faults with. The cable is also very soft, matte and easy to manipulate.



Combined with the soft plastic "ear hooks" that come out from the nozzle and nestle snugly in the concha of the outer ear, and only weighing 14g, the iBFree might look quite hefty as the housing is on the large side and sticks out slightly, but in my testing it has been one of the most comfortable earphones I've worn. All of its edges are rounded, soft, and comfortable, and if the tips or ear hooks don't fit, it comes packaged with S, M, and L sizes. I tried swinging my head around quickly, jumped around, and tried to dislodge it and for the most part it stayed very secure in my ears. Very impressive.
 

 

 

 
Connectivity was as simple, painless. Simply hold down on the middle power button for around 3-4 seconds and it'll power up and automatically be visible to your mobile device for syncing. I also did not experience any disconnections. I used it with Skype for over an hour, walked around and went to the toilet while my phone was in my room, and the connection never faltered even once. The battery has so far been admirably long lasting as well. My initial tests in the first few days where I tested it on and off with phone calls and simple music playback, left it lying around before powering it down immediately still left it with ample amounts of battery, and I have no doubts that their specified battery life is anything less than listed.
 

 
Sound quality

Although my experience of it has mostly been positive due to its good ergonomic design and battery life, and I do think that the iBFree is a great budget wireless option, as a pretty serious audiophile I couldn't help but notice that the sound signature/tuning was just a bit askew.

My initial impression of its sound was over emphasized high end clarity. As dynamic drivers are usually decent at producing bass, and most budget options these days tend to emphasize bass strength, I was slightly taken aback by the huge amount of midrange and treble presence in the iBFree.



Bass impact, while not completely absent from the experience, was very light, and will leave EDM and bassheads wanting more - much more. It can eek out some subbass rumble if you play very bass heavy songs, but the bass quantity is decidedly lacking.

The lack of a full low end presence is also glaring in the lower mids area, with a significant dip in the frequencies here. Coupled with an over emphasised upper midrange and highs that are a little too eager to draw out every tiny treble detail, the iBFree tends to have a bit of thinness to vocals and instruments and slightly too much sibilance as a result.

However, I could tell that the actual ability of the driver to produce decent resolution sound was actually very acceptable, and so whatever drawbacks I felt the iBFree had were merely tuning issues that could be resolved through some quick EQ (equalisation).

Using the default EQ setting on my Android phone, I pulled back the extreme highs and the mids slightly and the lows instantly returned.​

 
 
Through some simple equalisation on my phone, I was able to bring back much of the fullness and body of the sound by pulling back the extreme peaks in the high end, and while it's not the strongest bass ever, it is much easier on the ears as the sibilance is dialed way down.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a nicely designed, reliable, comfortable, water resistant, Bluetooth earphone at a great price of 60USD, and either don't mind a bass light and high emphasised sound or are willing to play with your phone's EQ settings (I swear it's not hard), the iBFree is a very good choice of product. 1More hit many of the right spots in their design, especially in the ease of connectivity and ergonomics, but in my opinion slightly missed the mark in terms of audio quality. I have high hopes that 1More will be able to create a much more balanced sound in their next iteration of the iBFree.

 
 
If you haven't heard of this 100USD gem of an earphone, you're really missing out. The 1More Triple Driver In Ear Earphone is basically unbeatable at this price point and is my personal top recommendation.
 
 
People always talk about 'giant killers' on Head-Fi budget earphone threads, claiming that their latest Chi-Fi earphone is able to beat out some of the best in the industry. There have only been a few that convincingly made me feel this way. 1More's mission statement is this:

 "1MORE is a premiere consumer electronics audio company headquartered in San Diego, California. Our mission is to deliver superior quality headphones at surprisingly affordable prices, disrupting an industry where price hiking and design shortcuts are the norm."​

They've definitely created a giant killer with their hybrid 1 dynamic driver + 2 balanced armature Triple Driver Earphone.

Summary for the lazy

Pros

-Probably the best sounding IEM you'll get for this price
-Generous accessory selection
-Long and comfortable cable

Cons
-No detachable cable; It'll be a hassle to fix if it breaks!
-Can something be a little too neutral and laidback? A user looking for something more aggressive and energetic might not like the Triple Driver as much.

Specs

Impedance:	32 Ω
Sensitivity:	99 dB
Frequency Range:	20-40,000 Hz
Rated Power:	5 mW
Weight:	18 g
Length:	1.25 m
Plug:	3.5 mm
In-line Remote Control:	Included

 

 

 
Packaging & Accessories 

1More have really cut no corners in the packaging department. The Triple Driver packaging is a very handsome and premium feeling cardboard box complete with foil stamped logos and magnetic box flap which satisfyingly unlatches to reveal even more goodies inside. Super impressed by the amount of effort for an IEM at this price range. I also enjoyed the book like feeling of the box, with a little passage about the story and design of the Triple Driver. You can really feel that 1More is proud of their creation.



 

 
Included in this set is of course the earphones themselves, but flipping the earphone panel will expose the myriad of other accessories, which includes a very generous selection of tips with clear labeling of sizes and types, a cable clip with airplane audio socket adapter, a classy looking faux-leather carrying case, and finally the user manual and a cute 1More bear sticker.
 

 

 

 

 

 
No expenses were spared on these accessories - everything is just as well built as the earphones themselves, and everything comes together as a cohesive and well done package.
 

 

 
Design and Comfort

The unit in this review is the 'black' version of the Triple Driver. Encased in a elegant subtle rose gold and dark purple hued metallic housing, it's design gives a sense of understated class and sense of premium build quality about it rarely obtainable for this value. The earphone housing has a flared conical form, with the tapered butt end attached to a downward pointing metallic cable strain relief. The metallic nozzle, with just one opening covered by a wax guard filter is of pretty average diameter (fits with Comply T400 tips) which should make for a comfortable fit for most people. This earphone also comes with playback, volume control, and handsfree mic attached to the right earphone's cable, also finely made with the rose gold coloured buttons.



