Design & Accessories

The Empyreans might be the best headphone on the planet right now depending on your tastes. I was fortunate enough to review them a little while ago on the channel and have been in love ever since. I tend to use the leather pads almost exclusively because I love the extra bass presence they provide and I find the velours to create a slightly less realistic overall sound due to a slight upper-mid emphasis, but they still sound great overall.

Here's the full review I posted to YouTube:
Full Meze Empyrean Review

As a long-time music lover and regular reviewer of gear here, on my old blog and now on my YouTube channel, I listen to LOTS of gear. The AF1120 Mk2 are one of the first pieces of audio equipment to really grab my heart in a very long time.

I've completed a thorough YouTube review on these, but wanted to share a summary of my thoughts and a few highlights here as well because I believe the AF1120s deserve more attention.

At the time I first listened to these, I had the Noble Audio K10 customs (original version K10), Campfire Audio Andromedas, and FitEar TG!334 in my collection. I've also previously owned the Shure SE846. Of all these earphones, the AF1120 connected me with the music more. After sending back the review pair provided on loan by Audiofly I went out and bought a pair of these and have since sold the FitEar TG!334 and am preparing to sell the Andromedas. That's not to say that the AF1120s are definitively better than these, but to me they are an amazing combination of qualities in a single earphone and at an excellent price.

Highlight 1: Comfort
My first highlight of the AF1120 mk2 (and indeed all of the Audiofly pro range) is their comfort. Just like Shure's outstanding ergonomics, the Audiofly range sit so comfortable within the ear and are both easy to insert and easy to wear for long periods. This has long been my biggest issue with the Andromedas and is a key aspect of my reasoning for parting with them soon.
The AF1120s are tiny compared to many multi-BA IEMs on the market and they really 'disappear' once you're wearing them. I can't sleep with any IEMs in my ears, but the 1120s come closer than anything else I've tried.

Highlight 2: Presentation (incl. Signature & Staging)
The other thing that totally won me over with the 1120s is their ability to provide an engaging and enjoyable, neutral sound. Rather than overwhelming our ears with treble details, the 1120s focus more on details across the whole spectrum with perhaps a slight emphasis on midrange detail. This results in a very realistic soundstage presentation that is large and well focussed. I've only found a couple of IEMs that match the ease with which the 1120s present a soundstage and allow me to mentally walk between all the instruments.

One thing that has surprised me is the very mixed views I've read about the 1120s and I finally discovered why after I bought my pair. The 1120s are quite tip dependent and possibly source dependent to reach their best sound. I tried the 1120s with the included triple flanges, foam tips, stock silicone tips and some Spinfits. The silicone tips were the only ones that gave me the ideal insertion depth and seal to allow the 1120s to really shine. I can only assume that people who've had lesser experiences with the presentation from the 1120s haven't had the benefit of a perfect insertion depth (which can be challenging with any IEM and accounts for the wide varieties of opinions we all see).

Lowlight 1: Tangle Town
The cable is a nice enough cable, but I do find it quite prone to tangling above the Y-split. It often takes me a minutes to untangle it ready for listening and I have definitely considered a new cable as a result (which is disappointing for a company's flagship IEM)

Lowlight 2: Bass Weight (sort of)
I'm a fan of a bit more bass than 'neutral'. To give you an idea, the Meze Empyreans are my go-to headphones and I prefer them with the leather pads for the extra warmth and impact. I also love my Noble K10s. The 1120s sometimes leave me wanting just a little more groove and rhythm from the music because the bass is very neutral. I still prefer the 1120s to the K10s because of the overall presentation I described above, but a touch more bass would make these perfect (for me at least) so long as it didn't come at the cost of everything I described above and I'm not sure if that is possible.

Here's the full review I posted to YouTube if you're interested in hearing more...
AF1120 Mk2 Review

I recently reviewed the 99 Classics on my blog page so I thought I'd share a brief summary here and my video review.

The 99 Classics are made by Meze Audio out of Romania. Retailing at approximately $300 they are at the lower end of the mid-price range of headphones and compete with many long-standing stalwarts of the industry, but they do it a bit differently.

To summarise my thoughts, the 99 Classics look amazing - they are one of the best looking headphones on the market and they are supremely comfortable thanks to the very soft ear pads and suspension-style headband. In terms of sound, they are warm and bassy, but articulate and fairly precise. They lean strongly towards warmth and musicality, but I don't ever find them slow or thick. Check out the video below for more details...

I recently reviewed the Amiron Home, having previously owned the original T1 and DT1350 as well as auditioning countless other beyer models. I have always appreciated the beyer house sound, but have learned over time that my tastes lean towards a warmer overall sound.

The video review above contains greater detail, but here is a summary of my thoughts about the beyerdynamic Amiron Home:

What I loved:

The sound is really clean and clear, but not harsh
The bass is excellent for a neutral-style sound signature
The headphones are beautifully made and very comfortable
Dual-entry detachable cables provide the opportunity to upgrade / customise

What I would prefer to be different:

I've already declared that I prefer more warmth (e.g. bass weight, etc.), but that's a personal preference
The soundstage is a little veiled - sounds up front are clear and well-defined, but the background of the soundstage seems to get a little obscured

Overall, I'd say the Amirons are a great option for anyone who likes the beyerdynamic sound or who is looking for a neutral, but not analytical headphone. They are a very comfortable headphone in both their physical design, but also their tuning. I can easily see myself enjoying long listening sessions with the Amiron Home because they are revealing and clean, but not edgy or analytical. They don't quite match the heights of the flagship beyers (T1 / T5), but they are an excellent headphone for the price.

I was fortunate enough to have the V5 lent to me by fellow Head-Fier, @d_marc0 and I really enjoyed the time I spend with it. I'll post my full video review below, but my summary points are:

Fantastic sound quality
Beautifully made
Very compact
Plenty of power for all headphones
Slight hiss on earphones
Very noisy when used near a mobile phone (on earphones only, not noticeable on headphones)

At $800 USD I think I'd probably look elsewhere as I am more of an IEM user when I'm out and about so I'd buy a desktop amp for my headphones with this kind of budget, but when it's on special or second hand for around $500 or less I think this is a fantastic amplifier for headphone users and would highly recommend it!

Excellent take on the V5 mate. Cheers!

Campfire Audio have been churning out some beautifully designed and crafted IEMs lately - machined aluminium in gorgeous industrial, but somehow ergonomic shapes, unique resonators in place of the more common sound tubes, beautiful and high quality cables with MMCX connectors and sound tuning that is equal parts varied and consistently enjoyable. Admittedly, their dynamic driver-based Lyra model didn't wow me, but the balanced armature-based Jupiter and Orion models were both great.

I was excited to see what magic Campfire Audio wove into the Andromedas to build on their already excellent range and, on first listen, the Andromeda showed all the signs of being the perfect amalgamation of the outstanding performance and tuning demonstrated in the earlier models.

Design & Accessories

Like all of the Campfire Audio range of IEMs, the Andromedas are a combination of impeccable design and luxurious appointment. The Andromedas come with a beautiful, dark leather carry case lined with wool (or synthetic wool - I'm not sure), a high-quality braided cable, a broad selection of silicone and foam ear tips, and a cleaning tool. All-in-all it's an outstanding range of accessories that makes the Andromedas feel every bit as high-end as their price tag suggests.

Aesthetics & Ergonomics

Beyond the accessories, the design of the Andromedas is equally high-end. The housings are machined from aluminium and finished in a rich, anodised green that's reminiscent of British Racing Green as used on some classic, vintage sports cars. It's not a colour you normally see in the audio world, but it's a great looking colour and grants the Andromedas a truly unique aesthetic. As well as the aesthetics, the choice of aluminium housings means you know that they are rigid and not creating mechanical distortion in the sound reaching your ears.

Ergonomically, the Andromedas are more comfortable than they look. At first glance the Campfire IEMs look to be all angles, but the Orion and Jupiter models proved to me convincingly that the angles and curves are in all the right places to produce a comfortable wearing experience. The silver-coloured nozzle is quite chunky, but it's still small enough in diameter to fit into my slightly troublesome ears although I wouldn't want to wear these while exercising because the nozzle prevents a truly secure fit in my ears. That said, they fit well enough to seal the ear canal and reproduce their optimal sound without any hint of discomfort.

Driver Configuration

The Andromedas are a 5-driver design which means that each earpiece contains 5 balanced-armature drivers. That's not particularly unique in the earphone world, but the Andromedas share the unique technology pioneered by their older siblings - a tubeless resonator design. I can't say exactly what that means (because I don't know, not because I'm sworn to secrecy), but the essence of it is that the traditional tube system to carry sounds from the drivers to tip of the nozzle in most IEMs is replaced by this unique approach in the new Campfire Audio IEMs. Looking closely at the nozzles on the Andromedas, it appears as though each driver or set of drivers (e.g. bass, mid and/or treble groupings) deliver sounds into chambers which are controlled for resonance with damping or similar techniques. The sounds then exit the chambers via the openings in the nozzle without the potential turbulence or resonance that plastic tubes could make.

There are many amazing IEMs on the market that manage to sound exquisite while using the traditional nozzle approach (and may actually benefit from them by extending the lengths of the nozzles to adjust for timing variations between frequencies) so it's not fair to say that this technology instantly raises the Campfire Audio products above their competition, but the tubeless resonator technology certainly doesn't seem to harm the sound and therefore may conceivably be improving it.

Sound

The sound from the Andromedas is effortless in that annoying way that some people can be athletic. What I mean is that there's no sense of strain or effort, but equally there is no sense of flaw or laziness.

Treble

Campfire Audio market the Andromedas with the claim that "this system's high frequency extension is unattainable using conventional techniques", referring to the tubeless resonator system discussed above and I can definitely confirm that there is no lack of extension to the treble from the Andromedas and the treble they deliver is super smooth with no hint of sibilance and no sense of any "peakiness" despite a slight emphasis in the treble.

Compared to the Jupiters, the Andromedas have a better overall treble balance, but don't lose any overall sense of treble energy or detail - they just balance all the treble frequencies out more evenly without any spikes. The Jupiters had good treble, but the Andromedas have great treble. That said, the amount of treble may not be perfect for listeners with tastes similar to me. Very importantly here I want to clarify that the following remarks are about the amount of treble, not the quality of the treble - the quality of the treble is marvellous. Where the problem lies for me is that I find the treble to be slightly too prominent in the overall sound signature. As good as the treble is, I don't want it to be the star of the show at the expense of sonic balance and the Andromedas definitely have a slight tilt towards a V-shaped signature. My listening tastes align neatly with the Noble Kaiser 10 and AudioQuest NightHawk - two products that are supremely organic and musical. To my ears, the Andromedas are leaning a bit more towards Hi-Fi rather than organic musicality. That's not a criticism because they sound spectacular at what they do with treble, but the signature is just not my preference. However, for those that like the increase in perceived resolution, increased sense of space and the sparkle of great treble, the Andromedas are absolutely worth an audition.

Mids

As I already alluded to above, the mids on the Andromedas are slightly less prominent than the treble and that's a shame because the mids are glorious. They are full, well-weighted and immensely enjoyable. If Campfire Audio were to pull back the treble emphasis these might have been my favourite ever IEMs, but as it is they are sitting pretty in second place I think. Whether reproducing female vocals, male vocals or instrumentals there is a wonderfully engaging presence and focus to the mid-range from the Andromedas. Everything is crystal clear and sharply focussed, but rendered with a warmth that keeps everything completely realistic and natural - I just wish the treble didn't occasionally demand attention away from the mids.

When compared to my favourite IEMs, the Noble Kaiser 10s, the Andromedas not only hold their own, but are actually even more engaging in many ways. I still prefer the slightly tamed treble from the K10s, but the laser-sharp focus and natural rendering of the vocals and instrumentals from the Andromedas might be impossible to beat. In fact, the Andromedas' mids remind me of the insane mid-range quality from the FitEar ToGo! 334.

Bass

The bass quality and quantity from the Andromedas is really impressive! The other IEMs I've reviewed in the Campfire Audio range (Jupiter, Orion and Lyra) all had nice bass presentations in their own ways, but the Andromedas stepped it up. The Andromedas have impressive punch and weight in their bass presentation. In fact, I wonder if Campfire Audio have employed one of those huge, bass-specific BA drivers like those used by Noble Audio in the K10 and Noble 5 (now the Dulce Bass I believe). There is also very good extension to the bass - something that BA IEMs have gotten better and better at over recent years and the Andromedas are definitely keeping pace with excellent weight and presence right down to the lowest audible bass registers.

There's a nice lift to the bass from the Andromedas, but it's been executed in a very considered and balanced way. The result is wonderful punch, weight and depth while never straying from a neutral and accurate overall sound signature. The bass is quick and controlled, but never seems to lack body and presence - a masterful piece of tuning indeed! The Andromedas are equally as adept with acoustic, classical, electronic or rock (or anything else I threw at them) because the bass is so accurate and never over steps the mark.

I decided to put the Andromedas up against the Kaiser 10s again and used the thumping kick bass of Everlasting Light [Live] by The Black Keys to see how well they both performed. The Andromedas delivered visceral thump and rapid decay so everything sounded solid and full, but agile and clean. Moving to the K10s brought some extra weight to the bass without losing the speed. On bass presentation alone (discounting the Andromedas' exceptional mid-range), the Nobles had a slight edge so I tried Elijah Rock from Harry Connick Jr.'s Oh, My Nola album. This is a much cleaner recording of a really thumpy kick drum and bass. Once again the competition was super close and once again I'd give the bass edge to the Nobles. Interestingly, on this recording (which is excellent) I would also give an overall edge to the Nobles because the treble energy from the Andromedas creates a very slightly unnatural presentation of the overall performance.

Staging & Imaging

One of the benefits of treble emphasis (even only slight emphasis) is the potential to massively increase the perceived soundstage size and also the accuracy of the image. When done right, as it is with the Andromedas, the resulting presentation is nothing short of astounding and that is completely true here. The Andromedas produce the best soundstage I have ever experienced in a headphone or an earphone. Being a sealed in-ear design, the Andromedas can't compete with a fully open headphone for sheer soundstage size, but they are far more accurate with imaging and sound placement. The resulting balance of size and imaging accuracy is beguiling and has me seriously considering a purchase even though I already own one of the best IEMs on the market.

Conclusion

The Andromedas are easily one of the best earphone or headphone products I have ever had the pleasure to audition or own. They easily hold their own against the very best flagship IEMs on the market and are a spectacular blend of technical expertise and masterful tuning. Although they pack a little more treble energy than I personally like, most people will absolutely love the presentation as it's right in line with the preferred signatures around the Head-Fi world. What sets the Andromedas apart though is the perfection with which they execute this common sound-signature. The tubeless resonators must be doing something good because the Andromedas offer the best quality treble and mids I have ever heard and they are no slouch in the bass - being bested (barely) by the Noble K10s holds no shame!

If I were in the market for a pair of universal IEMs, the Andromedas would be top of the list right next to the Noble K10s and I would probably choose the Andromedas based on the difference in price. In my experience there is really no universal worth looking at beyond the Andromedas. If they were made as a custom I would be in very big trouble!

First off great review mate!
Have you tried the Andromeda out of an iPhone? Output impedance significantly affects the tonal balance of these in-ears. With DAPs closer to zero output impedance, this IEM sounds darker/rolled off whilst DAPs with 2-3 ohms OI (iPhone) will even out the Andromeda with some stridency/emphasis in the treble. I guess it's personal preference but just saying it is a wildly differing sounding IEM depending on your source

I literally listened to a pair at a meet for 30 seconds. Switched back to my customs. Then back to the Andromeda's. Perhaps a total of 90 seconds of listening and my money was firmly separated from me next day. I can't wait until they show up. Pressing the button on the tracker app every few minutes it seems. :wink:

@d marc0

I recently reviewed the Campfire Audio Jupiter earphones and really liked a lot of what I heard and saw. Next up in the tour are the Campfire Audio Orion, a single-driver IEM cut from the same cloth as the Jupiter.

Before I talk about the Orions, I need to rectify an oversight in my last review by expressing my sincere thanks to @d marc0 for arranging this for local Australian and New Zealander Head-Fiers.

Overview

Frequency response: 10-16,000Hz
Impedance: 14 ohm @ 1kHz
Sensitivity: 113dB SPL/mW (@ 1kHz)

One of the common limitations with balanced armatures is their inherently limited frequency range so for CA to extract nearly the full audible frequency range from a single driver is impressive. Of course measurements can be deceiving, but, without completely spoiling the review, I can confirm that this is a legit specification.

Design & Accessories

The Orions share much of their design and range of accessories with their more expensive sibling Jupiters, This leads to the Orions being amazingly well built and well-furnished with a great carry case, range of tips and the same outstanding cable as the Jupiters. The only real differences are that the Jupiters have an extra cable and the Orion case is grey canvas instead of leather. Given the price difference (the Orions cost about half what the Jupiters sell for), the quality and accessories provided are excellent. That said, the Orions still aren't cheap so it's good that the build and accessories are as good as they are.

Sound Quality

Treble

The treble from the Orions is much more controlled than I expected from a single-armature earphone. In fact, the treble from the Orions is a little bit smooth and rolled off, but I quite like it for that reason. There is a slight lack of extension as you might expect from the 16kHz upper limit on the frequency response (keeping in mind that there is often roll-off occurring before an earphone reaches its upper / lower limits).

On some tracks, and probably depending on your ears and the tips you use, I also find there to be a slight lift in the lower treble that can make some sounds a little artificial and can make some recordings sound a touch forced. In some ways this is reminiscent of the FIDUE A83 and, like the A83, can result in an enjoyable and even addictive sense of clarity and texture once your ears adapt to the sound, but is actually an unnatural sound in the truest sense.

Mids

Other than the lower treble / upper mid emphasis I just mentioned, the mid-range from the Orions is fantastic - a really enjoyable presentation that has weight and body while maintaining crystal-clear clarity. In this way, the Orions remind me of the Noble Savants. They're not quite as laser-focussed as the Savants, but I actually find them more musical overall as a result.

