Disclaimer:
The unit has been sent to me by Conceptkart as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Conceptkart or Unique Melody and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. If you are interested you can buy it from here.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Introduction
Unique Melody (UM) has been a popular name among audiophiles for their great offerings in the premium or mid fi segment- 3DT, MEST and MEST MKII to name a few. They are known offer premium sound with premium build adopting innovative technologies. MEXT is their latest IEM priced at USD 1099, offering their popular bone conduction driver along with a dynamic driver and 4 balanced armatures (1DD + 4BA + 1OBC).

Build Quality and comfort
The shells of the MEST are black in colour with UM etched in gold on L side and a unique logo on the R side. On the lower end towards the periphery is the OBC and a metal hat for tuning vent at the lower part of the faceplate. I think the shells are beautifully designed and are moderately heavy. They have a snug fit which is important for the bone conduction to work effectively.
MEXT is bundled with UM M1 Copper 2pin cable, available in options of 3.5mm, 2.5mm and 4.4mm termination. The cable feels sturdy, decently soft and comfortable and no microphonics observed. It’s a well made cable that looks and sounds premium. MEXT also comes with premium Azla Sedna Xelastic tips along with generic UM tips and a premium storage.
Score: 9.5/10


Sources
Cayin N6ii with R01
Cayin N6ii with A01
Cayin N6ii with A01 LO to Pico Power
Phi DecaDac with Sapphire

Tip selection: For the review, I tried Azla Sedna's Xelastic and Earfit light short and Tenmak Whirlwind Tips. Xelastic felt a little sharper and more V shaped whereas Earfit light short had well balanced sound signature but soundstage felt narrow. I felt Whirlwinds to be most comfortable and overall have a good balance in the sound signature and having better soundstage than both Xelastic and Earfit light short.



Lows
Lows are where we are starting and lows are where MEXT does a brilliant job. MEXT treats you with rumbling, deep bass. The bass is something I haven’t heard anywhere, its not just the sound, it’s the feel, thanks to bone conduction. It doesn’t matter if its real or not, but it’s like when you listen to speakers, you can feel the bass vibrations in your body, MEXT does that in your ears. The bass is full bodied and has heft, its detailed and sufficient in quantity but the extension could have been slightly better, that’s just me nit-picking.
Score: 9.5/10

Mids
Mids on the MEXT are good as well. It is well detailed, natural and smooth. Vocals are appropriately forward and not being on our face, even probably a tad recessed. I didn’t observe any peaks. Strings and piano tones sound clean and natural. The tonal weight is good, and full bodied. The bass doesn’t bleed into mids. The mids are tuned with more emphasis towards the lower mids, that makes it pretty soothing and relaxing to listen and providing a good tonal weight to the entire sound signature.
Score: 9/10

Highs
Treble in MEXT aren’t aggressive but has a nice presence. It has this relaxed yet detailed nature and has decent extension. The layering and airiness is good. Energy actually depends on the source pairing, but I feel the treble is not tuned to be bright. Infact, the overall sound signature is warm. Nevertheless someone expecting a good quality and relaxed treble will be happy with it.
Score: 9/10

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation
MEXT soundstage has good width and height. However the soundstage is more towards intimate and focused. The imaging is good too and layering is great. I didn’t experience any congestion. The soundstage has this nice extensive feel with each instruments, vocals projecting from each of their distinct position in the space. Soundstage is not too wide or provides an out of the head experience but that’s a trait rather than a defect.
9/10

Conclusion:
I think MEXT is a great IEM for the bass heads or even for someone who loves natural and detailed tuning. It doesn’t disappoint on any of the aspects and does well for any and all genres of music. For the price of USD1099 I can happily recommend it. Having tried and owned IEMs like CA Andromeda, Kinera URD and headphones like Ananda, I feel MEXT is worthy of its price and presence.

Overall rating: 9/10

Disclaimer:
The unit has been sent to me by Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo or Kinera and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Introduction
Kinera, a well-known brand among audiophiles, have brought us the Urd which is a tribrid IEM. It is a 5 driver IEM in 2DD + 1BA + 2EST configuration in each side. It features dual Sonion EST drivers, 8mm titanium crystal diaphragm coaxial double dynamic drivers, and a single high-performance Kinera custom balanced armature unit. These drivers are arranged and adjusted in a three-way frequency crossover. Urd is currently available at Hifigo for USD 585.00. Here’s the link.