The 3.5mm jack is a straight plug with the same 'black' colour as the earphones, with a small rubber gasket at the end serving as strain relief. The main length of the cable encased in a braided fabric like material while the 2 lengths diverging from the splitter are coated with TPE, and according to 1More, the interior copper wires are protected by Kevlar for better tensile strength and durability. From my experience, the braided cloth material is quite comfortable to wear and generally durable, although if you just throw it in your bag with objects that could catch onto the fibres of the fabric it may slowly damage it over an extended period of time. Microphonics of the cable is actually very good as it is made of soft, light, and shock absorbent materials. All in all a finely polished design with great sturdy and reassuring build quality.
 

 

 

 
Worn cable down, the rounded forms of the housing also provide for a very straightforward and comfortable usage experience - it's also very lightweight and I barely notice it when its in my ears. Isolation is also good, even with a port for the dynamic driver as it is strategically placed on the inward face of the housing and as a result not exposed to any wind that might pass over it.
 

 
Sound

The first time I encountered this earphone in the wild was just at the new HMV flagship store in Causeway Bay. I thought to myself - "it's a nice looking 1DD2BA hybrid earphone for just $800HKD. Meh, might as well try it out", and I was blown away by what I heard.

It's a little hard to place exactly what kind of sound signature the 1More Triple Driver has, and through the process of this review I realized that I was a little too used to IEMs which leaned quite bass heavy and tended to have a W shaped sound. The Triple Driver was still very pleasurable to listen to, and eventually I realized that it actually has a very balanced sound signature.

The low end has a slight bass boost - big enough to make heavy dance and rock tracks have a satisfying banging bass line, but at the same time actually showcasing much restraint in that the bass is never the only focus. Bass impact is a little too soft for my own tastes (I'm used to IEMs like the IM50, Oriolus, and Dorado) but it's sufficient enough that it is agreeable for use with all genres of music. There's a very minor roll off towards the very very low end, but again - very balanced, just north of neutral bass with a bit more fluidity than excessive impact, with average speed of decay.



I feel that the midrange is one of its biggest strengths, exhibiting a neutral flatness, which means a richly textured and detailed presentation of the fundamentals of vocals and most instruments. There's a gentle dip as it goes up towards the upper mids and highs, and so the sound signature tends be warm and relaxed sounding overall. However, it's absolutely not dark sounding like the Sennheiser IE80, and with a very adequate amount of high end detail and shimmer thanks to the balanced armature drivers, it's also brighter and more high detail oriented than the ATH-IM50. The highs sound slightly brittle at certain moments, but they're never harsh and sibilant, and provide oodles of great high range detail, so I'm just grasping at straws for things to criticize at this point.
 

 
So you might be asking, are there even any flaws about this earphone? The answer is, I wouldn't call them flaws, and while I would totally recommend this to everyone, my personal sound preference is something that's a little energetic and exciting. The Triple Driver's bass impact is a little too fluid and soft for my taste, and flat mids also isn't my cup of tea - the earphones that I personally like all have slightly more boosted and energetic lows, mids, and upper mids / highs. There are definitely times when I felt that the sound was a little scattered and too laidback. The soundstage also isn't the widest sounding with its average height and width, but honestly it's sufficient enough for most listening.

Measurements

I swear I wrote all of this review before I measured it with the Vibro Veritas, and I'm happy to see that my analysis was decently accurate!

 

Final thoughts

I am totally behind 1More's Triple Driver being the best sound that can be obtained for such a good price on the market right now, and combined with excellent build quality, and a nice comfortable design, I highly recommend this as a great purchase. There are some changes which I would want if I had to be really critical about things, but they're not deal breakers. Ideally, it would have detachable cables, so that in the event of the cable wearing out or getting destroyed, these wonderful earphones could still be put to use by simply replacing the cable.

Basically, please recommend everyone to buy these because they're the best 100USD you can spend on portable audio.
 
Originally posted on AccessibleAudio.Co

Meze, a small Romanian company which has had some experience with over-ear headphones and now has a small earphone lineup, has come out with their latest earphone - the 12 Classics.

We would like to thank Meze for sending us this demo unit of the Meze 12 Classics as part of their worldwide Review Tour.​

Click to expand...

The 12 Classics is Meze's first in ear earphone product offering (along with the 11 Neo). They seem to have a pretty decent reputation from what I've seen online - their 99 Classics over-ear headphone comes at a competitive price, and has quite a lot of good reviews about it. I haven't had a chance to try them myself, but seeing the overall good reaction gave me more confidence in their earphone product, even though headphones and earphones are entirely different beasts.

Encased in a classy exterior of walnut wood and gun metal grey aluminium housing the 79USD (598HKD) 12 Classics definitely looks... classic. It's a very simple design - a dynamic driver inside a cylindrical tube designed to be placed straight into your ears. But at this entry-level price point, does it offer sound that beats out the thousands of other competitors at this price bracket?

Summary for the Lazy

The verdict? Meze's 12 Classics is painfully average for its price. It's sound signature is not the most versatile, with a big midrange bump that sounds a little congested and echoey at times. Bass and highs noticeably roll off. It's not worse than many other IEMs at this price range, but apart from its classy wooden look, it doesn't exactly stand out from the crowd either. The stiff cable is also highly prone to microphonics. Meze's 99 Classics headphones are well regarded, so hopefully they can step up their earphone game.

Meze, a small Romanian company which has had some experience with over-ear headphones and now has a small earphone lineup, has come out with their latest earphone - the 12 Classics.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7

We would like to thank Meze for sending us this demo unit of the Meze 12 Classics as part of their worldwide Review Tour.

Click to expand...