One thing I definitely like about the mid-range from the Orions is the way individual sounds pop out of recordings without losing the coherency of the overall sound. It's very enjoyable.

Bass

The Orions are about as good as you can get with a single armature I think. They're not going to compete with a good multi-BA setup, but they are extremely good for a single armature and that design definitely brings the coherency of not having multiple drivers doing different things.

The bass itself is well extended and of good quality, but it's still a little behind the rest of the music if you compare it to what you hear in a live situation. Thankfully, the Orions don't sound anaemic like some other single-armature (and even multi-armature) designs I've heard, but my personal taste calls for a little more bottom end to really get the full emotional experience of the music.

Staging

The coherency of the single armature pays dividends in the soundstage and imaging which are both excellent. The stage isn't particularly large, but it's beautifully defined and has a great sense of 3-dimensionality, stretching forwards nicely and out to each side.

Instruments and vocalists are well defined in their own spaces in the soundstage and there's a good sense of space between each sound while still sounding like a coherent, singular presentation - not blown out and artificial.

Summary

All-in-all, I would say that the Orions are a very worthy option if you're looking for a bullet-proof and beautifully designed, made and accessorised IEM. They're best suited to those who like a slightly warmer-than-neutral sound (i.e. clarity that errs towards musicality) and will sound great with most sources and recordings in my brief experiences with them.

If you're a bass-head or a treble-head you should probably look elsewhere, but if you like a well-tuned sound that's both revealing and musical then the Orions are worth checking out.

Comparison with the Jupiters

Having reviewed the Jupiters prior to the Orions, I would say that the Jupiters are clearly superior earphones as you'd expect from their specifications and price tag, but the Orions are clearly from the same family and offer a very good proportion of the Jupiter's performance for around half the price. The bonus is that you get the same incredible quality and accessories despite that greatly reduced price tag so if you're drooling over the Jupiters, but can't quite stretch the budget, you should definitely check out the Orions.

Great work. Concur.

any idea how these compare to ACS T1/Crescendo DS-11 or Etymotic's single BA offerings? From your description it seems like they would be slightly warmer sounding.

The Jupiters are a stunning looking set of universal, multi-balanced armature IEMs fashioned out of aluminium and packaged with some of the best accessories I've ever seen. They employ a quad balanced-armature design with claimed frequency response extending from 10-28,000Hz!

Design & Comfort

The Jupiters arrived in a compact cardboard box with colourful, but classy branding. Upon opening the box I was greeted by a gorgeous leather carry case which contains the earphones themselves in the plush, lamb's wool (or similar) interior. Also included was the second, TRRS cable for balanced use and a range of tips - foam, Comply Tx 400 (with wax guard), and silicone - in small, medium and large sizes. There's also a cleaning tool and an instruction manual.

I normally don't discuss packaging in detail, but in this case the packaging eluded so strongly towards what comes next that I thought it important to share. You see, that tastefully simple box and the gorgeous carry case was just a glimpse of the quality and attention to detail ALO / Campfire Audio have put into the Jupiters.

Design

The earphones themselves are works of art - each an angular block of aluminium that is equal parts angular and smooth. They're surprising in that they're angular and chunky and yet feel light and comfortable once inserted.

I saw initially worried about the size of the nozzles on the Jupiters because they're very wide, but they're also quite short and that combo appears to work very well. As someone with ears that can be challenging to fit IEMs and tips to, the Jupiters are surprisingly comfortable.

Cables

The Jupiter cables have a very thin polyethylene insulation over a twisted metallic wire which looks wonderful with its slight hint of gold / champagne colouring. It also seems to minimise tangling and feels robust and hard wearing. The only drawback might be that it doesn't feel quite as nice as some of the high quality fabric / kevlar wrapped cables, but that's a matter of personal preference.

Perhaps what is most impressive about the supplied cables is that Campfire Audio chose to supply a balanced cable as standard. The TRRS version of the cable isn't a cable with microphone as I originally assumed. It's actually a cable wired for 2.5mm balance outputs like those found on Astell & Kern players.

Accessories

In addition to the great cables, the Jupiters come package with a nice range of silicon and foam tips, a cleaning tool (nice touch!) and one of the very best carry cases I've ever seen. The leather case is simultaneously understated and decadent with its gorgeous leather and woolly interior. What keeps it understated is the natural colouring of the natural fibres and materials (or well replicated synthetic copies of natural materials). There's no sense of bling, just a sense of quality and care.

Sound Quality

I've read a couple of reviews saying wonderful things about the Jupiters since my first listen to them and I have to say that I agree with much of what I've read, but not all of it.

There's no doubt that Campfire Audio absolutely nailed their tuning of the Jupiters based on their marketing. They are a very balanced sounding earphone with an amazing sense of focus for a balanced armature design, however, I think it's important to note that the sound is balanced and neutral, not necessarily natural. I'll explain...

Since reviewing the paradigm-altering Audioquest Nighthawks, my perspective on headphone and earphone audio had been permanently shifted. I now tend to evaluate earphones based on their ability to conjure the experiences, both auditory and emotional, of live music. To me, the more natural an earphone sounds, the better it recreates what I am used to hearing when I'm in the same room as the musicians. I use the word "natural" because "accurate" and "musical" are both tainted with ambiguity.

I don't believe a 'phone has to be natural to be enjoyable, but naturalness is my holy grail sound so it's become one of my measures of earphones so I thought it was worth explaining.

Treble

Campfire Audio tout the Jupiter as having supremely extended highs (my words, not theirs) thanks to their proprietary technology. In Campfire Audio's own words:

An optimized resonator assembly replaces the traditional tube and dampener system of may earphones

Click to expand...

And there's no doubt that this approach has created stunningly smooth, articulate and extended treble. In fact, the Jupiters have some of the best treble I've ever heard from an earphone, but to my ears there is too much of a very good thing, particularly when using silicone tips.

It's important to clarify here that there is in no way any harshness to this treble - it is absolutely glorious - but it's like adding too much sugar to a great dessert - it'll still taste good, but you might miss out on some of the more subtle flavours going on underneath. To me, the treble, as good as it is, diverts my attention from the overall musical experience. It encourages me to listen to details in the texture of guitar strings, the shimmer of cymbals and the breath in the singer's throat. That's all wonderful, but it's shadowing the magic occurring underneath. If you listen really hard, there's some equally amazing action in the mid-range and bass, but it all gets overshadowed by the treble.

At this point it's worth noting that what I'm describing is a dream scenario for some people and the Jupiters will be the absolute perfect option for people seeking detail and clarity without harshness or sibilance, but for me, the balance is just a bit off when it comes to the ultimate, natural musical experience that is my benchmark these days.

Using foam tips does tend to balance the highs quite a bit. There's still a slight emphasis, but the overall balance is better with foam tips in my opinion and if I owned a pair of Jupiters they would be permanently fitted with foam tips despite my preference for silicone tips because I don't like the way foam tips get manky and require regular replacement.

Midrange

You might think that the treble emphasis I've just discussed could leave the Jupiters sounding hollow and lifeless in the mids, but not so. The mids from the Jupiter are still excellent. Yes, they are slightly behind the treble in terms of their presence, but the quality is excellent and they sound natural and not at all hollow. My only complaint about the mids would be a slight lack of weight in male vocals. There's a tilt towards the upper mids that creates a great sense of texture, but at the expense of weight and body.

The Jupiters are a great option for those seeking details without losing mid-range quality, but they won't suit people who love their mid-range full and creamy. Once again, foam tips will further enhance the mids by balancing out some of the extra treble and result in a really magical, slightly treble-forward sound.

Bass

Another of Campfire Audio's claims about the Jupiters is that they produce "subterranean bass" (their words) and the published frequency range suggests performance down below audible frequencies.

Listening to the Jupiters suggests that the extension really is exceptional and the quality of the bass seems excellent, but the quantity is a bit lacking in my opinion. While I don't consider myself a bass-head by any stretch, the live music experience I discussed earlier includes some natural acoustic properties in rooms which result in a natural boost in the perception of bass compared to treble and mids. To effectively replicate that natural sound when there is no room between the speaker (earphone) and your eardrum, an earphone needs to provide the extra bass (or more accurately needs to pull back the mids and treble) in the same way that a room will. The Jupiters fail to do that and so, while the quality and extension of the bass is outstanding, the quantity isn't in the right proportions to the rest of the frequency range and the result is a slightly lean sound compared to my "natural" reference point.

Once again, I can't stress enough that the quality of everything the Jupiters do is absolutely exceptional - these are an amazing piece of engineering and design, but they fall short of perfection in the tuning department for my tastes. Foam tips shift the sound slightly closer towards a natural / live sound, but there is still a slight treble emphasis.

Image & Staging

The imaging and staging from the Jupiters is equally excellent with a nice wide stage, good sense of 3-dimensionality and a tightly focussed image. Campfire Audio weren't kidding when they said that they'd created a multi-BA earphone with coherency similar to a dynamic driver. Normally, a multi-BA earphone will struggle to achieve the same level of focus as a single-driver dynamic, but the Jupiters pull off the same degrees of focus and it's very impressive.

I'd say that the treble-emphasis works for and against the Jupiters here. The extra treble (and its amazing quality) creates some cues that stretch beyond the listener's ears which can be really fun, but at the same time it keeps drawing my attention to the soundstage is unevenly shaped. It's like most things fit in a nicely defined, oval-shaped 3-dimensional space, but then 2-3 sounds in each track seem to be outliers, just beyond that soundstage and it's not entirely natural. I'm being picky at this point so take this as a way of saying that the Jupiters are almost perfect rather than absolutely perfect when it comes to staging. Overall, they are highly enjoyable from a staging perspective.

[size=24.57px]Summary[/size]

To summarise all this I would say that Campfire Audio have 100% nailed the product they claim to be providing - none of it is marketing hype, it's all true. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're a perfect earphone for everyone. If you love clarity, detail and a relatively flat frequency response then you will absolutely love the Jupiters and should absolutely give them a listen. I'd go so far as saying they are one of, if not the best "flat-signature" earphones I've tried so far.

If, however, you are looking for an earphone that accurately recreates the sound of live music and real-life instruments then you should probably look to something with a bit less treble and a bit more bass - something like the Noble K10, Audiofly AF180 or Shure SE846.

Thank you for the review on Jupiter! It reaffirms my decision to get these in the near future

It reassures that I'm hearing the same thing and ironically I love this signature and this preference.

Great review!

Jupiter compares to ER4sr or Noble Savanna? Which is better ,in term of, overall balance ? and flat signature sound?

Overview

Unlike most companies, Noble choose to not overwhelm buyers with piles of specifications, preferring instead to accurately describe the sound and allow the decision to be about subjective choices which are far more relevant to the purely personal experience of enjoying music. While specifications can help make decisions sometimes they can also influence our decisions in ways that might not result in the greatest enjoyment of the music.

Because of Noble's marketing philosophy, there's not much to tell you about the Savant's specs other than that they are rated as <30 ohms and use a detachable cable with the industry-standard 2-pin connection.

Having owned and loved the Kaiser 10s for some time now, I was excited to hear the Savants - sometimes touted in the community as "baby K10s" - to see what piece of black magic the Wizard (Dr John Moulton) had created this time. There's no doubt they are magical in many ways, but whether or not they're for you might be a whole other question.

Design, Build & Accessories

The demo pair of Savants provided for this tour are a Wizard design so they have received some extra attention by way of a coloured, patterned faceplate. The Wizard's work on these designs is always beautiful and expertly finished and my experience with other Noble universals suggests that the non-Wizard designs are equally as well made.

The general size and shape of the universal models are the same as the Wizard version pictured here and that is to say that they're very compact. As a result, overall comfort with the Nobles is excellent and they come with a very wide range of tips to help create the perfect fit.

Accessories

I've already mentioned the range of tips supplied with the Savants. They also come with two Noble-branded bands to wrap around your portable players and it's all packaged in a compact hard case reminiscent of the Pelican brand cases.

Finally, it's worth mentioning the cable provided with Noble products. Noble's cable is up there with the very best IEM cables around and consists of a tightly braided 4-core cable that's terminated in a compact, metal 3.5mm jack at one end and industry standard 2-pin IEM connectors for the ear pieces.

Sound Quality

The Savants are one of the most detailed and accurate IEMs I have ever heard. What makes them sound so detailed and accurate is the sense of focus the Savants create in the image / soundstage. I'm not necessarily saying they are accurate to source so much as that their sound is laser sharp in its focus. I'll address the naturalness of their sound in the following sections...

Treble

Dr Moulton has proven himself a master of IEM tuning multiple times now. The Savants are no exception to his reputation. In fact they serve as a mighty addition to his resume of outstanding IEM design.

The treble from the Savants is clear, bright, extended and detailed. I would go so far as suggesting that it's a bit higher than what is natural in a live, acoustic setting, but there's no doubt that it is amazingly clean and resolving and the added emphasis doesn't lead the Savants into sibilance or harshness. No, the treble from the Savants, whilst prominent and slightly lifted, is smooth and grain free. Cymbals splash and crash and textures beg to be noticed, but not in a distracting way. What makes the tuning so masterful is that despite the emphasis created by the Savant's tuning, the music is still completely coherent and the treble quality doesn't take away from any other frequencies.

Mids

Similar to the treble presentation, the mids on the Savants are slightly lifted compared to the bass, particularly the upper ends of the mids where the line between mid-range and treble starts to blur. It is this lift that creates the laser-sharp imaging of the Savants and will provide a listening experience that you'll rarely enjoy from any other IEM. Put the Savants in your ears and prepare to hear all kinds of details in instrumentals and vocals that you never knew existed. You'll hear breath and texture that was previously hidden. You'll hear distortion that was missed even by the studio engineers. You'll here texture and clarity that will honestly make you feel like you're there with the musicians.

Bass

The treble / mid-range emphasis that makes these IEMs so sublime on one hand also handicaps them on another. The bass performance of the Savants, while good, is not on the same level as the rest of the spectrum. Bass quality is excellent - detailed, layered and nuanced - but the quantity of bass is a few decibels behind the rest of the frequency range and the result is a lack of soul and emotion on some tracks. The bass on these is not anemic or absent, it's just noticeably behind the mids and treble.

Of course, you can always EQ for some extra bass if you're so inclined, but the magic of the Savants is in their stock tuning so if you prefer a more balanced sound with bass on par with other frequencies you might want to look elsewhere or have these as an option in your collection rather than your only IEM.

Presentation

I've already alluded to the magic of the Savant's presentation. The focus on the upper frequencies creates a truly stunning image with a sense of focus that's hypnotic. If you close your eyes while listening to the Savants you can easily imagine the exact placement of every sound in the sonic tapestry and each sound seems to have a sense of 3-dimensionality about it that's quite amazing.

The stage from the Savants is excellent, but not huge. It's strength is more in the focus than the size and that's more important in my opinion. An extended stage can result in music sounding incoherent - like different tracks being put together by a producer rather than a single live performance from a band - and the Savants definitely avoid this problem by creating a perfect sense of coherency while still displaying plenty of space between each impeccably focussed sound.

Noble Savant vs Noble Kaiser 10

I had a few people ask about the comparison between these two front-runners of the Noble line-up and it's a comparison worth making.

Despite the Savants being sometimes referred to by the community as "baby K10s", they are actually very, very different beasts. In fact, the only similarity in their sound is the obvious touch of Dr Moulton's masterful tuning. Both of these IEMs are excellent, but they are not really comparable.

The Savant creates a brighter and more focussed sound than the K10s. In fact, if you switch between them you could be forgiven for thinking that the K10s seem a bit sloppy on the imaging at first, but it's not quite that simple. When I lifted the frequencies around 4-6kHz while using the K10s I noticed that they took on the exact same laser focus that the Savants display. This is because the upper frequencies contain much of the information we rely on for spatial and directional cues. Lift these frequencies and you sharpen the image, but doing so has its drawbacks so it's all a question of what you value.

The bass from the K10s is miles ahead of the Savants in quantity and that allows you to better enjoy the quality. The K10's bass seems a little slower and perhaps a touch less detailed / layered than the Savant's bass, but that's most likely a result of the Savant's reduced bass quantity creating a faster decay of bass notes and emphasising the details once again. Mids on the K10s are creamier and smoother than the Savant and while I love the mids on both these IEMs, I find that I can enjoy the K10s for much longer stretches because of their more natural, less-enhanced sound.

I have to say that both of these are outstanding IEMs and owners of both should find many years of enjoyment in whichever model they choose, but don't make the mistake of thinking they're similar. The Savant is most definitely a "focus on the details" type of IEM while the Kaiser 10 is an "immerse yourself in the musical experience" IEM. Both have their place.

Overall Conclusion

The Savants are an amazing IEM, but like any headphone or earphone they are not necessarily for everyone. The Savants remind me very much of the Sennheiser HD800s (although perhaps with a touch less bass). Like the HD800s, the Savants can provide a window into the music and recording quality that is exciting to hear, but sometimes they can also become a bit fatiguing and leave me wishing for something a bit warmer and forgiving.

If you love detail-oriented IEMs, the Savants should be right at the top of your list and if you're looking to add to your collection and want something that will bring out the imaging and focus on your music like few other IEMs you should consider adding the Savants to your list. If, however, you are looking for a true all-rounder that you'll love in all situations, over long listening sessions and with all music and all sources, the Savants might not be ideal and you might be better saving some extra pennies for the K10s or perhaps considering some of the other, warmer models from Noble like the N6 (which I haven't had the pleasure of hearing, but Noble's descriptions of their products are pretty spot on in my experience).

You have accurately captured my findings on the Savant's unique technical ability. Excellent work as always! Thanks for joining the tour my friend.

I got into music at a young age and my love of all types of audio gadgets stemmed from the joyous experience of hearing great music reproduced to its maximum potential. Along the way I have gotten lost at times and fallen into the trap of pursuing the technicalities over the musicalities. As Head-Fiers, the term 'musical' can sometimes be seen as a negative - a polite way of saying "Technically these aren't very good, but they make my music sound fun" but I want to pose a question to you: what do you think headphones are meant to do? Recognising that the answer to that question is different for all of us, you need to answer that question for yourself before you read on because it will completely change the relevance of the following information for you.