Build Quality and comfort
The shells of the URD are beautifully made, the faceplate is one of a kind to feature first ever 3D printed sculpted faceplates. As like most of Kinera’s IEMs, Urd looks stunning and has a lot of going in for the design. In one of the side, Kinera is etched and on the other side Urd is etched in gold. The shells are towards the larger size but had a snug fit on my medium or small sized ears.
Urd is bundled with a hybrid 6N OCC Copper cores, Silver-plated OCC cores and Gold-plated OCC cores high purity wires cable. It has 2pin 0.78mm connectors and comes with 3.5mm, 2.5mm and 4.4mm interchangeable termination plug system. The cable feels sturdy, decently soft and comfortable and no microphonics observed. In fact its really well made cable that looks and sounds premium.
The fabric finish case also looks quite beautiful and keeps with the bluish theme of the Urd.
Score: 9/10



Sources
Cayin N6ii with R01
Cayin N6ii with A01
Cayin N6ii with A01 LO to Pico Power
Phi DecaDac with Sapphire

Lows
Lows are where we are starting and lows are where URD does a great job. The dual DD setup presents textured and detailed impactful bass. There’s nice rumble too and sub bass is detailed too. The has good quantity but not overpowering, it adds an overall fullness to the sound signature without meddling with the mids.
Score: 9/10

Mids
Mids on the Urd are as good as the lows. It is well detailed, natural and smooth. Vocals are appropriately forward and not being on our face yet being naturally intimate. Urd has one of the most beautiful mids I have heard. I didn’t observe any peaks. Strings and piano tones sound clean and natural. The tonal weight is really good, and like I mentioned earlier, full bodied.
Score: 9.5/10

Highs
Treble in Urd takes a slight backstep, with slightly lesser energy and emphasis. It has this relaxed yet detailed nature and has decent extension. But I did notice the roll off at the top end. I felt a certain lack of airiness in the top end. Although the highs are not exactly as per my preference as I like a bit of energy and extension, but people looking for warm presentation or people who are treble sensitive would certainly love this IEM.
Score: 8.5/5

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation
Urd’s soundstage has good width and height. The imaging is good too and layering seemed quite good. I didn’t experience any congestion. The soundstage has this nice extensive feel with each instruments, vocals projecting from each of their distinct position in the space.
8.5/10

Conclusion:
I didn’t feel anything lacking and the overall presentation seemed spot on to the kind of tuning Kinera was trying to achieve with this IEM - something relaxed and intimate but not congested, warm and lush. I feel this IEM is particularly not lacking anything and justifies the price. Urd has a premium look and premium well refined sound too.

Overall rating: 9/10

Disclaimer:

The unit has been sent to me from Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

If you are interested, you can buy it from here.



Introduction
Moondrop is a well-known brand among audiophiles and have been releasing impressive IEMs for quite some time now. I had reviewed the Blessing 2 earlier and was really impressed with its performance. Recently I was able to try the Moondrop Kato as a part of a review circle and I’m sharing my impressions.

Kato houses the new 10mm ULT super linear dynamic driver unit that features a DLC composite diaphragm coil. It has a larger brass cavity, an imported CCAW col and a high frequency waveguide system. It comes with two sets of sound nozzles made with different materials- Steel and Brass that provide different characteristics to sound. The package also includes the new Spring tips developed by Moondrop. The cable included is a 0.78mm 2pin 3.5mm single ended high purity copper thick silver plated cable with 4-core star stranded structure. The Kato is priced at USD189.99.

Build Quality and comfort
Kato has a really good build quality. It has a metal shell of medium size, and should fit everyone, with variation in the tip sizes if required for better fit. Shell is made of mirror polished 316 stainless steel that looks premium and really well made. The shells are heavy but doesn’t feel uncomfortable at all. The shells however are prone to fingerprint as well as scratches. The cable and connectors are very well built, connectors look sturdy and overall the package looks quite premium. I like the fit on these, these are comfortable and provides good isolation.
Score: 9/10


Source, drivability and pairing
I believe warm sources will pair well with Kato. I used Cayin n6ii (R01) as portable setup and Phi DecaDac (diy) + Sapphire amp (diy) as desktop setup. PhiDac is a smooth slightly warm dac whereas Sapphire is super transparent and neutral.
Kato can be driven directly off a DAP to sufficient volume but moving to my desktop setup further enhanced my experience. With desktop setup, it sounds cleaner with better punch in the bass and slightly more refined.