The 12 Classics is Meze's first in ear earphone product offering (along with the 11 Neo). They seem to have a pretty decent reputation from what I've seen online - their 99 Classics over-ear headphone comes at a competitive price, and has quite a lot of good reviews about it. I haven't had a chance to try them myself, but seeing the overall good reaction gave me more confidence in their earphone product, even though headphones and earphones are entirely different beasts.

Encased in a classy exterior of walnut wood and gun metal grey aluminium housing the 79USD (598HKD) 12 Classics definitely looks... classic. It's a very simple design - a dynamic driver inside a cylindrical tube designed to be placed straight into your ears. But at this entry-level price point, does it offer sound that beats out the thousands of other competitors at this price bracket?

Summary for the Lazy

The verdict? Meze's 12 Classics is painfully average for its price. It's sound signature is not the most versatile, with a big midrange bump that sounds a little congested and echoey at times. Bass and highs noticeably roll off. It's not worse than many other IEMs at this price range, but apart from its classy wooden look, it doesn't exactly stand out from the crowd either. The stiff cable is also highly prone to microphonics. Meze's 99 Classics headphones are well regarded, so hopefully they can step up their earphone game.

 

Pros

-Classy looking wood and aluminium design with great build quality

-Comes with a mic

-Easy to wear

-Ideal for mid lovers; sounds most acceptable with classical and jazz

Cons

-Not ideal for non-mid lovers; midrange sounds a little strange and isn't as suitable for other genres

-Cable is highly microphonic

-Not the most refined sound for $600 HKD these days. However, they're very generous with the accessories!

Specs

1. Frequency response: 16Hz - 24KHz
2. Impedance: 16Ohm
3. Sensitivity: 101dB (+/- 3db)
4. Total harmonic distortion: < 0.5%
5. Noise attenuation: up to 26dB
6. Titanium coated 8mm mylar driver
7. Copper-clad aluminum voice coil
8. 3.5mm gold-plated jack plug
9. 7N OFC cable, lenght: 1.2m

 

Design and Ergonomics

The design of Meze's products seems to really favour the use of wood, as seen in their popular 99 Classics over ear headphones, a design philosophy that has also transferred itself to the 12 Classics as well. The barrel of the housing is made of a nice looking walnut, sandwiched by two gun metal aluminium pieces for the nozzle and back. Aluminium is also used for parts like the plug, mic, and y-cinch piece, giving a nice sense of classiness to the overall look.

Ergonomically it is also comfortable as the earphones are very light weight, and combined with the basic barrel shape, it's hard to go wrong with this design.

However, despite the nice use of materials and comfort, the Meze 12 Classics falls flat on its face in terms of cable microphonics. The gunmetal grey cable made with a slighty stiff sleeving is good in that it's not prone to tangling, but it has horrible microphonics - I was able to hear the impact every time something brushed against it. Definitely minus points here.

Questionable Tuning?

The Meze 12 Classics has a very midrange focused sound - so much that I felt it sounded very strange on first listen. I had never heard anything like it before, and while I definitely didn't think it was the muddiest and worst earphone, I just couldn't pinpoint what it was.

While most earphone tuning consists of either a boost to the bass frequencies or the highs, with slight dip from upper bass to mids, or sometimes rolled off bass but more succinct mids and highs, the Meze 12 Classics didn't sound like any of the above. Bass frequencies seemed to roll off quite quickly, resulting in a very soft fuzzy low end with anaemic bass impact. Vocals and most instruments were presented quite forward, with very decent low-mid detail, and while they generally sounded more acceptable, there was still constantly a sense of veil to it; an unshakable feeling of distorted graininess that I did not really enjoy. Even as someone who isn't fully convinced of the effects of "burn-in", I decided to give the 12 Classics another chance as a review said that they needed some to smooth out the sound.

It didn't really change much for me, and I decided the best way to solve this mystery was to take measurements. Overall the midrange is very flat, with little high extension.

 


Frequency response graph taken with the Vibro Veritas; not exactly accurate below 100Hz and after 10000Hz, but should be overall acceptable.


 
Even though the graph shows quite a bit of bass boost, somehow I didn't feel that it had a very solid bass impact. However, Meze may have been aiming for a more neutral tuning and I believe they succeeded in this aspect. Judging from my findings, the flat frequency response of the midrange probably led to what I felt was bit of a strange echoey quality to the sound, and with the lack of any dips anywhere, I felt like there was a lack of contrast and dynamism in the sound quality. If the mids could be either pulled back slightly, along with better high presence for clarity and better detail retrieval, I imagine that Meze would have a very decent mid-high focused earphone on their hands. 

A bit of EQing made me enjoy the sound more, as I pulled down the 200 - 2000Hz range a bit which eliminated the odd sounding mids, and provided a much needed push to the bass and highs, but it could not eliminate the fuzzy sounding feeling, which I suspect is either being caused by harmonic distortion of some sort, or just a result of the tuning with slightly rolled off highs.

Conclusion

This budget to entry level price point is an awkward transition point for earphones, especially in the current highly competitive market where 100-300HKD options (mostly coming out of China) are getting better and better. Personally, as someone who has tried everything from the $25 to $22,000 earphones, I feel that a 600HKD investment should be leaps better than the 100-200HKD offerings, and if I were to recommend it to a friend who wanted to dip their toes in the world of audiophilia, I would also want them to get the best bang for their buck with their first "big" purchase . I'm not really sure the Meze 12 Classics gives me that feeling when I listen to it. It somewhat lags behind the other earphones in this price bracket such as the ATH IM50 in terms of resolution, but the 12 Classics is definitely better for someone who does not want such a bassy listening experience.