The Nighthawks came to me on loan courtesy of Australian distributor, Ambertech. I had heard them briefly at Noisy Motel here in Melbourne and while not blown away, was keen to hear a bit more before making up my mind. A mate of mine who works at Ambertech was kind enough to arrange the loan and I am exceedingly grateful for the opportunity.

I've written a technical review of the Nighthawks on my blog so rather than repeating the same content in two places, let me share the story of my Nighthawk experience with you here.

First Introductions

I'd read about the Nighthawks here on Head-Fi and they seemed really interesting, so I jumped at the first chance I had to try them.

That first audition was using an iPhone connected to the Cozoy Aegis DAC - a very capable DAC - and my very first thoughts were that the 'hawks sounded nice, but they didn't blow me away. They reminded me of HD650s which is a high compliment, but at nearly $1000 here in Australia, my early enthusiasm was somewhat dulled. There was no denying how insanely comfortable and beautifully built they were, but coming from HD800s, T1s and LCD 2s, I didn't feel like the Nighthawks stacked up.

Nonetheless, I was keen to spend longer with them and accepted the offer from my friend at Ambertech to spend a couple of weeks with the 'hawks.

A Proper Listen

After receiving the loan pair I proceeded to put them through their paces with all my gear - portables, my phone, and various solid state and tube desktop amps. Each time, the sound was great, but also clearly showed the characteristics of each amp. For example, my Bottlehead S.E.X. amp was modified with capacitors specifically designed to create a rich, resolving mid-range. With the 'hawks, the S.E.X. sounded just as rich and magical as it does with my Audeze LCD-2s. Moving across to the much more neutral Bottlehead Mainline amp showed completely different characteristics with a much more balanced sound and a stronger sense of balance between the mids and treble. Immediately it was clear that the Nighthawks are truly transparent (i.e. they reveal the characteristics of the track and source chain rather than dominating it with their own influence). And yet, something troubled me...

That Bass!

The most striking element of the Nighthawk's sound was the bass. The bass seemed to be enhanced or maybe a little boomy on some tracks, but then it would disappear on others. There was no doubt in my mind that these headphones had the chops for some serious foot-tapping listening sessions, but I couldn't yet tell if the bass reproduction was accurate or a slight enhancement.

Well, further listening proved to me that the Nighthawks are very accurate in their bass reproduction, but they sound like they have slightly emphasised bass because they lack emphasis in the mids and treble. I'm so used to headphones like the Beyerdynamic T1, Sennheiser HD800 and even the later model Audeze LCD-2s that actually carry some degree of emphasis in the upper frequencies and therefore diminish the relative presence of the bass. The Nighthawks don't do that and by omission of emphasis they instead produce a faithful representation of each recording in a way that I've rarely heard. If you're coming from an "audiophile" headphone you'll think there's too much bass, but extended time with the 'hawks has proven to me that they are much more true to source and the other headphones I've mentioned are actually colouring the sound. Whether that colour / emphasis is for better or worse isn't for me to say, but there's no doubt it's there when you have such a great reference point as the frequency response as the Nighthawks.

Other Elements of Performance

Other than their amazing accuracy of bass quantity, there are a few other notable elements of the Nighthawks' sound performance. Firstly, in keeping with the topic of bass, their bass control is excellent and the extension too. They don't decay as rapidly as something like the HD800s so they won't tighten up a recording with "loose" bass, but they will reproduce everything from that loosely played bass through to a super tight kick drum and they can provide as much thump and boom as needed, right down to the lowest audible frequencies.

Similar to the bass, the 'hawks' treble is just right with plenty of extension and clarity, but no emphasis. Once again, next to HD800s and their kin, the 'hawks may initially seem a bit warm and rolled off, but careful listening to some more treble-oriented tracks soon proved that not only was all the treble information being faithfully reproduced, but it was clean, smooth and grain free. The result is a highly enjoyable and highly accurate treble presentation that never becomes fatiguing or harsh, but manages to also fully convey the quality (or lack of) in the recording.

I left the mids to last because they're worthy of an encore. The magnificently balanced frequency response from the Nighthawks allows the mids to have a beguiling mid-range presentation that is both liquid and lifelike while also being detailed and accurate. Because there is no significant enhancement in the frequency range, the Nighthawks don't ever create artificial tones in the mids - no extra texture or breathiness in vocals, no sense of the sound coming through a small enclosure and sounding boxed in - just a natural and accurate representation of the recording with a sense of reality and clarity that's a pleasure to listen to.

All of this sound is presented in a relatively intimate soundstage, but intimate doesn't mean congested. The imaging from the Nighthawks, thanks to their transparent sound and ridiculously low distortion, is precise and accurate with a clear sense of space and a dark, velvety-black background from which each individual sound can spring to life with all of its inherent texture, resonance and timbre. The Nighthawks won't compete with headphones like the HD800 or T1 for their expansive soundstages, but it will easily compete for accuracy and space in the soundstage despite the alternate style of presentation.

So, Who Got it Right?

I've mentioned a few of the standard reference headphones in this review - HD800s, T1s (not considered quite so "reference" these days), and LCD 2s - and no doubt some people will immediately think I'm "off my tree" for mentioning the Nighthawks in the same sentence, but hear me out here.

I still own and love HD800s, but will be buying a pair of Nighthawks as soon as I can raise the funds for the simple reason that both are amazing at what they do. So, "who got it right?" They all did, but in different ways. The HD800s are still the ultimate microscope on the music, but they do what they do by enhancing the upper mids and treble so in reality, they aren't a truly neutral / transparent headphone. The newer LCD 2s take a similar approach to the sound which is a little more subtle than the HD800s, but is still emphasising some frequencies in the name of clarity and perceived resolution. As I write this I am selling my LCD 2s because they are closer in sound to the HD800s (not the same as) than they are to something like the Nighthawks and I want to have both a "clarity-enhanced" headphone and a musical and natural headphone in my collection so something had to go and, in my opinion, the HD800s are the ultimate microscope while the Nighthawks are the ultimate representation of the music in it's full, lifelike glory.

The Nighthawks are a headphone for people who love music and want to enjoy their music. As I said at the beginning, that's not a polite put-down, but the highest praise I can offer as a music lover and enthusiast. The Nighthawks are an incredible example of engineering and innovation, but rather than resulting in a scalpel-sharp reference tool, they're a pair of headphones designed to connect you with the heart and the soul of your music in all the best possible ways. That makes it hard to describe them in concrete terms because technicalities are far easier to put to paper - soul, heart and perfection are harder to pen.

As an industry, the headphone and earphone world seems to be obsessed with clarity and resolution so a headphone like the Nighthawks that don't "artificially" enhance clarity might seem less proficient in today's market, but if you love the emotional experience of being carried away by the ebbs and flows of your favourite music, do yourself a favour and try a pair of Nighthawks.

Apologies for not getting into the technicalities of the Nighthawk's design and specifications here, but I know there are other great reviews out there that will provide all that information for you and I wanted to share the story of these headphones with you in the same way that they share the stories of the music with us - not focussed on technicalities, just sharing the emotions, experiences and enjoyment of great music.

Well, I cannot agree with thei ECO FRIENDLY thesis, as these headphones got lots of plastic parts... On printed 3D mesh which suppose not to be biodegradable

Awesome review!

Nice review. As someone who owns the Sennheiser HD800S and Beyerdynamic T5P, I recently picked up a Nighthawk. It's day and night for me when I switch between these headphones. The NH is a shocker to say the least but I like it very much. It's a fun can for relaxed and casual listening like watching Netflix on my iPad.

CustomArt started out as a manufacturer of silicone custom IEMs and rapidly made a name for themselves with beautifully tuned and crafted IEMs. Piotr, the founder of CustomArt was a fan of IEMs before he became a maker of IEMs so you know that anything he makes will be built for both enjoyment and performance.

Overview

The Ei.3 is CustomArt's first venture into acrylic IEMs and is priced at an insane sub-$300!! At that price it competes directly with brilliant universals like the AudioFly AF140, various DUNU and FIDUE earphones, and plenty of other contenders, but none of those competitors offer a custom fit which, if done right, will always out-fit and out-perform an equivalent universal.

Specifications

Drivers: 3 x balanced armatures
Frequency response: 10Hz-17000Hz (+-20dB into IEC711 coupler)
Sensitivity: 118dB @1kHz @0.1V
Impedance: 65 ohms @1kHz
Cable: detachable, ~4 feet long
Sockets: industry standard 2-pin, surface mount

Beyond the specs, I can tell you that the intention for the Ei.3 is to be a fun-sounding IEM for lovers of electronic (not my favourite genre) and bass (OK, you've got me a bit more interested now). In Piotr's own words from one of the original ads, "the Ei.3 is intended to sound big and bold".

After biting the bullet and selling my beloved Shure SE846, I really hoped that the Ei.3 would fill the gap when I wanted a thumping, bass-first experience (which I occasionally do), but the reason I actually own these is important for me to share. I was contacted by Kamil from CustomArt to discuss the purchase of some IEMs at a discount in return for a review (a win-win scenario). Unfortunately I've been completely strapped for cash lately so I couldn't scrape together the funds for one of CustomArt's flagship CIEMs. As luck would have it, they soon released news of this budget beast and were kind enough to offer a pair to me at no charge in order to help get the word out so I had fresh impressions made and shipped them off to Kamil and Piotr with much gratitude and a little excitement (I say 'a little excitement' because I really had no idea what to expect).

Boy am I glad that CustomArt offered this opportunity to me and I think you will be too once you read this review. Piotr and his team have set a new benchmark in price

erformance ratios with the Ei.3. As you may know from my previous reviews, freebies don't equate to an automatic good impression and I'll happily say so if I think a product misses its mark, but the Ei.3s are not an example of this in any way - they not only hit their mark, but surpass it with ease in almost every way.

Packaging & Accessories

The Ei.3s come shipped in a Pelican 1010 case with a moisture absorber, cleaning tool, and the CustomArt cable. There are no frills or embellishments, but there's nothing left wanting (except perhaps a microfiber cloth). For a $300 CIEM it's a pretty good deal when you're getting both an excellent set of earphones and a high quality carry case too.

Fit & Finish

During the design process, I told Kamil that I had always wanted clear CIEMs, but that I was also happy to receive whatever design Piotr chose (in case he wanted to show of his creativity and design expertise). What I received was a perfect compromise of a simple, but attractive flourish from Piotr and the clear shells I've always liked the look of, but never owned.

The shells and tips of my set are clear acrylic with faceplates that are translucent with a diamond pattern in them (red on the right, blue on the left). With the clear shells you can see that there are some imperfections in the shell where the inner surfaces are a little hazy and there are a few bubbles and patches to be seen on close inspection so the Ei.3 won't compare in build quality to best-in-the-business acrylic manufacturers like Noble, but this is a purely aesthetic issue which may not matter to some people and certainly doesn't worry me greatly. When you're not inspecting them closely (which is 99% off the time), the Ei.3 look great and there are plenty of design options to choose from on CustomArt's website. Also, keep in mind that opaque colours will completely negate the issues caused by transparent colours where you can see internal blemishes.

Edit: Since writing this review, Piotr has informed me that this pair of Ei.3s were about the 4th or 5th set of acrylics they ever made and they have put a lot of work into further improving the quality of the finish since these. No doubt future reviews will reflect these improvements and given that these are already quite OK, the future quality is likely to be at least on par with all manufacturers.

Fit

What's more important than the up-close aesthetics is the way a custom fits your ears based on the correct use of the ear impressions provided. I have to admit that I was curious to see how well the Ei.3s performed in this regard given that they're CustomArt's first ever acrylic product. I don't know if the design process is significantly different from the silicone they made their name with, but I have to admit that I had my doubts.

Well I'm almost embarrassed to think that I ever doubted the fit of the Ei.3s because they're perfect. They are absolutely as good as my Noble K10s in terms of fit and comfort and that's high praise. Even my UM Miracles never fitted as well as these Ei.3s so Piotr clearly knows what he's doing when it comes to trimming and adjusting the ear moulds to create acrylic customs.

Size, Shape & Design

Being a 3-driver custom using balanced armatures, the Ei.3 are as small as they probably can be (after all they have to fill your ear in order to stay in place). They fill the main bowl (concha) of the ear nicely, but have a flat profile that means they don't stick out of the ear so they're a lot sleeker than some of the million-driver behemoths being created now.

Looking inside the Ei.3 you can see 3 distinct BA drivers. The mid and treble drivers are nested together firing into a common sound tube while the large bass driver sits on an angle to make it flatter and is a bit further from the ear canal firing into its own very narrow sound tube. The choice of tube length and diameter is part of the voodoo of frequency management and time alignment in IEM design that I won't even pretend to understand, but suffice to say, whatever Piotr has done here works to perfection. I can't tell if there is crossover circuitry built in or if the crossover points are a function of each individual driver's range of capability, but none of that really matters if the earphone sounds good, right?

Sound

The Ei.3 is meant to sound big, bold and perfect for bass lovers, and it comes from a company that I've always thought of as slightly treble and resolution-oriented so I expected a very v-shaped sound with thunderous and perhaps slightly boomy bass accompanied by some bright and energetic treble... boy was I wrong!

Piotr has tuned the Ei.3 to near perfection and given that he's working to a budget (remember these cost <$300) and using just 3 BA drivers he has crafted something close to a miracle.

Treble

The treble from the Ei.3 is clean and detailed with a slight forwardness that lends the CIEMs some immediacy and energy without ever becoming harsh or fatiguing. The Ei.3s never leave me wanting more from the treble, but also never bite. If this is the CustomArt house treble tuning then consider me a fan.

Strummed guitar strings have a nice edge to them and cymbals have the ability to pierce (in a good way) and shimmer. I wouldn't describe the treble from the Ei.3s as being breathy or airy, but they're perfectly balanced just below that level. In other words, breathy vocals and brushes on snare drums have texture, but it's not enhanced or over-present. There is a subtle sense of roll-off from the Ei.3 when compared to slightly more extended IEMs, but it's only noticeable in comparison and they don't sound particularly rolled-off in isolation.

Mids

I love vocals and mid-range instruments so I would have been quite upset if the Ei.3 were too v-shaped with a canyon in the mid-range, but if anything they have a very slight lift in the mids that helps to pull everything into perfect focus.

Both male and female vocals are rendered with clarity and speed, but still with suitable weight. The mids from the Ei.3 are not lush or creamy so I wouldn't recommend these for people who like the heavily mid-centric sound of SE535s or SE846s, but you're not sacrificing vocals if you choose the Ei.3s - you can have your cake and eat it too.

There's not a lot more I can say about the mids. They're just right and perfectly balanced with the rest of the auditory picture cast by the Ei.3. They're not the star of the show, but they're also not left out the back somewhere to be forgotten.

Bass

OK, here's the moment you've been waiting for... do the Ei.3s live up to their intention to be big and bold?

Well, not exactly, but that's not a bad thing. You see, I'm measuring 'big and bold' against some of the best in the business - namely the SE846. Even so, solely on their own merits I would describe the Ei.3s as dynamic and engaging rather than big and bold.

The bass from the Ei.3 is punchy and agile, but it doesn't go super deep. Music has an engaging pace and pulse from the Ei.3, but I personally don't think of them as a bass-first IEM so much as a well-balanced IEM tuned for full-frequency enjoyment which, in my opinion, is better because it's more versatile across wide-ranging genres.

The bass from the Ei.3 is punchy enough to translate the percussive wave from kick drums and has sufficient rumble to give a bass (guitar or upright) its correct body and reverb. Electronic, sustained bass is appropriately solid and textured to provide the foundation for the sonic landscapes laid over the top. In short, the bass is very, very good - it's just not the star of the show and that's completely fine. Don't expect the Ei.3s to satisfy your bass cravings if you're a loud-and-proud bass-head. These are bassier than neutral, but not bass-oriented.

Staging & Imaging

The Ei.3s have a really engaging presentation that's sharply focussed, of good size, and coherent and natural.

What I like most about the presentation from the Ei.3s is the clear placement of each sound. The stage isn't huge and expansive, but the sense of space is just right so that everything is perfectly placed and feels well-spaced and never congested. There's also a nice perception of height created if you listen for it, but it's all subtle enough to not distract from the music so much as enhance the overall experience.

As much as I love a big soundstage, I prefer overall coherency and realism which is where CIEMs like the Ei.3 and Noble K10 both excel so I'm finding myself drawn more to those types of presentations on late.

Summary

CustomArt have succeeded in creating a massive, potentially industry-shaking statement IEM with the Ei.3. Normally statement pieces are TOTL offerings that many can only hope to one day afford, but the Ei.3 are an outstanding performer that almost all enthusiasts can afford. They are an amazing entry point for anyone contemplating the plunge into custom IEMs and are an equally good option for those already enjoying customs but looking for an additional CIEM with different tuning.

I've rated the Ei.3 as a 5-star IEM not because it will outperform everything else, but because of its astounding price

erformance ratio. It is everything a budget IEM should be and a whole lot more. If I had paid $600 for these I would still be impressed with their sound.

The Ei.3 is a well balanced-IEM that leans towards warmth, bass and engagement. It won't compete with the best treble / detail IEMs, mid-range centric IEMs, or bass monster IEMs, but it will give you an excellently balanced sound that is completely enjoyable with any genre. In other words, the Ei.3 isn't about technical superiority in any one area. No, where the Ei.3 excels is its versatility and ability to engage the listener in every track and to make your music fun and lively without colouring it or distorting it in any way. I used the Ei.3s on two 3 hour flights recently and didn't once long for my K10s because the Ei.3s do everything extremely well. The Ei.3s won't be replacing my K10s, but they will certainly get regular use because they're such a great-sounding earphone. For the price I don't believe you will find a better earphone unless you're looking for a very specific sound signature.

Thank you for writing this review! I'ts very concise and interesting, well written.
Cant wait for my own pair ^^

Thanks for the great review... These are moving to the top of the list for my first CIEMs.