Sound Signature
Kato has a neutral Harman tuning that primarily focuses on the mids and highs. Bass quantity is tad low, and sub bass is surely lacking. This takes away the rumble. But the bass is punchy and has a decent slam with decent amount of details. Mids are clean and transparent without any bleed from the bass. The detail retrieval is really good and is fairly engaging. The mids aren’t too forward which is my preference. The tuning that Kato has, the mids are slightly on the leaner side. The highs are really good on the Kato, its clean, detailed with good amount of air in the top end. Highs have good energy but are not fatiguing at the same time. String instruments sounds really good and natural.
Score: 8/10

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation
Kato has decently wide presentation, with decent height. Its more on the intimate side according to me. The Imaging is really good on these, I was able to pin point instruments accurately. The layering and separation is quite good. It has got good layering and a pretty clean presentation with good air in the highs. I would have liked a bit more depth but that’s asking too much of it for its price.
Score: 8/10

Conclusion
The Kato isn’t an exceptional IEM, atleast not the way it was hyped. But it is surely a good IEM for the price. The technicalities and tonality justifies the price and is a good option in the sub 200$ price range.

Overall rating: 4/5

Disclaimer:

The CCA CRA has been sent to me by Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

If you are interested you can purchase it from here – link.

Introduction, build quality and comfort

CCA CRA is one of the budget offering by CCA which is a sister brank of KZ. It’s a single DD IEM that has a ultra thin 10mm diaphragm with upgraded dual magnetic driver speaker. It has recessed 2 pin connection. The cable provided is a silver plated OFC cable. The shell of the IEM is transparent with reflective faceplate having the CCA logo on it. The shell is lightweight, and the fit of the IEM is quite good. It provides comfortable listening experience. For the price it is overall a good build quality.

Score for build quality and package: 8/10



Sources Used
Cayin N6ii (R01) via 4.4mm phone out
PhiDeca Dac + Sapphire amp

Sound

The bass slightly accentuated in quantity, with good amount of punch and details. The sub bass is present too with decent amount of details. The bass is clean and well controlled and doesn’t bleed into the mids. CRA has a V shaped tuning. Mids sounded pretty good and natural. The presentation is pretty clean and appropriately forward. The treble has slight peaks but helps with the sense of airiness and extension. Treble even seemed sparkly. Nevertheless, the treble sounded nice and clean without being harsh.
Soundstage is pretty average however quite decent for the price. The imaging is also decent.

Score: 8/10



Conclusion

The CRA priced at 15$ is a really good IEM, specially considering the price. It does all things right and probably that’s all should expect. Pointing out any shortcomings will be nit-picking and that is totally unjustified. If you are looking for something cheap and nice sounding, this won’t disappoint.

Overall rating: 8/10

Disclaimer:

The Kinera Idun 2.0 has been sent to me by Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

If you are interested you can purchase it from here – link.


Introduction, build quality and comfort

Kinera IDUN Golden is the latest upgraded model of their classic IDUN triple driver hybrid pair of in-ear monitors. The Idun 2.0 has a good build quality. The shells are hand painted in blue with white as base colour. On the face plate the background in blue in colour with beautiful golden imprints on it that looks like hair of Idun (the Goddess of Youth in Norse Myths). Idun 2.0 has a triple driver hybrid setup, 7mm custom dynamic driver with a Knowles RAF-32873 full ranged BA and an in-house developed BTC-30095 high-frequency BA on each sides. The drivers are arranged together in a three-way frequency crossover where the dynamic driver handles the lower end, the Knowles BA produces rich midrange and the custom BA driver delivers a smooth high-frequency response. The tuning of the pair is professionally adjusted for complementing different genres of music with a high-resolution crisp sound.

The cable is a 8-core OFC + Silver-Plated OFC cable. The cable has 25 strands of 0.05mm Silver-plated OFC wires and 25 strands of 0.06mm OFC wires with PVC outer insulation. It has 0.78mm 2-pin connectors and swappable termination plug system with 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single ended termination plugs. The cable seemed to be of good quality and no microphonics were observed. It comes with a beautiful PU leather sipper case and several pairs of tips.

Score for build quality and package: 8/10


Sources Used

Cayin N6ii (R01) via 4.4mm phone out

PhiDeca Dac + Sapphire amp

Sound

The bass has a flat nature, with decent amount of punch and details. I found the sub bass lacking in quantity hence the sub bass rumble is not noticeable in tracks. Although for most music the bass is still quite good and seemed adequate in quantity. Mids sounded pretty good and natural. The presentation is pretty clean and appropriately forward with slightly more emphasis on upper mids than lower mids. This may sound a little thin on neutral to bright setups but on warm setups it sounded pretty good. The treble is detailed and I didn’t observe any peaks. I would have loved a bit more sparkle and extension considering it has a separate BA for high frequencies. Nevertheless, the treble sounded nice and clean without being harsh.

Soundstage has pretty decent width and height. The presentation seemed more towards intimate to me. Imaging and separation was good and the Idun shined on Jazz, Western Classical and orchestral music and performed well for hip-hop, pop and electronic music.

Score: 8/10

Conclusion

The Idun priced at 169 USD is well built beautiful looking IEM that comes with premium accessories and sounds pretty good too. The signature is fairly inoffensive and performs well enough for its price. I recommend it for any genres except for busy tracks where a little more air would have helped.