It might just be that I'm not used to this frequency response with such a flat midrange. Perhaps if Meze could push the highs slightly it would create a more fun, airy sound, and some of my experience playing with the EQ was able to achieve this.
Pros

-Classy looking wood and aluminium design with great build quality

-Comes with a mic

-Easy to wear

-Ideal for mid lovers; sounds most acceptable with classical and jazz

Cons

-Not ideal for non-mid lovers; midrange sounds a little strange and isn't as suitable for other genres

-Cable is highly microphonic

-Not the most refined sound for $600 HKD these days. However, they're very generous with the accessories!

Specs

1. Frequency response: 16Hz - 24KHz
2. Impedance: 16Ohm
3. Sensitivity: 101dB (+/- 3db)
4. Total harmonic distortion: < 0.5%
5. Noise attenuation: up to 26dB
6. Titanium coated 8mm mylar driver
7. Copper-clad aluminum voice coil
8. 3.5mm gold-plated jack plug
9. 7N OFC cable, lenght: 1.2m

 

Design and Ergonomics

The design of Meze's products seems to really favour the use of wood, as seen in their popular 99 Classics over ear headphones, a design philosophy that has also transferred itself to the 12 Classics as well. The barrel of the housing is made of a nice looking walnut, sandwiched by two gun metal aluminium pieces for the nozzle and back. Aluminium is also used for parts like the plug, mic, and y-cinch piece, giving a nice sense of classiness to the overall look.

Ergonomically it is also comfortable as the earphones are very light weight, and combined with the basic barrel shape, it's hard to go wrong with this design.

However, despite the nice use of materials and comfort, the Meze 12 Classics falls flat on its face in terms of cable microphonics. The gunmetal grey cable made with a slighty stiff sleeving is good in that it's not prone to tangling, but it has horrible microphonics - I was able to hear the impact every time something brushed against it. Definitely minus points here.

Questionable Tuning?

The Meze 12 Classics has a very midrange focused sound - so much that I felt it sounded very strange on first listen. I had never heard anything like it before, and while I definitely didn't think it was the muddiest and worst earphone, I just couldn't pinpoint what it was.

While most earphone tuning consists of either a boost to the bass frequencies or the highs, with slight dip from upper bass to mids, or sometimes rolled off bass but more succinct mids and highs, the Meze 12 Classics didn't sound like any of the above. Bass frequencies seemed to roll off quite quickly, resulting in a very soft fuzzy low end with anaemic bass impact. Vocals and most instruments were presented quite forward, with very decent low-mid detail, and while they generally sounded more acceptable, there was still constantly a sense of veil to it; an unshakable feeling of distorted graininess that I did not really enjoy. Even as someone who isn't fully convinced of the effects of "burn-in", I decided to give the 12 Classics another chance as a review said that they needed some to smooth out the sound.

It didn't really change much for me, and I decided the best way to solve this mystery was to take measurements. Overall the midrange is very flat, with little high extension.

 


Frequency response graph taken with the Vibro Veritas; not exactly accurate below 100Hz and after 10000Hz, but should be overall acceptable.


 
Even though the graph shows quite a bit of bass boost, somehow I didn't feel that it had a very solid bass impact. However, Meze may have been aiming for a more neutral tuning and I believe they succeeded in this aspect. Judging from my findings, the flat frequency response of the midrange probably led to what I felt was bit of a strange echoey quality to the sound, and with the lack of any dips anywhere, I felt like there was a lack of contrast and dynamism in the sound quality. If the mids could be either pulled back slightly, along with better high presence for clarity and better detail retrieval, I imagine that Meze would have a very decent mid-high focused earphone on their hands. 

A bit of EQing made me enjoy the sound more, as I pulled down the 200 - 2000Hz range a bit which eliminated the odd sounding mids, and provided a much needed push to the bass and highs, but it could not eliminate the fuzzy sounding feeling, which I suspect is either being caused by harmonic distortion of some sort, or just a result of the tuning with slightly rolled off highs.

Conclusion

This budget to entry level price point is an awkward transition point for earphones, especially in the current highly competitive market where 100-300HKD options (mostly coming out of China) are getting better and better. Personally, as someone who has tried everything from the $25 to $22,000 earphones, I feel that a 600HKD investment should be leaps better than the 100-200HKD offerings, and if I were to recommend it to a friend who wanted to dip their toes in the world of audiophilia, I would also want them to get the best bang for their buck with their first "big" purchase . I'm not really sure the Meze 12 Classics gives me that feeling when I listen to it. It somewhat lags behind the other earphones in this price bracket such as the ATH IM50 in terms of resolution, but the 12 Classics is definitely better for someone who does not want such a bassy listening experience.

It might just be that I'm not used to this frequency response with such a flat midrange. Perhaps if Meze could push the highs slightly it would create a more fun, airy sound, and some of my experience playing with the EQ was able to achieve this. 
 
[EDIT]
After more deliberation and testing with musical genres I don't usually listen to, I may have found that my apprehension towards it may have been because the tuning of the 12 Classics with a more neutral bass and flat midrange does not sound so great (in my opinion) with rock and metal and heavier music which I listen to the most. It is actually very capable of a rich, warm vocal representation which makes it ideal for more quieter, acoustic musical genres.

Originally posted on AccessibleAudio

 
Not satisfied with having just a superstar pure balanced armature and a pure dynamic driver product selection, Campfire Audio has also decided to begin their foray into hybrid territory with their latest release – the Dorado.

We would like to thank Campfire Audio for supplying us with the Dorado free of charge for this review. The Campfire Audio Dorado goes for about 999USD. You can click ​

here​

 for more information.​

Campfire Audio has hit it out of the ballpark with every single one of their releases ever since their humble beginnings with the Orion, Lyra, and Jupiter. They’ve showcased their ability to provide amazing sonic quality regardless of driver configuration by employing innovative technologies such as tubeless resonator chambers, showing a stalwart defiance to the idea that the only way to increase quality is by doubling and tripling the amount of balanced armatures.