Nice review, how's the isolation?

I received the Aune B1 for this review direct from Aune at no cost to me and may be given it for free or will be able to purchase it at a reduced price as part of the terms of the agreement Aune made with the 10 reviewers selected. Either way, the chance to get things for free doesn't influence my reviews - if it's no good, I wouldn't want it anyway and if it's good, I'll gladly say that regardless of the possible gain.

Overview

Based

on their products thus far (like the S16, T1, and M1), Aune seem focussed on making affordable products with high performance. Sometimes that works extremely well, like the T1 DAC, and other times it backfires a bit, like the S16 with its slightly sub-par amplifier stage and M1 with its high output impedance and WAV-only design. Both of the misses have shown outstanding potential and the hit (the T1) was a real hit, so where will the B1 be placed in history?

At around $250 (AUD) it's priced in the upper range of affordable portable headphone amps amongst some stiff competition so it's not necessarily trying to undercut the competition in price and that means it has to outperform them somehow to be really appealing. Let's see what it's packing to help with that challenge.

Specifications

Up to 10 hours playback
Suitable headphone impedance: 16-300 ohm
Size: 65 x 110 x 18 mm
Weight: 230g
THD: < 0.0008% @ 1kHz
SNR: > 124dBA
Frequency response: +/- 0.15dB between 10 Hz - 20,000 Hz
Crosstalk: < 110dB @ 1kHz
Power (class A mode): 25mW/16ohm, 500mW/32ohm, 100mW/300ohm

So, on paper the B1 packs plenty of solid specs including low distortion (THD), good channel separation (crosstalk), and decent power. Let's divert our attention from the specs and the sound to the look and feel of the amp and then we'll circle back around to talk about the all important sound quality.

Design & Functionality

Size & Weight

The B1 is designed with the fairly typical footprint of most portable amps and that's a good thing because it will stack well with the many and varied DAPs on the market. That said, it's a bit bigger and heavier than some of the alternatives. For example, compared to FiiO's E12 family (E12, E12DIY, and E12A), the B1 has the same chassis width and length, but is about 4mm thicker. It also weighs about 70g more which doesn't sound like much, but for some people it can start to add up if you've got a heavier DAP.

Knobs and Switches

The B1 is concisely laid out with all switches up one side, input, output and volume on one end, a micro USB socket for charging at the other end, and a battery level button on the remaining side. The result is elegant simplicity in terms of the B1's appearance.

The battery level button triggers a simple system of LED flashes to show battery level from 1 flash (charging needed) to 5 flashes (battery full). Just like the overall design, this approach is simple and elegant.

There's not much to say about the volume knob other than it is an interesting flanged shape, but is easy to hold and turn. It appears to be plastic, but it doesn't look out of place or tacky on the black B1. I'm not sure how the aluminium design fairs with the volume knob.

The inputs are well spaced and slightly recessed with an attractive inward curve from the surrounding metal housing. I was worried that the slight recess might play havoc with some plugs, but have had no problems with the connectors that are most prone to these problems so I don't think that design choice will have any negative impacts and it looks really nice so I'm glad they did it.

On the action side of the amp are the three most interesting switches. The switches are all made of plastic, but that's a good thing I believe. The pre-production B1 I played with had aluminium switches and they felt rough to touch because of the slightly sharp edges caused by the machining. It's possible that Aune could have made smoother aluminium switches for this final production version of the B1, but I'm quite happy with the black plastic. It looks and feels like good quality plastic and is a much smoother and more comfortable user experience than the pre-production version.

The Mode Switch

The mode switch is labelled "Class A" because it changes the current output of the amplifier by changing to A-class operation. I don't claim to be an electronics expert so I'm not going to attempt to explain A-class operation in detail, but suffice to say that the reasoning behind A-class operation is that you can sacrifice power efficiency (i.e. battery life) to reap benefits in sound quality and that's what this switch is about.

Aune clearly instruct users to always switch the amplifier off prior to changing modes so direct comparison of the differences in sound are hard to complete without 2 amps side-by-side, but my rapid switching (power off, wait for the click of the relays, change mode, power on) between modes resulted in some subtle differences to sound that were mostly headphone dependent. Some cans prefer A Class while others prefer the normal mode from the B1 it seems. As you'll read later, I'm a fan of this switch and you might be too. It's not just a gimmick.

Aesthetics & Finish

The look and feel of the B1 are both top notch. The body of the version sent to me is black anodised aluminium rather than the natural aluminium I previewed a while ago. On one face are two windows showing the B1's heart - it's discrete amplification circuitry. On the other face are two full-length inserts of black leather (or at least faux leather). The leather inserts make a really nice touch on the black model and add to the sense that the B1 is a classy and elegant amplifier.

Back to those two windows on the other side. Other than allowing a glimpse into the B1's heart, the windows also allow the light of two green LEDs to shine through when the amp is powered up. There's also a power indicated LED (also green) above the power switch so I assume that the in-window LEDs are more for aesthetics than function and they're fine. It might have been a nice touch to hide them somewhere so that only their gentle glow could be seen, creating an ethereal light as though the light were emanating from the B1's soul, but there may be reasons why such fanciful frills were avoided. As it stands the lights are fine. Unnecessary perhaps, but fine and, as I think about it, a window with no light would seem so boring. At least the LEDs mean that you feel like something happens inside the visible circuit when you throw the switch.

Sound

The B1 has a sound that I would describe as clean, crisp and musical with an outstanding sense of space, texture and nuance, but it requires much more explanation than that. With the inclusion of a switch that changes its operation from a normal mode to an "A Class" mode, the B1 can change how it sounds depending on the 'phones you're using.

Based on the headphones I've tried, I'd suggest that the output impedance of the B1 might be high enough to be incompatible with low impedance loads and particularly multi-balanced-armature IEMs. Using the B1 with the Noble K10s results in a thick and lush sound that takes the best features of the K10s and pushes them too far. There are also channel imbalance issues because the volume level is way too high with sensitive IEMs. This is a headphone amp, not an earphone amp (with the possible exception of high impedance IEMs and earbuds).

Importantly though, shifting from the K10s to the Audeze LCD 2s completely changed my experience. Gone is the additional warmth caused by the K10 mismatch and in its place is a clarity and transparency that sounds like a different amplifier. This is all with the mode switch in the normal position too so hold tight if you want to know what happens when that interesting switch gets flicked.

Jumping now from the rich and warm LCD 2s to the leaner HD800s I hear exactly what I thought was happening - the B1 isn't producing the full bass presence or impact when running tougher loads. The LCDs and HD800s are tough in different ways - the HD800s present higher resistance and the LCDs present lower sensitivity - both seem to result in the same outcome when the "A Class" switch is off; a slightly lean and bass-shy sound.

Next, I powered-down the B1 to switch from normal operation to A Class operation in order to see if the extra current fixed the problem...

Well there's definitely a change, but it's subtle (as you'd expect given that the basic circuit remains unchanged). To my ears the sound in A Class mode has a greater sense of warmth and body compared to the normal mode sound when driving the HD800s / LCD 2s. One thing I definitely notice is that the normal mode sounds slightly disembodied and ethereal with the HD800s and LCDs whereas the A Class mode seems to bring the sound back into focus and creates a better sense of body. It still sounds a touch lean with the HD800s, but I am a fan of tube amps with the HD800s because they can tend towards the clinical.

So, while the B1 powers the HD800s amply (no pun intended), the pairing that I have rapidly come to love is with the LCD 2s. In fact, the sound from the B1 + LCD 2 combo is comparable to the LCDs paired with my heavily upgraded Bottlehead S.E.X. amp and that is a seriously impressive feat for a portable amp to come close to a much more expensive desktop amp. Based on what I'm hearing from this combination, I would easily believe it if I was told that the B1 was made to drive planars. Perhaps it was... I don't know, but what if you don't have planars? Is the B1 a good amp for dynamic driver headphones? Let's see...

Fischer Audio FA-011 Limited Editions

With the 160 ohm Fischers, the sound is highly enjoyable and just slightly warmer than neutral. There's good bass presence, nice extension at both ends of the sound spectrum and a crisp and articulate sound overall. Flicking between the normal mode and A Class mode brings about the same slight changes I described above, but the drop-off in bass is nowhere near as prominent with the Fischers as with the HD800s.

The Fischers are a headphone that needs amplification to excel and the B1 most definitely has the chops to get the Fischers singing. I'd very comfortably listen to the Fischers with the B1 as an amp of choice.

Thinksound On1

The On1s are a 50 ohm headphone that's designed for portable use so they're more efficient that the others I've tried thus far. The results here are quite interesting...

With the On1s, the A Class mode creates an overly thick and warm sound that's still enjoyable, but tends to close in the normally spacious sound of the On1s. Switching to normal operation brings a lighter touch to the bass and balances the sound perfectly. The bass is still punchy, tight and deep, but it no longer dominates the soundscape and it lets the On1s return to their more spacious ways. In fact, while completing this portion of the review, Stevie Wonder's Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing came up in my auditioning playlist (mostly albums that have been awarded Best Engineering Grammy) and blew my mind with the depth and control of the bass. The B1 had the On1s on a tight leash and was manipulating them like a master conductor.

What I'm starting to see at this point is an amplifier that's somewhat of a chameleon, adapting to different headphones as required to always give you the best possible sound. That's a really nice option to have at the flick of a switch!

So, sound-wise and power-wise, the B1 is neutral and clean, but still energetic and musical and it pairs very well with all range of headphones, but not IEMs. Let's look at how it compares to another star portable amp, the FiiO E12DIY.

Aune B1 vs FiiO E12DIY

It's a little bit tricky to make this comparison because the DIY is designed to have changeable op amps whereas the B1 is a discrete (no op amp) design. I decided to play around a bit to find a buffer / op amp combo in the DIY that sounded similar to the B1 in order to compare them less on sound signature and more on general qualities.

Honestly, once the signatures were matched, I would gladly choose either amp to drive my On1s, but keep in mind that the DIY is a special project that should have been worth significantly more than the B1's ~$250 price. The B1 is standing toe-to-toe with a veritable giant at the pricepoint we're considering and I believe the B1 has a slightly better sense of texture and nuances compared to the DIY which means it'll also outperform other portable amps like the standard E12, Cayin C5, and probably the E12A. I don't have those other amps with me to try, but have extensively compared each one to the DIY and always found the DIY superior.

Both amps have sufficient grunt to also power the LCD 2s, but I once again found myself preferring the B1 thanks to its marvelous sense of realism and coherence - everything is just so well placed and balanced.

Overall Summary

Moving through a range of headphones and trying different modes has really left me loving this little black beast with a glowing green heart. Its sound is, to my ears, neutral and accurate without tipping into becoming cold or analytical and it has a sense of energy and PRaT that's beguiling. The fact that you can change operation modes to adjust its synergy with everything from portable on-ears to desktop-only planars makes it extra versatile and extra appealing. This is clearly the best portable headphone amplifier I've tried so far thanks to its great sound and versatility. It's not the best portable amplifier in general terms because it's really not compatible with IEMs and the E12DIY still owns the 'generalist' mantle for that reason (and the versatility of all those different buffers and op amps), but I flat out love the Aune B1 and will be hard-pressed to see it go when the review period is up.

If you're in the market for a portable amplifier for headphones, and you don't mind something of a reasonable size and weight, you should absolutely do yourself a favour and check out the Aune B1. It looks good and sounds better!

Nice review Loquah, been debating between this and a Cayin C5 to drive my M-100s and future purchased cans.

I like your photos!
How do you get the formatting for the photos to be in-line with the text though? It makes the formatting of the post really neat, but I haven't been able to do that with the BBCode editor.

Well I've finally bitten the bullet and ordered one of these thanks to you, Avitron, Cleg and Cottonijoe for the reviews! :grinning:

The unit I'm reviewing was provided courtesy of FiiO and Head-Fier, Brooko, as part of an Australia / New Zealand tour so thank you to both FiiO and Brooko for this opportunity! This unit is clearly marked as a review unit, but appears to be 100% production quality.

Overview

For a retail price of roughly $260 here in Australia, the X3K (as the 2ng gen X3 was known for a while) is a genuine bargain for a native DSD capable DAP boasting a comprehensive feature set. The biggest question for me though was how it would sound, but before we get to that, let's look at some of the features and specs.

Specifications

Dimensions: 97mm x 58mm x 16mm
Weight: 135g
Output: 3.5mm stereo jack
Recommended loads: 16 - 150 ohms
Power: >200 mW to 32 ohms
Line out: 3.5mm stereo jack (shared with coaxial)
Line out level: 1.45 Vrms
Coaxial out: 3.5mm jack with adapter to coaxial RCA (shared with line out)
Supported formats: DSD64, DSD128, APE, FLAC, WAV, WMA, ALAC, MP3, AAC, OGG
Sample rates and bit depth: up to 192kHz and 24-bit for lossless PCM formats (FLAC, WAV, etc.)
Graphic EQ: 10 band
THD: <0.001%
Crosstalk: >102dB
Signal-to-noise ratio: >114dB (A weight)
Battery life: >11 hours (into a 32 ohm load with screen off)

There is no doubt that the engineers at FiiO know how to create technically excellent players and all of the specs here check out and suggest an incredibly proficient player, particularly when considering the price tag. Let's check out some of the other bits and pieces before we discuss subjective topics like sound quality.

Design and Functionality

The X3K (not the official name for the 2ng gen, but I will use it here to prevent confusion with the original X3) is beautifully built, much like the X1. With each new DAP that FiiO release, their build quality improves. They seem to be very good and listening to consumer feedback and taking action to create really top-notch players in terms of the fit, finish and interfaces of their players.

The X3K is all aluminium and finished in a titanium grey colour with black and silver accents. The layout is identical to the X1 with a 2" screen, rubberised scroll wheel with buttons in the centre and at the 'corners', and volume and power buttons up the left hand side of the player (when looking at the screen) along with a reset button inside a pinhole port. At the base of the X3K on the front is a small LED that shows different colours to signal power, low battery, charge status, etc. The two 3.5mm outputs are on top, a micro SD slot is on the right side, and a micro USB port is centred on the bottom edge of the player.

In terms of look and feel, the X3 is nearly flawless. It feels great, is really light, but not flimsy at all. This feels like a serious piece of gear, but is still light and small enough to be truly portable.

Interface

In addition to a really clean physical design, the user interface

(UI) of the X3 shows a lot of refinement on FiiO's part. Things have come a long way since the original X3. The menus are cleanly laid out with simple and obvious icons (for the most part) and easy navigation via the scroll wheel and centre button. You can also choose from 6 different themes which offer everything from minor variations to the stock FiiO look through to denim, wood panelling, and a really sexy cross-hatched charcoal texture. There's no doubt that the interface of the X3K is as good as anything else I've seen to date - not better, but as good - it's really excellent now and essentially a replica of the very good X1 interface, only with extra options.

Features

The X3K packs a few nice features that some users expect and some don't ever use.

Equaliser

The graphic equaliser is a 10-band affair that's easy to adjust, has a nice range of presets and works well on normal resolution tracks - it doesn't work on high bit rate files (i.e. DSD, 192/24 FLAC, etc.) just like the X5, most likely due to the processing power required. This isn't a big issue for me because I'm a non-EQ kind of guy, but that might bug some people.

Balance Control

Balance control is in demand more than you might think, particularly from people with a unilateral hearing loss (i.e. one ear hears better than the other) so the X3K will no doubt win some sales with that feature when combined with all the other things it has going for it.

DAC Capability

The X3K can also operate as a USB DAC with Windows (using an additional ASIO driver) and with Macs. It can even play DSD files from your computer via an additional software plugin so that's great news for people who are out and about with a laptop and a taste for great sounding music.

Miscellaneous Features

Finally, here are a few other things that the X3K has going for it:

Headphone detection allows the X3K to pause playback when the headphones are unplugged
Hibernation mode allows a low-power sleep mode that conserves battery, but also provides near instant resuming of playback
Inline earphone control support means you can play, pause, and change the volume from your earphone cord (for compatible earphones)
A nice range of accessories including a sexy looking brown leather case

So, all up the X3K looks to be a winner. It has a great feature set, is extremely well-built, extremely well priced, and offers functionality and compatibility on par with much pricier players. So does it sound like it costs or does it sound like it looks on paper?

Sound Quality

There is no doubt at all that the X3K sounds great - better than the original X3 and definitely better than it's baby brother, the X1. I'm almost convinced that this is the best bang-for-buck sound you can get, but it's not definitive and your personal tastes will come into the equation.

Rather than talk about the bass and treble and all those fine details that are really hard to differentiate when trying to compare different players, let me break down the overall listening experience from the X3K compared to the same experience (same tracks, etc.) on other devices. I'll also discuss how the X3K compares with varying loads, from sensitive IEMs through to challenging headphones.

Before I get into specifics, let me say that the X3K offers a quite neutral experience. It's not analytical or cold, but it also doesn't carry the same warmth of the original X3. The X3K is a player with nicely balanced sound that doesn't jump out as too warm, too cold, or too much of anything really and that's excellent - it'll let your earphones sound the way they're meant to rather than adding too much colour in the player. Nice work FiiO!

With IEMs

With the hyper-sensitive Shure SE846 there is noticeable hiss from the X3K. Now, I'm a bit hyper-sensitive to hiss so some people won't even notice what I'm hearing and it's not an issue once the music's playing, but it's there. I should also mention that there is a little bit of hiss from many players on the market, including the outstanding Shozy Alien, HUM Pervasion (to a lesser degree), and even my faithful iPod Video so the X3K isn't bad in this regard - it's actually quite normal.

With the higher impedance Noble Kaiser 10s, the hiss is gone so it's likely only an issue with super low impedance IEMs (like the SE846) and possibly with some of the more hiss-prone IEMs like the FitEar TG!334, but I don't own a pair to test unfortunately.

Power wise, the X3K's 120-step, dual gain volume control means that there's plenty of range to work with in low gain mode. I found myself at around 40-50 on the volume control for IEM listening in a quiet room.