With the Campfire Audio Dorado, they’ve showcased their willingness to even further expand their repertoire by employing a hybrid 1DD2BA configuration, and as someone who’s been a long time fan of hybrid IEMs, I have to say they have another winner on their hands.



Summary

For those who don’t like reading, here’s a summary. But you should probably read the detailed review anyway.

Pros

1. Hard hitting, “V shaped” sound with powerful dynamic driver bass and exceptional highs provided by the dual high balanced armatures​
2. Generally very well resolved sound throughout the entire frequency range​
3. Seamless blending of the crossover between the dynamic driver and balanced armatures​
4. Tiny housing will fit most ears​
5. Liquid metal alloy housing has amazing build quality​

Cons

1. Bass frequency range is tuned to be a little boomy; slight bleed over into mids​
2. The mids aren’t the most detailed​
3. The nozzle is quite long and wide, this might not be a snug “nestled in the ear” fit for everyone​

 

 

 
Specs

Driver Configuration (per side)	8.5mm PVD Beryllium Dynamic Driver + 2 balanced armature drivers per side
Frequency Response	5Hz-27kHz
Sensitivity	107 dB SPL/mW
Impedance	15 Ohms @ 1kHz
Cable	3.5mm plug Litz Wire Cable by Campfire Audio
Accessories	Faux leather earphone carrying case 2 small carrying pouches 3 pairs of Foam tips (S, M, L) 3 pairs of Silicon tips (S, M, L)  3 pairs of SpinFit tips (S, M, L) 1 Campfire Audio logo metal pin

 

 
Design and Ergonomics

Encased in a liquid metal alloy housing like its brothers the Vega and Lyra 2 but with a matte rose gold finish, the Dorado has a understated sense of class. Unlike the original Campfire balanced armature line, this new series comes in a very compact and round cornered package based off the form of the original Lyra. The finishing of the smooth metal housing is perfect – from the flawlessness of the material at every curve and every chamfered edge, to the seamless transition from metal to matte black plastic at its driver vent and nozzle, this is a testament to Campfire Audio’s dedication to quality.

However, despite the impressively small package that the Dorado comes in, the nozzle (probably for tuning reasons) is actually quite long – about 1cm long, and also wide enough that I did have to spend some time trying out different tips to find the perfect fit. All of Campfire Audio’s products come with the stock black foam tips fitted, but as I find that foam tends to roll off the top end too much for my liking, I finally settled for the red SpinFits for a comfortable fit paired with a sound that I liked. Even then, Oliver had some qualms that the nozzle made it feel like the IEM was sticking too far out of the ear and did not feel secure enough for him. In comparison, the Vega and Lyra II have more ergonomically designed shorter nozzles.



As for the supplied Campfire Audio Litz Cable – I have nothing but praise for it. Personally, I’m not an advocate of claims that cables will improve the quality of audio, but having spent a lot of time with it, I can attest to its quality of design, durability, and ergonomics. Made of Silver-coated copper, triple braided from the 3.5mm plug up till the the splitter where it splits into 2 dual braided strands protected in a PVC jacket, ending in a MMCX plug, the shiny silver CA Litz cable is impressive in its looks and has also been made to be highly durable. What impressed me the most was how it disappeared from my mind as I was immersed in the music – there are virtually no microphonics at all due to its lightweight and soft design. It’s also quite easy to untangle in the rare event that you do get it tangled up.
 

 
Sound

Note: This review was done with the SpinFit tips installed; I found that the stock foam tips were too bassy and rolled off the highs too much for my liking.

If you’re looking for an IEM that has an energetic, warm and fun sound that has a delicate smattering of detail retrieval, look no further. The Dorado has an aggressive bass and lower mids forward sound with succinct highs; its strength lies in a sense of overall immersion rather than surgical detail retrieval.

Campfire Audio has somehow managed to make use of the same 8.5mm PVD beryllium driver employed in the Lyra II to produce a more enveloping and powerful bass response, and combined with the dual high balanced armature combo taken from the Jupiter and Andromeda, you get a great energetic dynamic driver sound with superb high frequency detail and resolution. The two dual armatures placed in their proprietary TAEC (Tuned Acoustic Expansion, which I suspect is a new name for their tubeless resonator technology that was advertised in the Andromeda and Jupiter) produce unadulterated high frequency quality and extension that most dynamic drivers will have problems recreating without either sibilance or sacrificing some resolution in other frequencies. Most hybrids have somewhat discernable crossover points, but the Dorado’s integration of its hybrid configuration is practically seamless. The sound differences between dynamic and balanced armature are obvious to the experienced audiophile and the transitions can sometimes be heard, but in the Dorado I could only tell because the quality of the high frequency reproduction was so good.



Going back down to the low frequency range, the Dorado has plenty of bass presence and weight to it. It’s not a laidback kind of bass sound that something like the Oriolus has, but is more intimate and with more impact resounding just from around the sub to mid-bass area. At the same time, the impact is not so overwhelming that it becomes the entire focus of the listening experience. Sub-bass tones tend to be rather obvious, giving a rich fullness to this low frequency area, and combined with plentiful amounts of dynamic driver decay it is a sound that will appeal to people with a liking for powerful, warm bass response. The Dorado’s bass sound signature is not for the analytical, detailed listener and walks a fine line between having lots of presence and becoming too boomy.

The Dorado opens up to the midrange with lots of energy that combined with its punchy bass produces an aggressive forcefulness that lends itself to heavier music such as metal. The relentless ferocity in Every Time I Die’s El Dorado was paired perfectly with the Dorado’s own energetic sound signature. The slight midrange forwardness is served with a good amount of resolution and texture which helps with reinforcing the presence of lower guitar notes and vocals. This high-mid region sounds recessed in comparison to the rest of the frequencies, but not so much that I would confidently call the Dorado a very V-shaped sound signature. Vocals aren’t especially pronounced in the Dorado in more layered music, taking a more neutral if not ever so rolled off approach to the reproduction as we approach the high-mids, but they have a satisfying enough breathy quality and detail to them thanks to a deft high frequency delivery.



Armed with the dual balanced armatures from the Jupiter and Andromeda, the Dorado makes sure you’ll never miss a single high frequency note, twinkle or shimmer even in the busiest of musical passages. The noticeable quality of high to extreme-high frequencies is immediately noticeable and is one of the Dorado’s biggest strengths; there’s never any sibilance, just a clear and scintillating quality to subtleties such as the softly lisping qualities in female vocals, the shimmer of hats and cymbals, or the piercing notes of the piccolo in an orchestral piece.
 

 
Comparisons

Oriolus v2
Dorado is intimacy, energy, and slightly rolled off midrange with much warmer overall tone and the cohesion of a dynamic driver sound; the Oriolus is all about a more open sound, still warm, but comparatively ‘drier’ in tone and more revealing in individual details of instruments especially in the mid to high range. The Oriolus also has much more vocal presence as it has a 2kHz peak. Extreme highs are still clear, but dont sound as far reaching or surgically precise as the Dorado.

Vega

The Vega has slightly less subbass boominess but has a tighter and solid bass sound that seems to pound into the centre of the head. Vegas mid range frequencies also have better separation. Highs might not nearly be as crisp as the Dorado’s, but the overall energy and transition in midhighs to highs is better in the Vega. I might be heaping praise on the Vega too much here because I really do find it amazing, but honestly the Dorado is no slouch either and is only edged out by the very best.

Lyra II

The Dorado most noticeably has a much thicker bass response compared to the Lyra, but the Lyra is more open and laidback sounding with clearer vocals and is relatively more neutral. However, the Dorado’s dual high armatures are way better at hitting those high notes.

Conclusion

Big bass is easy to achieve, and the Dorado does have that. But what separates it from the chaff is the quality of its bass, and everything else that comes with it. The Dorado doesn’t just have an energetic bass, the overall resolution and quality of sound that it brings to the table is top notch, and would be my personal recommendation for lovers of heavier, energetic music genres . The implementation of the hybrid configuration is seamless – this IEM is definitely worth checking out. For the price tag of 999USD, the price tag will indeed be steep for many, but compared to other IEMs in this price bracket, the Dorado is right near the top for me.

Originally posted on my own blog, but would love to share it with the HeadFi community.
Photo credit @alffla

We would like to thank ​

Jaben Hong Kong​

 for letting us borrow this demo unit at no cost for the purposes of this honest review. We are not affiliated with them in any way.
This review was written on my own blog, which I would also like to share to the Head-Fi community.​

 
 

 
 
After its success with the original Oriolus, Mini Audio has come up with another hybrid offering, the Oriolus Forsteni. Named after the Grey-collared Oriole instead of the Golden Oriole, it’s half the price of the original with a slightly different driver configuration. They’ve managed to get a very pleasing sound out of it despite having 1 less balanced armature driver.

Continuing with their taxonomic naming scheme of the different birds in the oriole family, the oriolus forsteni (not to be confused with a bunch of fish, snakes, and tortoise that are also named forsteni…) is another hybrid IEM from Mini Audio. With 1 dynamic driver and 2 balanced armatures instead of 3, the Forsteni is a surprisingly pleasing IEM that comesvery close to recreating the sound of the original. But before we talk about the sound, let’s take a look at its…


 

 
Packaging, Accessories, Design

Just like its predecessor, the Forsteni doesn’t waste resources on packaging. A minimalistic foil stamped black cardboard box, a carrying case, a packet of silicon and foam tips inside a plastic ziplock, and warranty cards are all you get. It differs in that it comes with a hard leather case instead of an aluminium case. Undoubtedly a more portable choice, and they also deserve some props for going further with the bird theme. I was pretty amused when I first opened the packaging to see its egg shaped design. The accessory selection and quantity is generous as well – Large, Medium and Small size silicon tips, two pairs of black foam tips, a cleaning brush and also cable clip. I personally like the L size tips.



The Forsteni comes with a dark matte plastic coated replaceable 2-pin connector cable instead of the flashier braided copper cable of the original. It also has a small sized 3.5mm L-plug with an interesting faceted angular design. L-plugs are my favourite since they’re better for mobile device in-pocket use as straight plugs can stick out too far and are more prone to be bent which can potentially damage both the socket and the plug. Microphonics of the cable are minimal which is great. However, the sleeve material of the cable which is slightly stiff, combined with a weak over-ear memory wire makes for a floppy over ear cable experience. I would prefer it to be stiffer so that it could be molded to fit my ear properly.



The design of the driver housing is pretty similar to the original’s organic amorphous shape, and also in terms of width and length, but it’s actually a little thinner in terms of thickness, probably because there’s one less driver. The inner face also has that now-popular “universal-custom” form factor which helps it get a snug fit within the concha area of our ears instead of the round bulbous form of the original. The Forsteni also uses the same high quality glossy black plastic, but has a brushed silver coloured faceplate with “Oriolus” text in gold instead of black faceplate. The slightly smaller size is nice, but since the width and length are basically the same it may still not fit people with smaller conchas easily, although I haven’t had a chance to let other people try it.


 
Instead of three sound bores, the Forsteni only has two, probably as it’s a two-way configuration instead of three. Other than that there are only very minor differences to the original such as more rounded looking bores, and a slight curve to the faceplate surface and edges instead of the slightly flatter and sleeker forms of the Oriolus.

Specs

Actually, I don’t have any specs yet. I think its a 2 way configuration with 1 DD and 2 BAs on each side and it runs easily out of your typical smartphones. Sorry.



Finally, the sound!