With Headphones

For this test, I tried the Thinksound On1s (50 ohms) , Beyerdynamic DT1350s (80 ohms), and Ultrasone HFI-680s (75 ohms). Of this lot, the full-sized HFI-680s are the most demanding to drive and I do feel like the X3K struggled with them a little. They still sounded good, but not their best - highs were a bit edgy and the bass was lacking from what is quite a punchy headphone.

With the more portable (i.e. smaller drivers) DT1350 and On1, the X3K sounded great, providing plenty of power and authority to the sound. I was getting up towards volume 80 / 120, but that's still on low gain so there's no shortage of volume with the X3K - it will comfortably drive any headphone you're likely to use in portable situations, but you may find an amp helpful for more desktop style headphones and that's where the line out comes into play which I'll discuss shortly.

So, the X3K plays very well with all but the most sensitive / hiss-prone in-ears and even then it's quite acceptable even if not perfect. It also offers plenty of grunt for portable and efficient headphones, so as the portable player it's designed to be, the X3K ticks all the right boxes so let's discuss how it sounds compared to some other players you might have heard of or read about.

Versus Various Devices

iPod Video 5.5G:

Compared to the iPod, the X3K brings a little more refinement to the sound and the separation is also better - everything is just cleaner. The sound from the X3K is also fuller with more weight and a little more body, but the X3K is flatter sounding - lacking a sense of depth and space. Technically, the sound is rendered perfectly well and is cleaner and sharper than the iPod, but it's all painted onto a flat canvas that stretches from left to right. If I had to choose one player over the other, I'd choose the X3K without a second thought, but I really wish FiiO could start to focus a little more on the subjective presentation of their sound, specifically a spatial and organic sound, rather than just technical accuracy.

Shozy Alien: This battle was a bit closer in terms of clarity, but the X3K had a slight edge in terms of bass extension and control. The bass from the X3K is really tight and punchy which keeps the music sounding energetic and dynamic. Overall, the X3K is probably slightly more technically proficient than the Alien, but the Alien might still be the more engaging listen due to its organic presentation and sense of space - the number one strength of the Alien and the one area where it beats basically every player on the market. Honestly, I would have a hard time choosing between these two because the Alien sounds a touch more engaging overall, but the X3K performs better technically and has so many more features.

HUM Pervasion: These two are surprisingly close in sound and that's a huge compliment to the X3K. In terms of signature they are almost identical, but the Pervasion wins in two key areas. Firstly it brings a greater sense of space into the soundstage despite the Pervasion being a little limited in this regard. Secondly, the sound from the Pervasion has a level of refinement that the X3K can't quite match.

DSD Performance

The DSD performance of the X3K is seamless and the player skips quickly between formats with no delays or pops or crackles so if you load up a mixture of MP3, FLAC, and DSD files you'll find a glitch-free listening experience.

I did notice a hint of processor noise (or something similar) at the beginning of the DSD tracks when things were quiet. It's completely inaudible when the music is playing and therefore doesn't really interfere, but I never noticed that type of noise with PCM format files.

Comparing identical tracks in DSD and FLAC (I converted the DSD file to 192/24 FLAC to ensure identical mastering), the DSD may have a slight edge in refinement, but it's so close as to be not worth debating. In short, the X3K provides an equivalent experience regardless of using FLAC or DSD which is great - you don't want a player that sounds noticeably better with one format because it'll have you converting or re-buying all your music and that's a pain.

Line Out Quality

The line out from the X3K is clean and detailed with no significant colouration. As a portable source to pair with an external amp, the X3K is very good. That's not to say the X3K needs an amp, but it's line out is 'up to scratch' if you want to use an amp.

To get a better handle on just how good it is, I compared it directly (and unfairly) with my Matrix X-Sabre DAC. I only did this because it was an easy way to have identical tracks playing that I could switch between instantly, but the results were astounding. The X-Sabre has an edge in detail and subtle cues (including depth and spatial cues), but it's a razor's edge. The X3K comes amazingly close to the X-Sabre in terms of signature, clarity, and overall subjective quality. That's right, this pocket-sized, $250 DAP stands toe-to-toe with a $1200+ desktop DAC and manages to lose only about 10% to the goliath in this match-up!! That's crazy and puts the X3K's DAC / line-out performance on par with or above the Pervasion, iFi Nano iDSD (and possibly Micro iDSD) and easily beats multiple desktop DACs that I've tried - wow!

The only thing holding the X3K back from perfection in this area is the tiniest lack of refinement around the edges of the high notes. It's a subtle distinction, but one worth making - the X3K doesn't beat top end DACs like the X-Sabre, but it has no right to be even playing in this ball park and that's what makes it supremely impressive.

Summary

Coming from owning the very good X5 and reviewing the good, but not exceptional X1, I really didn't expect huge performance from the X3K and perhaps even came into this review with a slightly negative bias, but I'm pleased to say that the X3K had everything required to completely change my preconceptions and convert me towards fandom. I'm not quite a fanboy now because the HUM Pervasion is still my dream player for the time being, but I have immense respect for the X3K and what FiiO have achieved and it has me very excited to see and hear the upcoming X5 2nd Generation and the first generation of the flagship X7.

If you're on the hunt for a compact, high quality, fully featured audio player you should absolutely, 100% check out the 2nd generation of FiiO's X3 - it might be the most impressive product made by FiiO so far and that's saying something!

Very detailed review. Nice

Excellent review! I prefer the slightly longer version of your review on your blog.
I like your comparison between the daps, especially against the alien.
[For auditory enjoyment alone, the X3K edges ahead on some tracks while the Alien creeps ahead on others.]
Very true...I have both, and I have a hard time choosing between the x3ii and the alien when come to sound.

Thorough review and concentrates on the things that matter not the meaningless* engineer specifications.

* to the average listener.

@anupong

The Advanced Acoustic Werkes A3H hydbrid IEMs were lent to me by fellow Head-Fier, @anupong, so I am very grateful to him for allowing me to complete a full review of these little beauties.

The A3H has a recommended price of roughly $500 Singapore Dollars and is available in either a custom or universal style. On the AAW site there is an A3H-V model which is slightly more expensive and is tuned specifically for vocals, but the model Anupong lent me was the standard A3H.

I've completed a full review with plenty of images over on my blog so please check it out if you need more info, but here's a summary of my thoughts about the Advanced Acoustic Werkes A3H:

The A3H is a thoroughly enjoyable v-shaped IEM. It offers more bass than the FIDUE A83 and a bit less treble which results in a natural, but fun overall sound at the ‘expense’ of some detail and subtlety. The soundstage and image from the A3H can be highly coherent and detailed with the right sources and the overall experience is one that you can get lost in for hours of engaging and enjoyable listening. All-in-all the sound is enjoyable, dynamic and fun and makes for a very engaging listen across a wide range of genres and long sessions of listening.

Build quality is very good as well with attractive aesthetics, a beautiful cable, and excellent comfort, even for people like me with small ear canals. The version I was loaned uses a dark timber insert in the faceplate on top of a beautiful dark grey acrylic that is essentially opaque except in bright light.

If you’re looking to spend up to $500 on a universal IEM I would definitely recommend considering the A3H along with some of the other strong universal options like the Audiofly AF140 or AF180, and the FIDUE A83. If you’re looking for a custom IEM though, the A3H is a bargain custom that sounds great, assuming you like a v-shaped, engaging and dynamic sound.

One small caveat is that the A3H, like many IEMs with enhanced frequencies (particularly treble), can sound slightly artificial with some sources, but if your source is mostly neutral sounding or slightly warm you should find the AAW A3H an extremely fun and enjoyable IEM.

Apologies that I don't have time to recreate another full review here, but please feel free to jump over to my blog if you want to know all the 'in's and out's"

I have ordered one myself, just wondering what to get for a3h tralucent dacamp one or ibasso D14.

And I read through your blog , I think you the cable that you mentioned is actually pwaudio blackicon series pure silver cable that's around 2080HKD, the default cable that null audio provides is null audio Quantum SPC cable which isn't great compared to a83s stock cable. Just my thoughts

Also what would be your thoughts on a3h vs gr07 mk2?

HUM is a new player in the audio world as far as I can tell, but they've started strong with the Pervasion DAP. I've written an extensive review here: http://passionforsound.lachlanfennen.com/?p=1414, but here's a quick summary.

Overall I'd say that the Pervasion is an excellent DAP for those looking for great sound quality with all range of 16-bit audio files. It has its quirks in terms of extra features like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but when it comes to audio quality and interface, the Pervasion is bordering on perfection - particularly on the interface side of things.

The very slight warmth from the on-board amp is subtle enough to be musical without getting slow or thick sounding and pairs really well with all, but the warmest of 'phones and the line-out from the WM8741 DAC stage is incredibly detailed and neutral with outstanding separation, clarity, and sense of space and imaging. Paired with a good amp, the HUM Pervasion really is a giant killer and on it's own without an amp it'll still comfortably go toe-to-toe with some of the very best like the AK players.

The Good

Android interface is excellent, customisable and fully featured
Via Android player software, the Pervasion offers full playlist support, ReplayGain, true gapless playback, album art viewing and downloading, lyric downloading, scrobbling, and full EQ and DSP features
The on-board amp has plenty of power for everything except hungry planars and some insensitive dynamic headphones
The DAC implementation (Wolfson WM8741) is excellent - very neutral and extremely detailed
Digital and analogue volume control helps to manage fine adjustments to volume with sensitive IEMs while not degrading sound quality with excessive digital attenuation
It's quite compact (about FiiO X5 size, but nicely rounded and lighter)
It's very affordable (approx. $350 USD)
It comes in a sexy red colour

The Not-So-Good

The on-board amp is a little warm due to a slight lift in the lower mid-bass - this can help some cans, but may be too warm with warmer 'phones
Bluetooth playback stutters badly when using the screen /interface (but is fine when the screen is off)
Wi-Fi reception is weak and requires a strong signal to be stable
Aesthetically it's not quite as polished as some of the competition
Battery life is around 6 hours (but it charges via micro USB, not a wall-wart charger)
16-bit playback only, but sounds excellent so you likely won't miss having hi-res

Here's an unboxing video so you can see it for yourself:

As the pre-trial, I think is a good hum p397 reduction is high. But poor battery life

Have you ever try it with hard rock music or speed rock music in general?

Introduction

Brainwavz are making another push on their M series earphones and that’s good news for those of us looking for a well-priced, high performance earphone. The M1s use a single dynamic driver in a compact plastic and metal shell to deliver a tiny, lightweight earphone with sound that’s reminiscent of their more expensive R3 model, but in a much more comfortable package. They're not as good as the R3s, but for their price they’re impressive nonetheless.

A big thanks to Audrey and the team at Brainwavz for sending me this pair to review!

Specifications

Drivers: 10.7mm dynamic (1 per earpiece)
Impedance: 32 ohms
Frequency range: 20 – 20,000Hz
Sensitivity: 110 dB (at 1mW)
Cable: 1.3m terminated in a 3.5mm plug

Design & Comfort

The most obvious thing about the M1’s design is how tiny they are. These are some of the smallest IEMs I’ve ever used alongside the Atomic Floyd Superdarts. Despite the diminutive size and price, Brainwavz have still crafted parts of the M1 from metal which is a really nice touch both aesthetically and in terms of how they feel to handle. The metal nozzle assembly makes the M1s look and feel much pricier than they are and although the plastic section of the housing does look a little cheap (in terms of the quality of the plastic) in comparison there is absolutely nothing to complain about in the overall design and build of the M1s.

They come with a solid cable that easily bests the cable on either the S5 or R3 in terms of look and feel. The cable is comfortable to wear and doesn’t seem to tangle. It can be a little loopy at times, but once straightened out it sits well and doesn’t seek to recoil like some braided cables can.

As for fit, the M1s’ tiny size makes them easy to fit, but like any earphones with 4mm nozzles (i.e. most IEMs other than Shure and Westone), those with small ear canals may feel a tiny bit of pressure where the nozzle sits in the ear canal. For the majority of people though, the M1s will fit perfectly with no problems at all and their lightweight and tiny frame will quickly have you forgetting that their in your ear.

Accessories

As with all Brainwavz IEMs, you receive a nice black semi-hard case, an excellent range of silicone and foam tips (including a pair of medium size Comply tips), and a clip for the cable to secure it to your collar if desired.

Sound

As mentioned earlier, the M1s are quite reminiscent of Brainwavz’ oddly shaped, but excellent sounding R3 earphones. Brainwavz market the M1 as an all-rounder that’s equally as good with hip-hop as it is with country and I do think they’ve achieved that brief. I haven’t heard a genre that the M1s struggle with. For the price they do an admirable job of presenting anything and everything with a good balance of all frequencies, detail, and soundstage.

Rather than breakdown the individual sound characteristics of these I’m going to discuss them as an overall picture because they present a nicely cohesive balance with no major flaws, especially when you consider the $50 price tag.

The sound is a little warmer than neutral with a little bit of roll-off in the treble, but nothing extreme. Treble detail is still present and clear, but it’s slightly smoothed over which makes the M1s very easy to listen to on any track. They’re not too warm like the Elements C-12 from Signature Acoustics, but they’re definitely warm and I like that in a budget earphone that’s likely going to be used with mobile phones and similar sources that aren’t designed for flagship IEMs that reveal every last detail, including the limitations of the source.

Other than the slightly rolled-off treble, the M1s present everything else on about the same level. Mids are nicely presented front and centre with no sense of distance or veil and the bass is solid and clean without being over-emphasised. Across a wide range of tracks I never found myself wanting anything more from the M1s – they sound natural, realistic and clean from any source and on any track.

OK, so you might be wondering by now why anyone would ever buy anything that costs more than $50 when the M1s are out there. The limitation in the M1s sound is its absolute fidelity. The sound is nicely balanced and sounds natural, but it is a touch closed in and lacking the transparency of a set like the R3s. Remembering that this is a $50 earphone that’s in no way a knock on the M1s – you get what you pay for and the M1s deliver outstanding bang for buck at the $50 price point, but they’re not going to outperform all higher-priced IEMs (just some of them).

The soundstage on the M1s sounds just a little congested compared to something like the R3. It’s not particularly well defined and fits into a space about as wide as your cheekbones and with limited height or depth. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the M1’s soundstage, but it’s also not going to blow you away. It’s adequate for a $50 earphone and is accurate and coherent so it never draws your attention away from the music which is excellent – better to create an average, but non-distracting presentation rather than swing for the fences with a huge, spacious stage that can become incoherent and distracting. No, despite not being special, I think the Brainwavz engineers got the soundstage just right for a $50 neutral, jack-of-all trades earphone.

Summary

It’s not a giant killer, but the M1 is an outstanding IEM for its $50 price tag. If you’re looking for a highly affordable upgrade from the stock earphones that came with your phone or if you want a solid sounding set of ‘phones for gym duty or similar then the M1s should be at the very top of your list. They’re combination of accessories, tiny size and lightweight comfort, with perfectly balanced smooth sound make them a great option that’s going to be very hard to beat for less than $100. Once again Brainwavz has shown how it’s done, producing an incredibly good value IEM that’s well made, well equipped and with great sound – bravo, Brainwavz!

an excellent review LOQUAH, very detailed and pinning down the essential strengths of
the M1, while noting there are levels of performance, costing more, that do transcend the M!.
Good listening!

Overview

The Alien is a well-priced (~$250 AUD), compact, screenless player that plays only WAV and FLAC files – no MP3, no AAC, just the two major lossless options. For some people that will be an instant turn-off, but others may realise that this dedication to limited formats means a possible emphasis on playing those formats flawlessly – that’s what I was hoping for.

Specifications

Recommended headphone impedance: 8 – 32 ohms
Signal to noise: >98dB
Power: 2 x 55mW (into 16 ohms)
Battery life: 8 hours
Charge time: 2 hours

The specifications I’ve seen published all say the Alien is designed for up to 32Gb microSD cards, but testing with a 64Gb card (formatted in FAT32 mode) proved that it works with larger sizes, however, the navigation system means that I would never want to use it with anything more than about 10-12 albums at a time and therefore a 32Gb card is plenty large enough.

Design & Functionality

Build Quality

The Alien, like everything else I’ve seen from Shozy, is beautifully built. The main body of the device is machined from aluminium into a futuristic shape somewhat similar to the embellished hilt of a sword. It may be surprising to hear / read that the Alien is very comfortable to hold despite its slightly angular shape. The angles and points on the device are all gently rounded – just enough to make them smooth to hold while maintaining the striking aesthetics that set the Alien apart from anything else in the market (except perhaps the uniquely shaped AK240).

The Alien is screwed together with some tiny iPhone style screws on the back where another perfectly machined sheet of aluminium nestles impeccably into the main casing. The Alien is a flawless example of metal work and precision design – you couldn’t fit a piece of paper into the seams on this device, the tolerances are that tight. (The rubber feet shown in the image to the right are not included with the Alien.)

Interface

A large part of your enjoyment (or fury) with a screenless device is its interface because there are no visual cues to tell you what’s going on. The Alien employs a simple 4 way, ring shaped rocker button with a central toggle button. The central button is a simple on / off button which is slightly recessed inside the ring button to prevent accidental power-downs. This is particularly helpful because the Alien always starts from the beginning when powering up, so accidentally switching it off could be an infuriating error if you’re halfway through an album. On a couple of occasions the recessed power button has made switching the device on / off in my pocket a little tricky, but I’d prefer that to mid-session restarts.

The 4-way rocker switch is an intuitive +/- volume (up and down) and skip forward / back (right and left) setup. The + button also acts as pause with a long press and the forward / back buttons can skip tracks (short press) or folders (long press). It’s a simple setup that’s relatively effective except for one tiny issue. I’ve found that almost every time I try to pause the player (and sometimes when I just want to alter the volume) the close proximity of the buttons, and possibly the shape of the rocker button, results in me skipping tracks or folders instead of pausing or changing the volume. I expect this is something I’ll become better at over time, but in the short term it’s mildly frustrating and calls for significant care when activating either function, especially during in-pocket use.

Loading Files

The Alien doesn’t interact with your PC (or Mac) in any way shape or form so you can’t access the microSD card via USB and will need to use a card reader to load the files for your Alien. I imagine this was done for one (or both) of two reasons: either to keep the costs of production down or to keep avoid the use of potentially noise-inducing components inside the Alien. I’ve found that it hasn’t really prevented my enjoyment of the device in any way, but it has resulted in me leaving the house with a fully-charge Alien, a pair of my favourite earphones, and no memory card on a couple of occasions. Needless to say, 2 such events was enough to teach me to always double-check that my Alien is loaded with a card before walking out the door.

Folder Layout

Because of the screenless interface as described above, the way you arrange your music files is pretty key on the Alien. You need to have your files in separate folders (unless you want them all together) and these folders need to sit in the root directory of your memory card. If you have folders within folders, the Alien won’t read anything below the top most level so be aware of how you structure your files and folders.

An example of the folder structure I’ve found best with the Alien would be:

microSD\Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms1 – So Far Away.wav
microSD\Muddy Waters – Folk Singer1 – My Home Is In The Delta.wav

In my setup, each folder is named by the artist and then album name with the individual tracks numbered and named inside each folder. Technically you could just have track numbers and nothing else if you wanted to, but I find having all the info makes browsing the card on my computer easier.

Audio Formats

The Alien works perfectly with both WAV and FLAC files, but is tuned for WAV files. I have tested identical copies of both WAV and FLAC and while it’s possible that there may be a tiny sound difference, it’s not sufficient that I could say one is better than the other and may just be placebo so feel free to use whichever format you prefer as I don’t think you’ll really know the difference.

The Alien can also handle 24-bit audio, but with limited sample rates so it’s not a player for those who want DSD, DXD or even 192kHz compatibility. That said, it sounds so good with standard 44/24 audio that I haven’t really bothered with 24-bit audio other than to test that it works.

A friend and I have encountered some minor glitches with random FLAC files being ‘invisible’ to the Alien. We’re not sure why this happens yet, but I can only assume that any minor glitches or corruption in the encoding process may be enough to make the Alien ignore the file and skip to the next track on the card.

Lack of MP3 Support

If you have a lot of MP3 files in your collection you might want to consider your conversion and card-loading methods before jumping on the Alien bandwagon. Software like MediaMonkey and Foobar (and probably JRiver) offer easy on-the-fly conversion as you load a memory card so in these cases it’s easy to convert MP3s to WAV for the sake of Alien playback. That doesn’t mean you’re getting lossless audio quality because the WAV file created from an MP3 can never be better than the MP3, but this approach will allow flawless playback on your Alien.

Different Impedance Headphones

I’ve tried the Alien now with a wide range of headphones. It is specifically designed for lower impedance IEMs and small headphones so it’s not going to drive full-sized cans with the authority of a proper amplifier, but that’s not what it’s for – it’s a maximum portability audio device so it’s optimised for highly portable ‘phones like in-ears and compact portable headphones. So far, the Alien performs beautifully with any in-ears I’ve tried it with and also with the moderate impedance Alessandro MS-1s. With higher loads like the 50 ohm Thinksound On1 and 80 ohm Beyerdynamic DT1350 I could hear that the Alien wasn’t squeezing every last bit of performance from the headphones, but they remained highly enjoyable even if not maxed out performance-wise.

A Little Hiss

With lower impedance in-ears the Alien produces a faintly audible hiss during very quiet moments. Friends of mine have been unable to hear this though so it might be something that’s only of concern to those who are particularly sensitive to treble and hiss. For 98% of my listening the hiss is completely inaudible so it’s nowhere near a deal breaker and it’s completely inaudible with headphones so don’t let the hiss put you off.

Amping

I received a recommendation to try the Alien with an amplifier and have to say that it is an incredibly good piece of advice! Despite not having a dedicated line out, the Alien makes for a brilliant source when paired with a quality amplifier. Normally, double-amping (feeding an external amp via an already-amplified headphone out) detracts from the sound, but the Alien’s headphone out is of such excellent quality that things just get better when amping. Because of the high impedance of an amplifier (normally 1000s of ohms versus the <100 ohm of most ‘phones), the hiss I mentioned above is completely gone when using an external amplifier so that’s another bonus in addition to the external amp’s ability to drive a much wider range of loads including full-size, power-hungry cans.

Beware if you’re using an external amp with the Alien that it needs to be an excellent amp with outstanding transparency and imaging or you are liable to lose some of the Alien’s magic. I wanted to save this revelation until the next section, but it’s important to mention here. This player offers exceptional sound in terms of space, transparency and resolution so if your amp isn’t top notch you’ll be losing out on what the Alien can offer – choose your amp wisely!

Sound

I’ve already let the cat out of the bag, but the Alien sounds amazing! Shozy’s decision to design a player with no screen, no internal card reader (to access the card with your PC / Mac), no onboard memory, and only FLAC / WAV support has resulted in a beautiful, organic sounding device that presents the music as a perfect, coherent whole with no distractions to remind you you’re listening to a recording. The Alien presents a sound that is realistic, spacious and rich – a sound that contains oodles of detail, but without flaunting anything.

From top to bottom, the Alien’s sound is as close to flawless as you are likely to find for less than $1000. Top notch gear in the upper price echelons may offer slightly more micro details, but you’d only notice it with direct comparisons. In isolation, the Alien just sings like a perfect, extra-terrestrial angel and any shortcomings are completely invisible without direct comparison.

The bass extends deep with excellent control. Mids are clean and liquid without any sense of emphasis or added lushness, and the treble is smooth and extended. If I had to pick one area where the Alien might colour the sound slightly it would be the treble, but I’m not sure about this – you see the treble is extended, but super smooth so I can’t tell if the player tilts towards a hint of warmth or if it is neutral, but smooth. Smoothness versus roll-off is often hard to judge, but to my mind, the Alien offers a sound that is very similar to the Matrix X-Sabre DAC which is generally considered a little warm so perhaps the Alien is warmer than neutral or perhaps it’s just not dry. Either way, it’s highly enjoyable and completely realistic sounding.

One of the biggest strengths of the Alien in my opinion is its staging. The Alien throws a stage that is at once huge and coherent. Auditory cues are perfectly placed in a large, open space that seems to extend equally in all directions and each sound is clearly defined and focussed within that space. If you have ‘phones that have good imaging abilities, the Alien will reward you with a marvelous experience.

Comparisons

I really only had one comparison to the Alien that’s even close to fair (disregarding my iPods and Walkman because they’re not in the same league) and that’s the FiiO X5. At the time of writing this I no longer have my X5 because the Alien made it completely obsolete for my purposes – that’s how far ahead of the X5 the Alien’s sound is. Of course the X5 offers features that are miles ahead of the Alien in some regards: two microSD slots for up to 256Gb of storage, a simple visual interface, more output power, digital out, line-out, DAC functionality and OTG capabilities, but all of that meant nothing to me once I heard the difference in sound.

As I stated in my review, the X5 is an outstanding portable player for all of the reasons above, especially at its price, but the sound, while good, never quite wowed me in the way the Alien managed to even within the first few seconds. When comparing the headphone outs of both players, the X5 has more power, but the sound always seemed flat (spatially). The staging from the X5 is very accurate, but the sound all occurs in quite a tight space stretched from left to right. With the Alien I heard a sense of depth that made the music seem instantly real whereas the X5 remained an excellent, but artificial reproduction of the music.

The quality of the Alien’s treble is another element that set it apart from the X5. The X5’s treble carried a slight edge that I could never fully enjoy – it’s a subtlety, but there’s just something about it that falls short of perfect to my ears. The Alien’s smoothness made me think that the X5 may convey slightly more detail in the music, but I consistently enjoyed the Alien more than the X5 so any potential loss of these miniscule details is irrelevant. In fact, I think the amazing presentation offered by the Alien makes it easier to listen into the music in a way that the flat “wall” of sound from the X5 can’t so there’s a trade-off: the X5 might offer 1-2% more micro-details, but with the Alien I can actually enjoy more details so it was a simple choice for me.

Conclusion

For around $250 AUD here in Australia, the Shozy Alien offers astounding sound quality and impeccable build quality for portable audio with small headphones and earphones. It is a study in simplicity and focus that results in a near-perfect device. You need to be comfortable using a device with no shuffle function and no screen, but adapting to this approach will reward you with one of the most enjoyable truly pocket-sized sources you are ever likely to hear. I am personally loving the fact that the Alien makes me think consciously about which files to load and which albums I want to listen to. Gone for me are the days of shuffling 4000+ tracks and I’m loving the focussed enjoyment of rediscovering my music collection on whole album at a time. Of course, with the way the Alien is designed, you can create whichever folders you like so you can still create your own mixes if you want to (you don’t have to arrange your music by artists / albums).

In the end, all that matters is that once you load a memory card, plug in your ‘phones and fire up the Alien all you be able to think about is the incredible realism and engagement offered by the music pouring out of the Alien and straight into your ears.

Just put in my order on ebay. Damn You All To Hell Headfi!!!

@Loquah

Awesome review @Loquah! I'm really loving this DAP as well other than there being no screen, and having to sift through all the folders and songs to get to the one I want.

But being that we live in a world of constant screens and gadgets and the fact that my attention span is like 7 seconds...lol...it's nice to have a device that forces you to be patient. Not sure if anyone relates to this. But I see this product as being a great toy to bring around to the park, or to sit on your deck chair and just listen to the music.

No screens, no UI to be pissed about, just albums and sound.

Very cool indeed.

Can anyone give further feedback on how the UI navigation works? Do you just have to hear the first second of the song in each album ot know where you are? I feel like this is only really useful if you put a lot of effort into tracking the file management or if you just want to let go and let the music pick you. But from what I'm seeing, the sound quality is closer to the level of an Astell & Kern DAP or Sony NX DAP, but significantly cheaper.

@zilch0md

Overview

In the world of personal audio, the ultimate sound experience generally comes from custom molded in-ear monitors (CIEMs). In recent times, top of the line (TOTL) CIEMs have gone from 3-6 balanced armatures per side to 10 and even 12 BAs per side. The Kaiser 10 is an example of a 10 driver CIEM and has 10 individual drivers in each ear-piece – a pretty awesome piece of spatial design, but also a challenge of epic proportions when it comes to ensuring that all of those drivers are delivering their frequencies in time with and in support of the other drivers in each ear piece.

One of the largest challenges of any multi-driver setup (including speakers) is to have each driver deliver its optimum frequencies without interfering with the frequencies coming from the other drivers. A speaker manufacturer faces challenges with 2-3 drivers so imagine what happens when you get 10!! Add to that the challenge of placing the drivers at slightly different distances from the sound outlets and the possible timing / phase challenges this presents and getting everything right to the level expected of a flagship CIEM becomes a daunting prospect.

Specifications

Not much is published about the Kaiser 10’s specs, but what we do know is that they have / are:

10 drivers per side
4-way design (e.g. bass, mid, lower treble, higher treble) – the exact arrangement isn’t specified by Noble, but this example is a guess based on the Noble website info
Approx. 35 ohm impedance
4-wire braided cable (silver plated copper) with 3.5mm plug and industry standard 2-pin earpiece connectors

The Kaiser 10 is named after a mysterious team member at Noble known as Kaiser Soze. The design has apparently been in the works (or maybe even on the shelf / back-burner) for a number of years, but was recently brought to life by Dr John Moulton, Kaiser Soze and the team at Noble.

At $1599 USD, it’s a serious investment into an audio device so it needs to perform at a level suitable for the pinnacle of this hobby – they’re big shoes to fill…

The Custom Process

I won’t spend much time describing this process because there’s a lot of info out there about what’s involved in the process of buying custom in-ears (including this video), but I would like to briefly highlight the process and where Noble might differ slightly.

Decide on the brand and model you want to buy – sometimes without even hearing them
Get instructions from the manufacturer about how to get your ear impressions taken (different brands like the impressions done differently)
Go to a good audiologist, one who does impressions regularly, and get them to fill your ears with goo (temporarily)
Send your impressions to the manufacturer
Wait
Wait some more
Try to forget you ordered customs
Wait some more
…
Receive your customs and hopefully enjoy a perfect fit first time around (if you read my Miracle review you’ll see that this doesn’t always happen)

So, you see, ordering a set of customs is as much an exercise in delayed gratification and the taking of calculated risks as it is an exercise in purchasing audio excellence. It’s 100% worth the effort though if you choose right, and that’s a function of knowing what you like and don’t like before you pull the trigger. For example, I knew as I purchased the K10s that I wanted a CIEM that was resolving and detailed, but not analyitcal – I wanted musicality and realism first and foremost. I wanted to feel like I was sitting at a live performance or recording every time I put these in my ears.

How Noble Differs

Most CIEM companies allow some degree of customisation in terms of colour choice and artwork for your CIEM shell and faceplates. Noble offer this with even more options than most brands, but they also offer a whole different level known as Wizard designs.

Dr John Moulton has earned the moniker, The Wizard, because of his amazing aesthetic designs on CIEMs. To see some examples of these, take a look at Noble’s Instagram feed. When you order a Noble CIEM you have the choice to pay $200 extra and have a “Wizard re-print” which is a recreation of a past design, or you can $400 and have a unique design crafted for you by The Wizard . You can offer some preferences (e.g. blingy, conservative, lots of blue, something quirky, etc.) or you can just kick back and let The Wizard work his magic. Personally I went somewhere in between because I discovered that Dr Moulton could work with some stones so I hunted down a stone / crystal with significance to me and asked for it to be incorporated in a design of his choosing, but something not too flashy. The results, as you’ll see, are astounding and beautiful!

The level of customisation at no extra charge for a set of K10s is industry-leading in my experience and the option to go to the “Wizard design” level is great for those who love something unique and amazing. There is even a Prestige range which is essentially a K10 set inside a shell made using high-tech machining that allows the use of solid pieces of wood or other materials and can even result in some wood / acrylic hybrids that look spectacular. You pay a mighty premium, but the result is visually jaw-dropping.

Delivery, Packaging & Accessories

So far we’ve been on a high note so I’m a little sad to say that there is at least one fly in the ointment…

Receiving your K10s could be an underwhelming experience to some. I was blown away by how fast they arrived after being dispatched from the factory in China, but upon opening the cardboard box, things were a little less impressive.

Other than foam packaging, inside the cardboard box was a pelican-style hard case inside a Noble-branded cardboard sleeve. After removing the plastic sleeve, the hard case displayed a Noble badge and my name branded into the plastic of the case. It’s utilitarian and basic which can be a bit of a let down when buying a premium product. Putting our consumer needs aside for a moment though, Noble gives you everything you need and nothing you don’t. When it comes to customs, you don’t really need the sexy packaging to keep for resale because they’re not generally not worth reselling. I think Noble’s packaging approach is perfectly fine, but it might not meet your default expectations so please go in with your eyes open – you won’t be getting a sexy, silk-lined box with crystal paper weight and metal owners card. You will however be getting some seriously sexy CIEMs though so there’s that…

Accessories

Upon opening the Noble hard case you’ll be greeted by your new CIEMs, a high quality, lightweight braided cable (the black one in the pics) with angled 3.5mm jack, two black Noble elastic bands, a plastic ownership card, and a standard CIEM cleaning brush. Nothing special, but once again everything you need and nothing you don’t.

The cable is similar to the Westone Epic cable, but offers 4 independent strands braided together into a tight, but flexible braid. The rubber bands are your standard type band for strapping together a portable audio brick, and the cleaning tool is the same one as I’ve seen everywhere else.

As you can see in the picture above, the top of the lid gets a few indentations from the CIEMs when you store them because the case is just big enough for the CIEM shells, but I don’t ever get the feeling that there’s pressure placed on the CIEMs when closing (although I am also always very careful and gentle).

Build Quality & Fit

I had lots of troubles when I bought my first customs, the UM Miracles, but I learned from that experience and was very careful to keep my head super still during the ear impression process. Even with the perfect impressions (second time around), my Miracles were never quite perfect and used to break the seal when I made certain movements so I expected a similar experience with the K10s and was OK with that idea so long as the seal breakages were no worse than the Miracles.

As it turns out, my expectations from a custom fit were set way too low coming from the Miracles. The K10s fit like a glove and fill my ears perfectly in all areas – both inside the canals, but also where they sit in the outer section of the ear. Until trying the K10s, I didn’t know what a quality custom fit was really all about. I can eat, walk, tilt my head, yawn, and all sorts of other things without disrupting the seal created by the K10s – they’re perfect!

In addition to the perfect seal and comfort from the K10s, they are impeccably finished and beautifully polished. The thin layer of crystal placed in each faceplate is enclosed in a flawless bubble of clear acrylic which is polished to a glass-like sheen and creates a depth that you can just gaze into – the pictures don’t do it justice.

The shell of my CIEMs is a translucent, deep purple which is equally well crafted and polished. You can’t see much through the shell due to the dark colour, but what you can see is neat and well-arranged in terms of both drivers and wiring.

The Noble crown logo is printed onto each shell (in a turquoise colour in my case) and The Wizard’s signature is printed onto the faceplate of just one CIEM.

Sockets

Noble uses the industry standard 2-pin connector which is flush mounted (not recessed like my UM Miracles were). At first I was disappointed to read that Noble used flush mounts (I hadn’t seen it), but seeing how well the socket is built into the shell of the K10s makes me realise the reason for the decision. With a recessed socket, the acrylic “walls” where the cord / plug inserts are a weak point and can look a bit shabby, but with the flush sockets, it all looks sturdy, solid and beautifully finished.

Sound

As with any audio gear, this is the part that really matters. We’ve already established the immense challenge of getting 10 drivers, or 20 if you count both sides, to truly sing as one and the expectations from a $1600 earphone are understandably high so I think I was holding my breath a little when I first inserted the K10s in my ears and pressed play on my FiiO X5…

…the result was underwhelming…

Yes, I was honestly not impressed. “Sure, they’re good” I thought, “but they’re not $1600 good”. In my mind I was comparing them to my recently acquired Shure SE846 and could honestly have been quite happy with just the SE846 and $1600 back in my pocket.