I hate to be constantly comparing the Forsteni with the original Oriolus, but it’s hard not to since they’re so similar in design, and after trying the Forsteni over this week I’m actually quite surprised at close they managed to get it to sound. For the sake of readers who haven’t tried the original, I’ll try to do a sound impressions review without constantly comparing it to the original Oriolus till the end.

Despite what I said about the similarities in sound between the two, the first thing I noticed about the Forsteni was not bass rumble or forward vocal midrange, but actually its just north of neutral tuning with a boost to the high range and ever so slightly to the lows. In fact, after a week of listening and comparison I thought it was somewhat like a Westone 4R with its politeness shackles off. What I mean is that Westone’s offerings tend to have a very smooth tuning that never emphasizes one any frequency that much and keeps everything tight, while the Forsteni isn’t afraid to push a brighter sounding high end as well as the more “chaotic” sounding dynamic driver bass sound.

The second noticeable feature is the Forsteni’s highs. They’re very crisp, airy and deftly bring out many of the details in this frequency range, and leans towards bright rather than deciding to shimmer more subtly in the background. Highs are reproduced with a rather dry tone and plenty of bite to them. To me it sounds like there’s very short decay in this range, such that they don’t linger around in my head after the initial attack, especially noticeable in cymbals sounds.



Transitioning to the midrange and bass, I actually find it a rather neutral tuning with roll-off as it transitions down to the lower mids. Quite dry as well, it leaves a lot of space for airy high details and the very subtly tuned low bass frequencies. The mids in the vocal range focus also on a sense of “air” in singers voices, so people used to fuller sounding vocals may find it a bit lacking in the Forsteni, but for those who enjoy hearing every breath and a bit of higher vocal tuning, it’s an excellent choice. I listened to We Don’t Talk Anymore – Charlie Puth (Kina Grannis, KHS, Mario Jose Cover), and Mario Jose’s breathy tenor vocals in the opening were quite amazing with the Forsteni.

The Forsteni’s bass quality is actually very similar to the Oriolus’ mk2’s sound – very natural sounding dynamic driver sound with deep extension, a subtly audible rumble in the background and good mid bass impact which isn’t too tight as is typical of balanced armatures. I suspect they may even have used the same driver, and according to Derek from Jaben, they added some damping material on the inside to restrain the bass. However, the quantity is probably about 10-15% less, and in my experience there’s less rumble and tighter sounding mid bass, which  in turn helps to emphasize the high mids and highs more.



Final thoughts

The Forsteni’s restrained bass frequency region extending up to the mids which is also a somewhat flat, combined with the bright-leaning highs makes it a great choice for the listener looking for a more neutral sounding IEM with a focus on details rather than warm sounding bass and mids. I was very impressed with it despite finding the highs a tad bright for my liking and lacking some bass impact, but that’s why I went with the original Oriolus. All in all a highly capable product with good sound and build quality – I would just criticize its over ear cable design which is a little floppy and makes me want to constantly fix it.

Thanks for reading!

 
IEMs with hybrid configurations (ones that combine both dynamic drivers and balanced armatures) are getting more and more popular these days, and my first review of a hybrid is none other than the Oriolus mk2, which is already highly acclaimed in the audiophile community. 

I first came across the Oriolus over a year ago when it was still in its first iteration – my friend @prismstorm had told me about this new hybrid thing that people in Hong Kong had started going crazy over, with comments like “strange chaotic soundstage”. The first version was an inconspicuous deep blue blob without any sign of branding on it. I remember being intrigued by it, as it was not one of the big brands, had an interesting background of being some sort of joint effort between Chinese and Japanese companies, and also had the (then) somewhat rarer hybrid dynamic driver and balanced armature configuration. Over a year later, after having tried IEMs of all different prices and designs to see if I could find the same quality of the Oriolus and failing to find anything better, here I am with this review.

Unboxing, Accessories & Specs

As I am based in Hong Kong, the version I obtained was the Chinese version of the product. The sleeve for the packaging box is a little kitschy, what with the Chinese calligraphy and birds illustration, but removing it will reveal the understated but elegant black and gold signature look of the Oriolus on the box. The cylindrical earphone case is made out of black aluminium and while it’ll serve great as a sturdy and protective container at home, it’s heavy weight and the screw on lid doesn’t make it very convenient for on the go usage.





 

 

 

Driver Configuration (per side)	1 x 10mm Dynamic Driver 3 x Balanced Armature Drivers
Sensitivity	114 dB/mW
Impedance	16Ω
Cable	1.2m braided copper cable
Accessories	Aluminium earphone case Cleaning cloth Cable Clip Eartip cleaner 1 x Foam tips (M size) 4 x Silicon tips (XS, S, M, L)

 
The package  also comes with an eartip cleaner, a cable clip, and a set of tips with a range of sizes. I thought it was funny that they provided a tiny eartip – it just barely covers the nozzle. The white foam tips feel a little stiffer than the Complys that I’m used to, and as usual, muddy up the sound a little. I settled for the L size tips for a comfortable fit with a good seal.
 

 
I haven’t really been convinced that different cables make an audible or significant difference (if they did, testing would reveal difference in peaks or dips if cables could change the frequency response or THD, etc.). Nonetheless, I’m perfectly fine with commenting on the durability, aesthetics, and ergonomics of cables. The Oriolus comes with a braided copper cable with a slightly showy looking golden 2-pin connector which are labeled L and R. Being triple-braided and sleeved in clear plastic, it’s slightly on the thick side from the bulky metal L-shaped 3.5mm plug all the way to where the cable splits in two, where at this point it transitions to become a thinner and more flexible single braided cable to the earphones. It also has thin metal wires at the 2-pin connector end which serve as adjustable memory wire and help to secure the earphones around your ears. It’s thicker than your average earphone cable so while it’s a little on the stiff side, it’s not difficult to work with and also doesn’t tangle much, which is helpful. Microphonics with this stock cable is great – I typically don’t hear much microphonics, and I walk around and commute with them all the time.

Build, Design & Isolation

The Oriolus is large. People with small ears, I’m sorry to say you probably won’t be able to use this fantastic IEM. I’m very fortunate to have it fit just right for my ears – it’s a really snug fit for me. What can you do – they had to fit a big 10mm dynamic driver and 3 balanced armatures into one tiny enclosure. Its amorphous blob shape is comfortable to wear despite it’s size. Once you get it in though, it sits securely and doesn’t feel like it will fall out. At the narrow tip of the outer facing side is a bass port which helps with bass response as pressure can be released outwards, allowing the dynamic driver to flex with more ease. At the same time, this will cause the noise isolation to suffer and while it’s not horrible, the Oriolus isn’t really the best at isolation due to its hybrid design.
 

 

 

 
In terms of build quality and design, it’s flashy without being too much so. The golden accents of the “Oriolus” text stands out from the deep glossy black acrylic body, but not excessively so that it’s gaudy. It’s a classy looking package that doesn’t scream for attention. The glossy black acrylic which is supposed to have been upgraded to a German source in the mk2 feels very solid, so you won’t have to worry about it breaking apart or cracking from the slightest pressure.

Sound

The Oriolus’ sound signature is currently my favourite and has secured its place in my top 10 IEMs for sure. With its hybrid configuration, it has an effortlessly natural presentation of music as far as IEMs go (which are physically limited by the the fact that they go straight into our ears). The Oriolus presents a wide soundstage, with a little more width than height, and overall has a warm sound signature to it with a slightly relaxed bass response but energetic mids and highs.

 

 
Despite having tried shedloads of different earphones, the thing that always stood out and brought me back to the Oriolus was its sublime combination of natural, warm sounding bass combined with amazing detail retrieval up high. The 10mm dynamic driver takes care of all the bass frequencies with a laidback yet controlled attitude in a way that it can pound out plenty of low reaching sub-bass when it needs to. Trance and dubstep lovers will no doubt be satisfied with the quality of the bass here – I tested it with Porter Robinson’s Spitfire and it definitely goes deep. However, it is most definitely not at the level of a full on bass cannon style of tuning, where bass is turned up to 11 and overwhelms everything else for bass impact. In general, Oriolus’ bass sounds like it hits from outside of the ears – oftentimes sounding like its coming from behind my head. There’s plenty of sub-bass rumble coming from afar and a slightly more forward mid-bass impact. Listening to The Helix Nebula’s Convalescence showcases the Oriolus’s excellent separation as bass tones still sound succinctly textured and have a slight bite to them even in the most robust passages of their progressive metal soundscape, revealing details that full on basshead earphones will obscure with their more brash reproduction of the low frequencies. After seeing this teardown photo from Musica Acoustics’ Instagram, I’m wondering if the large physical size of the Oriolus with the dynamic driver positioned way at the back has helped to create this sense of depth in the bass frequencies.

The Oriolus continues to present a rather warm and full sound as it extends up towards the mids, and although I enjoy this tuning which really helps give a sense of weight and body to things like guitars as they chug along in rock tunes, some may find it a little veiled and muddy. I actually reconsidered getting the Oriolus when I demoed it right after using the Westone 4R, which has the typical clean, smooth and controlled Westone house sound. In the end, I picked the Oriolus as it was a little more warm and chaotic in a way that was especially pleasant to listen to in live tracks and was overall more to my liking.
 

 
Where the Oriolus really sings is its mid-high region. I don’t have any measurement data to back me up on this, but to me it sounds like there’s at least a slight peak somewhere around the 2-4k Hz frequency range. Whatever it is, the Oriolus has an amazing clarity and more forward presence in the upper range of vocals, guitar solos are rendered loud and clear, and snare drum impact is impeccably snappy and well textured. Combined with the deft rendition of the other frequencies, it reproduces complex passages with clarity and really shows the Oriolus’ prowess at great instrumental separation. The mid-highs are very clear and energetic thanks to the strength of balanced armature drivers in this frequency range. Vocal volume is heightened so that singers really take a centre stage in the head and have a bit of an edge to them that’s never unpleasant, but really lets the listener acutely admire every breath and enunciation. Despite the exceptional separation of this region, I sometimes find myself yearning for a tad more low end fullness to vocals, but I think that the Oriolus has found a good middle ground between a full bodied and sparkly sound. This goes for the top end as well, which has great extension but leans towards a smoother rather than harsh and bright presentation.

Comparisons

Shure 846
The Oriolus and 846 not only share similar prices, but also have a somewhat similar sound tuning. Both have a strong bass presence and lush mids, but in the 846’s case the bass impact is a little tighter and has more slam while the Oriolus has a more natural dynamic driver sound with more decay. The Shure also has more low-mid presence while having less sparkly highs and also a narrower soundstage than the Oriolus.

Campfire Audio Andromeda
Two very different beasts – the Andromeda presents everything with a focus on clarity and control and has incredible high frequency extension, while the Oriolus is more lively and has more focus on the low end. Andromeda’s bass is lean, clean, and very tight, while the Oriolus is a little more loose and has a bigger and warmer presence.



Final thoughts

I personally can’t find much fault with this IEM apart from maybe wanting a slightly tighter bass sometimes and fuller vocals. If pressed for an answer, I’ll comment that maybe it’s a little more sensitive than your average earphone – it’ll occasionally pick up weird noises from my OnePlus X, and is a little sensitive in that mid-high region, making it sound a little harsh depending on the music. However, I can get a cleaner signal out of the FiiO E07K when I’m not on the move so that’s not really the Oriolus’ fault. Going for 800USD (I got it for cheaper), it’s not chump change either, but in the current state of the market it’s in my humble opinion the best bang for your buck at this price point for the quality you get, and I would highly recommend this earphone to anyone with ears big enough.

 

This review was originally written for AccessibleAudio
All photos by @alffla