If you’ve read other reviews of the K10, you might be asking yourself right now “What’s wrong with this guy’s ears?” Everyone else raves about these earphones so what was I hearing (or not hearing)?

I had this sneaking suspicion that I wasn’t hearing the best of the K10s. Something told me that they had a lot more to give so I started playing with different sources and discovered the true cause of my disappointment – not the K10s, but the source I was feeding them with.

Quality of Source

What I have come to love (very quickly) about the K10s is that they sound good from any source I’ve tried – they’re not at all fussy about the source and won’t berate you with sibilance or shoddy frequency responses even if you plug them into a sub-par smartphone. However, you don’t buy the K10 to have them sound good, you buy the K10 to have them knock your socks off, and for that you need a quality source.

Let me clarify, the K10s will sound good with everything, but their performance will be restricted by a lesser source more than any other headphone / earphone I have ever experienced. When I said earlier that the K10 left me wanting more, what I meant was that they left me wanting more from my sources so I could really hear just what these little gems were capable of, and boy did they reward me!

The FiiO X5 is a very good source and worth every penny. With every other IEM / headphone I own, I felt like I was listening to a world-class setup (when combined with my E12DIY amp), but somehow, the K10s were whispering in my ear when I was using the X5 stack – they were saying, “We could do more, you know.” I’m so glad I listened to that “whisper” and switched over to the Shozy Alien as my source as well as changing op amps in the E12DIY amp to maximise the sound for the K10s. Changing sources unleashed the magic of the K10s, namely their incredible ability to create a spacious, accurate soundstage with the greatest coherency of sound I have heard from anything short of perhaps Audeze LCD-2s or Sennheiser HD800s, but I’ll return to that comparison a little later.

The reason I have spent a bit of time discussing sources here is that I have read a number of discussions comparing the SE846 and Noble Kaiser 10 with people saying that the K10 isn’t really much better. My experiences have me thinking that people with this experience perhaps haven’t had the benefit of a top quality source. After a great universal earphone like the SE846 stops improving with different sources, a world class CIEM like the K10 still has more to give. (For the record, I still love the SE846)

Bass

The bass from the K10 is perfect – yes, perfect.

I raved about the bass from the SE846’s in my review of those, but the K10 takes it one step further, in my opinion. The K10s offer a shade less quantity of bass overall, but provide even better quality, clarity and texture in the bass than the SE846. The K10s actually dig a little bit deeper, but aren’t quite as full in the mid-bass region.

The bass from the K10s is deep and thunderous when the recording calls for it, but the bass is perfectly balanced with the rest of the sound spectrum. I would describe the K10s as having neutral bass from a ‘perception point-of view’. In other words, while a frequency response chart of the K10s might show a lift in the bass region, my perception of the bass from the K10s matches very closely with what a live recording sounds like. In that respect, the K10s and SE846s are very similar with the SE846 having just a touch more overall bass energy, particularly in the mid-bass.

Apart from slightly lifted bass to create that realistic, live sound, the K10s have the purest bass I’ve heard from an earphone and easily rival full-size headphones with their bass performance. As is my normal practice, I fired up my favourites playlist to listen to while I wrote this review and on Michael McDonald’s song, I Want You, the bass guitar sounded extraordinary. It was clear, present and audibly defined within the overall performance, but still a completely coherent part of the performance.

The bass from the K10s sounds effortless, the same way it sounds coming straight from the instrument playing it live. Noble use two huge bass drivers in the design of the K10 and you can hear the ease with which these jumbo balanced armatures handle the challenge of creating subtle, textured, and sustained bass notes. The bass is endlessly clear, clean and textured no matter what you throw at it. Rumbling bass sends quivers into your eardrums while tight, punchy bass notes snap and crack with energy and impact – no matter where a recording sits on the continuum of speed, power, and grace, the K10’s bass drivers take it all in their stride and create a completely believable experience.

Mid-Range

The mid-range from the K10 is a little drier than something like the SE846, but it’s still weighty and realistic. Despite an overall warmth in the sound of the K10s, the mid-range never comes across lush or creamy, but it also never strays into cold, analytical sterility. No, the K10 walks a very fine line to create an accurate, reference quality mid-range that is also immensely enjoyable for long, long sessions of listening.

Both male and female vocals have plenty of realism, texture and clarity. The mids aren’t placed in a spotlight like the SE846 or FitEar TG!334, but they’re definitely good enough to attract your attention without needing to be highlighted in the tuning of the earphones.

Every instrument you hear through the K10s sounds real – they just sound right. Whether it’s a violin, a guitar, a cello, or a drum, the K10 provides just the right balance of attack and decay to sound real and lifelike – as if the instrument is hovering somewhere inside (or just outside) your head. It’s quite uncanny how lifelike the sounds coming out these little acrylic shells are. In fact, I regularly hear something from the K10s that I think has to be a real sound from the outside world, but then I remember how extremely good the isolation of outside noise is with the K10s and realise that it was a sound in the recording.

I’m listening to It’s a Hard World by Supertramp right now and the vocals, trumpet, cymbal strikes and guitars are beguiling – more please!

Treble

Descriptions of the K10’s treble still elude me – even after many weeks. Listening to music with the K10s (I haven’t tried a frequency sweep) has me often thinking that the treble is a little rolled off, but then I hear air and details in the music that can only be conveyed with excellent treble extension. I can only make 2 conclusions about the treble from the K10s without getting into objective measures which aren’t necessarily indicative of the subjective enjoyment so here go my subjective conclusions:

The treble is a touch lower in intensity than the mids and bass, but it is fully extended
The treble is perfect

Yes, I said the “P” word again, but you’ll have to get used to that when discussing the K10s I expect.

The treble from the K10s is smooth, but don’t mistake that for smoothed-over because it certainly isn’t. What’s amazing about the K10s is the way they convey all of the details, but never get edgy, even on shabby recordings. You’ll hear that it’s a shabby recording, but your ears won’t be bleeding from knife-like treble spikes. This was the most impressive thing to me when I reviewed the Noble PRs and it seems that Dr Moulton has treble tuning down to a fine art based on this repeat performance with the K10s.

By now a new track was on from my playlist – My Man’s Gone Now by Miles Davis and Gil Evans – and it showcased nicely how beautifully balanced and refined the K10s’ treble is. I could hear each brush on the drums, right down to the individual textural differences of each stroke, and I could hear when the recording levels of the brass section got a bit hot and distorted at the edges, but the whole thing still sounded wonderful. It’s like the K10s are the zen masters of earphones – they don’t judge anything in the music, they just accept it as it is. The K10s won’t chastise your ears for listening to a poor recording, they’ll just honestly let you know that there’s an issue here and an issue there, but without any drama or judgement. Just like a zen master, the sound from the K10s “just is”.

EDIT: I’ve come back to address the topic of treble a second time around because I think it’s difficult to capture the K10’s treble qualities in verbal descriptions. After thinking on this review overnight I felt like I needed to better clarify and describe the treble with some more concrete comparisons. I returned to the SE846 with both the blue and white filters and I also compared the K10’s treble to the HD800. The results are a clearer picture of why the K10s sound so wonderful. Where the SE846 (blue filter) rolls off a little too soon for those who want air and space in the sound, the K10’s treble continues to extend up into the higher registers where the subtlest of cues reside. Unlike the SE846 (white filter) though, this treble doesn’t seem like it includes any spikes – it is smooth and so can sound rolled-off at first, but if you compare it to a rolled off ‘phone you will hear a distinct difference and realise that the K10 has all the information, just without any spikes.

Comparing next to the HD800s, the HD800s initially sound a bit brighter and more detailed in the treble, but further listening shows that they have a slight emphasis in the mid treble (around 6 kHz according to various graphs), but not any significant extension beyond what the K10s offer. In other words, the K10s have all the information in the full treble spectrum, but none of it is emphasised so coming from a ‘phone with any treble lift (HD800, T1, FIDUE A83, etc.) you might find the K10 to sound a bit too smooth, but it’s all there – I promise – and it’s the lack of emphasis that allows the K10s to be so marvelously revealing and transparent, and yet completely non-fatiguing.

Imaging and Staging

I might never have declared this outright before, but staging and imaging are my top priority in audio gear because that’s where the magic happens. If you get everything else right, but the image is flat and/or narrow then you’ve achieved nothing more than reproducing a recording. Create a lifelike sense of space and image though and you’re now recreating music that sounds realistic with an atmosphere / ambiance that is magical – that’s a miracle!

You’ve probably guessed from my lyrical opening to this section that the K10s are just as adept at imaging and staging as they are at everything else. Well, that’s almost true…

I should have held back before on the use of the “P” word because if the bass, mids and treble from the K10s are perfect then I’m not sure how to describe the imaging qualities they create because the overall result is even better! The imaging from the K10s is spectacular – better than anything else I have heard, including the masters of imaging themselves, the HD800s. The K10s don’t quite match the HD800s for size of stage, but in terms of clarity of image and general sense of space around instruments they could be twins. In some ways I actually find the placement and precision of the K10s to be slightly better than the HD800s, possibly due to the fact that the K10s deliver the sound straight to the ear canal without any chance of unwanted resonance and reflections around the outer ear and side of the head.

With the K10s, every instrument in the auditory landscape is perfectly placed and perfectly connected within the overall auditory picture. The coherence achieved from these two sets of ten drivers is simply breath-taking. It’s very easy to forget that you’re listening to a recording via a set of earphones when you’re using the K10s – it’s more like a tiny band has found its way to a live performance inside your frontal lobe.

Size-wise, the stage projected by the K10s extends beyond each ear by about 1cm or so and projects forward into the forehead to create an oval-shaped space with no real gaps or holes. The stage isn’t huge from the K10s, but it is incredibly spacious – like a tardis. Every instrument is clearly separate and distinct from every other instrument, but not in a disembodied way – it’s hard to describe. The overall sonic picture is 100% coherent – everything fits together seamlessly – and yet, at the same time, you can clearly hear each instrument on it’s own. This is what I love most about the K10s. They don’t try to sound extraordinary by highlighting anything. Instead, they just present everything with precision and honesty and let you hear what you want to hear – it’s all there for you to take in as a whole or to focus on piece-by-piece – it’s up to you.

Quick Comparison

Coming from the outstanding SE846, I was keen to really compare these two as some of the best offerings on the market. Keep in mind that I am using a universal SE846 (not available as a custom, but there are silicon sleeves available which essentially turn the SE846 into a custom). For both earphones I am using high quality, copper litz cables and an identical source so the following comments are based solely on the performance and characteristics of the earphones themselves without the influence of different cables or sources.

The SE846s really hold their own in this comparison, especially when you consider that you can pick them up for around half the price of the K10s. The bass from both earphones is imposing and powerful, but I was surprised to hear that the K10s actually created an even deeper, stronger sense of rumble and texture on one of my test tracks – A Thousand Years by Sting. Of course, tip choice with a universal earphone can change the quantity of bass so it’s possible that they could be equals on quantity, but the textural quality won’t really change with tips and that gives an edge to the K10s.

The overall tuning of the bass is slightly different between the SE846 and K10 with the SE846 having more mid-bass impact and power than the K10s. As to which is better, that’s up to your personal tastes, but I prefer the more open sound created by the K10s with their slightly lifted sub-bass and closer-to-neutral mid-bass.

The mid-range and treble set these 2 apart a little more than the bass. The SE846 offers the more beguiling and seductive mid-range presentation and are truly world class in that regard. The K10 is no slouch in this department either, but is less liquid and lush than the SE846. Once again, this will be a case of preference and it’s important to recognise that you can’t affect one part of the frequency response without it significantly altering the overall presentation – for instance, in isolation I prefer the mid-range from the SE846, but if those same mids were added to the K10 it would completely destroy the magical balance struck by the K10’s tuning. If you want lush mids, you have to sacrifice in other areas.

The treble is really where the greatest differentiation lies in my opinion. The SE846 has an edge to the treble that holds it back from being truly perfect. As I said in my review of the SE846, it is so close to perfection that it doesn’t really matter, but if I’m doing a comparison of two awesome earphones it’s always going to come down to the little things and the SE846 just can’t match the K10’s proficiency and refinement in the treble. The SE846 does have the ability to be tuned using its filters, but the treble is never as good as the K10 and always has a slight edge to it that can flare up on some recordings. While the K10s don’t sound quite as airy as the SE846 in its most “trebley” setup, there is never any sense of darkness or thickness to the sound and its effortless refinement is just so enjoyable. To my ears, the treble from the K10s sits somewhere between the blue and white filters on the SE846.

The K10 also has a delicacy and refinement to its sound that the SE846 just can’t quite match and this brings with it the coherency and realism I spoke about earlier in the staging and imaging section.

Comparison Summary

To summarise my experiences I’d say that the SE846 and K10 are both amazing and deserving of flagship / TOTL status as universals and customs respectively. If money, resale value and the ability to share the sound with others is no object then the K10 is a clear winner on the grounds of better texture in the sound, sharper imaging, and more refined treble, but it’s not a smack-down. This is a hard-fought win; a score of 18-21 in a game of pick-up (first to 21 wins). If you have limited funds for an earphone purchase or you highly value the benefits of a universal then the SE846 might be a better option.

To my ears, the Kaiser 10 is hands-down the better earphone, but the SE846 is a proud runner-up.

Note: The K10 is available as a universal, but I can’t comment directly on the sound of it and would be amazed if it can match the amazing comfort of the SE846.

Overall Summary

There’s a reason everyone is raving about the Noble Kaiser 10 – it really is that good!

This is an earphone that is so perfectly balanced in it’s sound and design / build that it truly disappears and leaves you with nothing but the music and a smile. Not lacking in anything and not showcasing anything, the K10 really is the zen master of CIEMs and “just is” as it honestly and accurately conveys every sound, every nuance, and every emotion of the music without judgement and without opinion. While other earphones might strip away the bass to show you more details, or emphasise the mids to create more emotions, the K10 lets each track speak for itself and it has the full range of frequencies covered so skillfully that it convey whatever message the artist was trying to convey. Thunderous power through to fragile delicacy, the K10s have it covered, but not altered.

The Kaiser 10 is quite unique in that it’s completely happy with a basic source, but has endless potential to deliver when given the right setup. There’s no punishment for using your phone, but there are endless rewards for treating it to a great DAP or DAC and amp.

If you have the funds and want the best, I have no hesitation in recommending the Noble Kaiser 10, and having heard the Noble PR and now the Noble K10 I would highly recommend any potential CIEM buyers to head straight over to www.nobleaudio.com to see what they have to offer. Even if the K10 isn’t for you, the quality, attention to detail and masterful tuning I’ve seen so far from Noble tells me they’re easily a manufacturer of choice in the current CIEM market.

Note: Thanks to @zilch0md for tweaking this image of mine to it's peak potential

awesome review!!
what tips do you use in se846?
regards

Wow, that's a sick color. When I get mine in the near future, I'll probably get a similar one with pink and yellow in it as well. Great review!

Thanks for the review, Loquah. Coincidently, we are trailing very similar paths regarding personal audio. I own a SE846, I'm waiting for a Unique Melody CIEM to arrive (the Mentor, not the Miracle), and my ear mold impressions should be delivered to Brannan’s in a few hours (I'm getting the Prestige).

Regarding sources, I think that the SE846 is picky about them. In fact, from my experience, the 846 is quite difficult to drive, probably because of its very low 9 Ohm impedance. When driven from my iPod Classic, the bass simply wasn’t there. When I got an ALO Audio The National, bass was present and I thought problems were solved, but not until my Calyx M arrived that I realized the full potential of the SE846. While the bass was boomy, lacked definition, and invaded the rest of the spectrum with the ALO Audio, it was much more contained and detailed with the Calyx M. Yes, the Calyx M is such an amazing device that the SE846 sounded like a completely different phone! Perhaps the overall bass presence actually diminished with the Calyx M: it is as if the bass stays hidden and only appears when the music really asks for it. But I find it much more enjoyable and less fatiguing this way. The bass is not at all overwhelming, as was the case when the 846 is driven by a lesser source.

Anyway, thanks again for the review, I’m anxiously waiting for both my (first) CIEMs to arrive: the Mentor and the K10. Meanwhile, I’m still in love with my Shure.

Overview

The Urbanite XL is a new addition to the Sennheiser range and was offered to me for review by Head-Fi user, White Lotus, as part of an Australian review tour made possible by Sennheiser so thank you to ‘Lotus’ and Sennheiser for making this possible.

I’m not sure what the plans are for the Urbanite (on ear) and Urbanite XL (over ear) models – they may be intended to replace the existing Momentum range or they may be intended to offer an alternate style of headphone and therefore be a completely separate line so I’ll review them without any direct comparison to the Momentum range.

Throughout this review I’ve been lazy and just typed “Urbanite” each time, but please know that I am always referring to the XL (over ear) model. I haven’t tried the on-ear model.

Specifications

Driver: Dynamic
Cable: 2.5mm to 3.5mm with locking system on headphone and inline mic / controls
Frequency response: 16 – 22,000 Hz
Impedance: 18 ohms

The Urbanite XL comes in 6 colour variants (I had the Olive ones to review and photograph) and retails for between $300-400 here in Australia.

Design & Comfort

The Urbanites are meant to be a portable, rugged, urban headphone and their design hits this brief in almost every way – they are built like a tank, but wrapped in luxurious feeling (and looking) materials and the end result is both stylish and robust.

The cups are made from quality plastics and have nice accents to provide a sense of style. The tour models are the olive colour scheme and they look fantastic thanks to a slightly pearlescent finish that throws different tones of the green-brown variety depending on the light and angle.

The hinged sections of the headband / cup mounts are solid metal which is painted to suit the colour scheme and the headband is wrapped in denim on the outside and a nice, soft, padded rubber material on the underside.

Little touches and flourishes abound on the Urbanites in areas like the beautifully finished inside of the hinges, the entry points for the signal cable where it runs from the headband into the cups, and the connection between the cups and the headbands. Everything has been meticulously styled to perfection, but without pretension. The Urbanites don’t look showy, they just look quality.

All of this would mean nothing if the Urbanites weren’t comfortable to wear, but the good news is that they’re super comfy. The earpads are firm, but forgiving and strike a good balance of keeping the cups away from the ears while still being soft and plush on the side of the head. The headband is also very comfortable for reasonably long sessions so the Urbanite designers definitely struck the perfect balance of form and function here.

Cable

Unlike the headphone itself, the Urbanites cable is strikingly ordinary. It’s a flat cable with decent connectors (2.5mm 4-pole), a simple locking system at the headphone end, and an iDevice compatible volume control / microphone. What stands out is how plastic and lightweight (in a not so good way) it feels. Sure, it does an adequate job, but seems in contrast with the quality and precision level that’s gone into the rest of the headphones.

Folding & Portability

This is the other area that I’m not sold on with the design of the Urbanites. They come with a high quality, soft carry pouch and they do fold, but the folded size of them is still huge for a portable device. You’ll have trouble fitting these into a messenger bag unless they’re all you’re carrying with maybe just a wallet and phone to go with them.

I don’t know that there’s any other way the folding could have been accomplished (and I’m guessing that Sennheiser’s designers would be more than capable of finding the best possible solution), but the end result is a bumpy, bulky bag full of headphones so I’m not sure how portable these really are.

Compatibility

The Urbanites have low enough impedance and high enough sensitivity to easily produce good volume levels from almost any device. The impedance is getting into troubling territories for some poorly designed sources, but as a headphone designed primarily for use with iPhones and the like, the Urbanites are right on the money and also pair beautifully with quality DAPs and portable amps, but are also quite comfortable on a desktop rig (as long as the output impedance isn’t crazily high)

Sound

On first listen, the sound from the Urbanites shows a bell-like clarity and image that’s quite beguiling. As the listening session continues though, some subtleties of the sound begin to become more obvious with varying impacts on the musical experience.

Bass

The bass from the Urb

anites is really solid with excellent extension. There’s good sub-bass rumble, but it’s not lifted at all so it’ll only show up in tracks that really command it – I’d describe it as neutral sub-bass, but fully extended. Further up into the bass range it sounds to me like there’s a bit of a mid-bass bump – nothing to extreme, but enough to bring some extra fun and engagement to the music. Unfortunately though, the extra fun comes at a cost with the Urbanites. On some tracks where tight, controlled bass is needed the sound can get just a tiny bit flabby. Now, I need to emphasise that it is a small amount of bass flab – like the results of a week of bad eating – not excessive flab – like a lifelong obsession with McDonalds burgers.

What this means for the Urbanites is that on some tracks they sound tight, punchy and awesome, but on some other tracks (or certain sections of the same track) they can become just a little bit unnatural in the bass. For example, on “All These People” from Harry Connick, Jr.’s album, My New Orleans, the Urbanites start off sounding sublime with the tight, authoritative punches from the kick bass, but as the other instruments join the fun the bass becomes a little incoherent and muddy to the point that individual bass sounds become hard to differentiate. I wonder if this is a sign of some reflections or interference in the bass frequencies within the cups.

Mid-Range

The Urbanites have a really clear and clean mid-range that I love, but it can sound a bit recessed which is both a benefit and a handicap. The sense of distance between the listener and the mids means that the Urbanites have a very open sound for a closed headphone, in fact they excel in this regard, but the overall sound can be a little hollow and disengaging at times because the mids are too far away.

Other than the mids feeling a little recessed they are very smooth and clean with good speed and texture. The mid-bass lift makes the sound seem like it is slightly emphasised towards the upper mids and that creates a slight dryness to the sound of vocals and mid-range instruments, but not in a bad way – it just makes them sound very clean and neutral with lots of breath and texture at the upper ends of the mid-range register as we cross over into the territory of the treble.

Treble

The treble on the Urbanites is emphasised towards the lower treble and it creates that sense of dryness and clarity where it meets up with the mids as discussed above, but it also creates a slightly artificial character to the sound which is intriguing and enjoyable for its own sake, but prevents the Urbanites from being completely engaging at all times because they’re not quite natural.

Treble extension is good, but sounds like it rolls off towards the top to prevent fatigue and the balance between extension and sharpness is balanced well with no fatigue, but also no sense of veil to my ears.

Staging & Imaging

The staging and imaging of the Urbanites is exceptional. They create an amazing sense of space around the listener’s head and place instruments incredibly well around that spacious stage. As I mentioned earlier, there is definitely a bell-like clarity to the Urbanites and it comes from the way they place sounds in the stage and keep everything clearly defined and separated. This leads to an excellent sense of detail retrieval and accuracy across all instruments placed in and around your head.

The stage extends well in all directions going slightly beyond the ears and slightly forward. Interestingly, it sounds to me like the soundstage sits higher in the centre than on the sides. For example vocalists seem to be up in my forehead area while instruments to the left and right are more in line with my ear canals. It’s not off-putting because it all runs together coherently, but made for an interesting observation while I was listening.

Quick and Dirty Comparison

While trying to come to grips with the Urbanite XL’s sound I decided to compare them to a couple of other “competitors” in my stable. My fiancée also got in on the act as a bias-free test subject – thanks Lisa!

The two other contenders were the budget classic Alessandro MS-1 and the small, but surprising Thinksound On1. The MS-1s are way cheaper than the Urbanites, are open and therefore offer no isolation of outside noise, and they’re super basic, less comfortable, and look pretty average. The On1s sport some sexy wooden cups, but are slightly let down by their plastic headband parts and hinges. They’re also an on-ear which is inherently less comfortable for longer sessions.

Comparison Conclusions

Moving from the Urbanites to the On1s is like going from a great recording to a live performance. The extra warmth and body from the On1s makes for a more enveloping and relaxing listening experience whereas the Urbanites are a more exciting, but potentially artificial experience. Some people may find the On1s too smooth compared to the Urbanites though, so it’s important to factor personal taste into this equation and while my personal tastes are for the On1, yours may be different.

Next up were the MS-1s which are less refined than either of the other headphones, but bring an up-front, lifelike feel with a more forward sound than either the On1s or Urbanites. They can’t compete on bass with either headphone and are an open, non-isolating design so they’re not very good for noisy environments. Despite being a cheaper, simpler headphone they sound great with the style of sound they present. I would probably err towards the Urbanites here because they’re closed, have great bass and are incredibly well designed and styled, but Lisa preferred the sound of the MS-1s over both the On1s and Urbanites which goes to show that this is a very personal decision. In the end you wouldn’t go wrong with any of these headphones in general terms, but some may find that there are preferable alternatives to the Urbanites for the same cost or less.

What really stood out to me in this comparison is that the Urbanite XL has a very specific sound that some will love and some may find a bit artificial. There’s no question that the overall quality of the sound is excellent, but the presentation may or may not be your cup of tea.

Summary

As I was writing this, “Pá Lante” by Ozomatli came on and showcased every aspect of the Urbanites in one track. It started with amazing, accurate sub-bass performance leading to some clear and accurate instrumentals and vocals offset against some slightly over-emphasised percussion and some slightly over-blown mid-bass. As the track died away towards the end I heard crazy-good imaging as the bass receded and I was left with the achingly sweet mid-range and perfect imaging of acoustic instruments and ambient sounds of the crowd.

The Urbanites bring a mixed bag that’s at times exceedingly enjoyable and flat out awesome while at other times reminding you that you’re listening to a recording and not necessarily fully engaged in the experience of the music. Even at their worst, the Urbanites are very, very good, but a little bit of balance in the form of less upper-mid / lower-treble lift and some tighter control over the mid-bass would have created an epically good headphone. Do check these out if your in the market for a semi-portable, closed, over-ear headphone and you like an energetic, but non-fatiguing sound.

I thought they were gonna go a little further overboard after the bass. Im looking for something bass heavy for my first pair of full size cans. Would i be satisfied by the bass coming from a bassy ~50 USD sennheiser iem? Or should i look elsewhere

Thinksound is a company that’s focussed on sustainable and environmentally conscious headphones. In fact, they even offer a recycling program for headphones with a bonus if you recycle their headphones, but I doubt you’ll be doing that any time soon with the On1s – you’ll be hanging on to these puppies with everything you’ve got!

Overview

Thinksound’s On1 headphone is a foldable, portable, closed, on-ear design that retails for roughly $350 (AUD).

Frequency response: 5 – 22,000 Hz
Impedance: 50 ohms
Drivers: 40mm dynamic
Cables: 4.5 feet (2 equal length cable options with / without phone mic and remote)

At $350, the On1s are competing with some outstanding competition from the likes of AKG, Sennheiser, Beats, Kef, Focal, and various other brands, but they more than hold their own with their sound and offer something unique with their striking timber finish.

Design & Comfort

Other than the wooden cups,

the design of the On1s is not particularly special, but that’s not a knock on them so much as a simple statement of fact. They are a fairly traditional design with a simple, adjustable headband and swiveling and folding cups, and that’s about it. The wooden cups are engraved with the Thinksound logo, but other than that these headphone don’t really stand out as looking like $300+ headphones – they’re not blingy or flashy and that’s fine by me because they won’t draw attention to themselves or to you and that means you’ll be left in peace to simply enjoy the wonderful sounds caressing your ears.

Some may find the basic looks and finish of the plastics in the On1s to be a bit of a turn-off, but I would definitely encourage you to take a listen before letting that dissuade you. The finish isn’t poor in my opinion, but it also isn’t polished in the manner of something like a Sennheiser Momentum or Beyerdynamic DT1350. The fact that I’m reviewing the On1s though, and not those other products, tells you how much the finish impacts the overall enjoyment of these headphones thanks to their adequate finish and the exceptional quality of their sound.

Accessories

The On1s are supplied with a carry pouch made of a natural cotton along with 2 different cables, both of which are high quality, Kevlar reinforced affairs that feel high quality and resist tangling very well.

You can purchase replacement ear pads from Thinksound if required, but that’s really the only other accessory I can think of for the On1s.

Foldability

The On1s are designed with earcups that swivel to sit flat and also fold inward towards the headband. This means that they can be swiveled and folded into quite a small package. All the joints and moveable parts feel sturdy and solid despite being plastic so the end result is a compact, robust portable headphone that fits nicely in a bag. My only complaint about the folding design is that when the headphones are placed flat on a desk they are the wrong way around. What I mean is that the left earcup ends up on the right hand side if you lay the headphones flat on a table with the padded side down (see images). This is a really minor issue, but it does mean you have to turn the headphones around when you pick them up to put back on your head. It’s not a deal breaker, but I’d much prefer if they just swiveled in the other direction.

Comfort

Comfort with the On1s is pretty good, but they’re still an on-ear so I do find they physically fatigue my ears after an hour or two. Design-wise I think they’re just right from a comfort point of view – they use nice soft, memory foam pads and a good level of clamping force so they’re about as good as an on-ear can ever be and there’s no way to make a headphone this portable if it’s over-ear so no complaints here.

Cables

I’ve already described the Kevlar reinforced cables so the only other things to mention are that Thinksound cleverly kept the phone controls simple enough that they work with most phones, including Windows phones!

The cables are a good length at 4.5 feet (roughly 1.3m) and use a simple 3.5mm mini jack so you can very easily replace the stock (non phone control) cable if you want to. You can see the 3.5mm socket on the right ear cup (shown on the left in many of the photos due to that folding issue I mentioned).

Sound

This is the bit that really sold me on the On1s, but, if I’m completely honest, the first time I heard them I wasn’t particularly impressed. That was my error, not theirs. The overall sound of the On1s is quite smooth so their quality may not jump out at you on first listen, but relaxing into their slight warmth will reward you with a purely enjoyable experience of accurate, detailed sound presented in an endlessly listenable manner so give them a moment and sink in…

Bass

The On1s go deep, very deep.

One of my favourite test tracks for bass is A Thousand Years from Sting’s “Brand New Day” album and the On1s very accurately convey the massive, sub-bass rumble to start the track and then display appropriate control over the bass line as the song continues. They’re not quite as refined as a top-of-the-line full-size headphone, but the simple fact that they’re close enough to consider that comparison is testament to their very impressive bass performance.

Another track I threw at the On1s is Morning from Beck’s “Morning Phase” album because it presents the challenge of some long, held bass notes at the same time as some drum hits for shorter bursts of bass. Once again, the On1s handled the subtle and not-so-subtle with grace and control. They’re not quite ballerina agile, but they’re also not sluggish or slow. The On1s strike a great balance between smooth, very slightly rounded bass and punchy, controlled bass. For a portable headphone I would much prefer this sort of tuning because it lends itself to use in louder environments and for a wide range of genres (including movies) so the On1s are right on the mark.

In terms of overall balance in the bass, the On1s are pretty balanced. They boast great levels of sub-bass, but also excellent punch in the mid-bass with no glaring peaks or troughs anywhere to be heard. They probably have a bit of a lift in the mid-bass to give them their sense of warmth and punch, but it’s nicely balanced with everything else so I’m in full favour of that decision.

Mids

To me, when the mids are done right they’re hard to describe – not in-your-face and not recessed, not raspy and dry, but not creamy and thick. That’s what the mids from the On1s are like – just right. They are well-placed in the mix, but aren’t emphasised so everything just falls together into a cohesive auditory “picture”.

In the overall balance of things, if I absolutely had to make a call, I’d say the mids are slightly less energetic than the bass and ever-so-slightly warmer than neutral, but all in a good way. The On1s are in no way over-polite, but they are incredibly smooth and friendly. They won’t gloss over a crappy recording, but they also won’t scream and shout about it.

Throughout the mid-range frequencies, the On1s often surprise me with little details that I didn’t expect from their overall presentation – a guitar lick here or a drum strike there. The way these headphones deliver everything to your ears, but without making a song and dance about it is quite exceptional. I guess, as I think about it, the presentation from the On1s would best be described as speaker-like in all the best ways possible.

Treble

The overall shape of the On1′s frequency response chart would probably resemble a beginners ski slope so the treble is rolled off slightly, but does so in line with the other frequencies so there are once again no glaring peaks or troughs to attract your attention away from the music. The treble is clean and detailed and not overly polite, but as per the theme of this review so far, there is a refinement and smoothness to the treble that allows it to caress your ears with sound rather than scream and shout.

Consonants from vocals have enough energy to be crisp and clean, but never sibilant and cymbals crash and splash with a natural sense of energy that once again reminds me most of a good set of speakers and that’s about as good as it can get for an enjoyable set of portable headphones in my opinion. Sure, the On1s may not reveal details in the same manner as a pair of HD800s, but they’ll be far more enjoyable to listen to when you’re listening to a wide range of sources and genres in a wide range of environments so the treble is perfect to my ears for this sort of headphone.

Staging & Imaging

I think Thinksound could have called the On1s the Thinksound Tardis if they had wanted to. These things have uncanny imaging for what look like basic, portable earphones. Despite the lack of angled drivers or other acoustic tricks to help imaging, the On1s are one of the best staging and imaging headphones I own and they’re closed!!

The stage thrown by the On1 extends beyond the ear cups, has excellent height and is even borderline for projecting sound beyond the boundaries of the forehead – that’s pretty impressive in my book!

Each instrument from the On1 has well-defined space in the soundstage, including a sense of weight and presence that adds to the ambience and enjoyment of the music. The overall presentation of the On1′s stage and image is actually quite holographic and never ceases to be a source of enjoyment for me when I listen to them with any genre.

Summary

At $350, the On1s aren’t a cheap headphone, but in my experiences they perform at a level that’s easily twice their price. These have quickly become my favourite closed headphone of anything I’ve listened to (including flagships like the Fostex TH-900). I’m not suggesting that the On1s out-perform flagship headphones across the board, but they do present a uniquely coherent sound that is just so easy to get lost in because nothing is noticeably highlighted or flawed, but they’re also not bland in any sense of the word. No, the On1s are engaging, lively and enjoyable, but they do it all in ways that are hard to pin down.

Writing this review has actually been very challenging because the On1s don’t really stand out in any one way, but they stand out overall. It’s hard to pin anything down with them as being excellent (or flawed), but the overall result is nothing short of brilliant. I’m worried at this point that my blow-by-blow sections above don’t do these headphones justice so I’m hoping this summary will. These headphones are exceptional, amazing and outstanding. No, they are not detail freak headphones like HD800s (for example) and they aren’t completely neutral because they have a definite sense of warmth and bass, but they are just so completely enjoyable and versatile that I have a hard time imagining someone not enjoying these.

If you’re in the market for a portable (or non-portable) closed headphone, please do check out the Thinksound On1 before you buy anything else – it might be the best move you ever make!

Great review Loquah, I have very similar impressions as these always impress whenever I listen to them.

You can never put a finger on what it is but there is something about these headphones.

A good, informative review. I'd give these more consideration if Thinksound stopped pushing the environmental BS and didn't use it as an excuse to include a bag that provides no protection as opposed to a hard case.

Attachments

Design & Accessories

Aesthetics & Ergonomics

Driver Configuration

Sound

Treble

Mids

Bass

Staging & Imaging

Conclusion

Overview

Design & Accessories

Sound Quality

Treble

Mids

Bass

Staging

Summary

Comparison with the Jupiters

Design & Comfort

Design

Cables

Accessories

Sound Quality

Treble

Midrange

Bass

Image & Staging

Overview

Design, Build & Accessories

Accessories

Sound Quality

Treble

Mids

Bass

Presentation

Noble Savant vs Noble Kaiser 10

Overall Conclusion

First Introductions

A Proper Listen

That Bass!

Other Elements of Performance

So, Who Got it Right?

Overview

Specifications

Packaging & Accessories

Fit & Finish

Fit

Size, Shape & Design

Sound

Treble

Mids

Bass

Staging & Imaging

Summary

Overview

Specifications

Design & Functionality

Size & Weight

Knobs and Switches

The Mode Switch

Aesthetics & Finish

Sound

Fischer Audio FA-011 Limited Editions

Thinksound On1

Aune B1 vs FiiO E12DIY

Overall Summary

Overview

Specifications

Design and Functionality

Interface

Features

Equaliser

Balance Control

DAC Capability

Miscellaneous Features

Sound Quality

With IEMs

With Headphones

Versus Various Devices