Overall rating: 8/10

Disclaimer:

The unit has been sent to me from BQEYZ as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to BQEYZ and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.


Introduction and Aesthetics

Autumn is a budget offering from BQEYZ, a 13 mm dynamic driver placed inside anodized metal shells with scalloped faceplates. The shell looks minimalistic and good. It has recessed 2-pin connectors, “Autumn” and “BQEYZ” branding on the left and right respectively. “L” and “R” are engraved on each side. The bass ports are at the inner side of the shells. There are 3 different tuning filters that come in the package: bass, normal and treble, each of grey, gold and silver colour respectively. The cable is 2 pin 4 core SPC cable with 4,4mm connector.
Autumn fitted really well and was comfortable for long listening sessions. The shells are lightweight and doesn’t lead to any kind of fatigue.

Score for aesthetics: 8.5/10


Sound

My sound impressions are mostly with the normal filter. The other filters influence the bass quantity with minor impacts on the mids, bass filter increases the bass whereas the treble filter decreases the bass. The normal filter seemed to be the balanced sounding, with nice warmish tonality.

The bass is one highlight of the Autumn. Bass is punchy as well as well textured with decent sub bass extension. A minor about of mid bass bleed is noticed but it doesn’t meddle with mids much but giving an overall character of warm to the sound signature. The bass however runs the show as soon as I switched to the bass filter, its will just shake your soul and treat you with nice meaty bass.

Mids are natural and doesn’t seem too recessed or overly forward. It has nice warmth but sounds clean and dynamic at the same time. The filters have some affect on the mids as the bass filter brings in a tonal weight or heft to the lower mids while the treble filter emphasizes the upper mids. With the normal filter, I didn’t notice any peaks and sounded linear.

Treble, with the normal filter sounded decent, with no noticeable peaks and decent amount of air. The good thing is it doesn’t cause any fatigue at all and sounds quite pleasing. However, I did feel treble lacking extension but then its still quite good considering it’s a single DD iem and the overall tonality is targeted at warm and pleasurable.

The soundstage has good width as well as height. There is a good sense of depth too. Autumn has good separation, and I rarely observed any congestion. The instruments and vocals sounded distinct, and I was able to pinpoint them out fairly well.

Being a single DD, the coherency and timbre is really good. Overall, the sound has good naturality doing all things right.

Score: 8.5/10

Comparison

I reviewed BQEYZ Spring 2 which I absolutely liked for its performance in the price range it is available. Autumn from BQEYZ is another excellent offering and I am amazed how BQEYZ is really hitting the right spot all the time. Autumn in one end is a nice warm, pleasurable IEM with good timbre and naturality whereas Spring 2 has better treble extension and probably more V shaped. Mids on the Autumn sounded more natural. Spring 2 had better treble extension but probably slightly grainy. I don’t think one bests the other, its more about the preference and what is it you are looking for.

Conclusion

Autumn’s tonality is lush, warm, natural and is a pleasure to listen to. Technically it does quite well too without missing out on anything. Being priced at 199$ it has a lot of competition on the market but with a safe tuning it stands out on its own in the market. If you are looking for something inoffensive, natural and pleasing in tonality that will just sooth your ears, this is a good recommendation. Or if you are looking for some good meaty bass, Autumn is a good recommendation with the bass filter.

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Disclaimer:
The unit has been sent to me from Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Purchase link here
Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Introduction

Tin P1 Plus houses a 10mm Planar Diaphragm driver. In the vast ocean of DDs and BAs and ESTs and various other iterations of each, planar driver is not a new tech in IEMs. Planars in IEMs were not making much news except for Tin P1 which probably have earned its place in the Hall of Fame. Recently brands have been coming out with successful planar IEMs, these are doing most things right and competing with offerings higher than its price with different driver configurations. To start with, P1 Plus is another successful planar offering punching way above its price range.


Build Quality and comfort

Tin P1 plus like any of Tin Audio’s offerings has a really good build quality. It has a metal shell which is on the smaller side, and should fit everyone, with variation in the tip sizes if required for better fit. The housing is exactly same as the Tin P1. The cable and connectors are very well built, connectors look sturdy and overall the package looks quite premium. I like the fit on these, these are tiny and very comfortable but might not provide the best isolation.
Score: 9/10


Source, drivability and pairing

I believe warm sources will pair well with P1 plus. I used Cayin n6ii (A01) LO + Pico Power as portable setup and Phi DecaDac (diy) + Sapphire amp (diy) as desktop setup. PhiDac is a smooth slightly warm dac whereas Sapphire is super transparent and neutral.

P1 plus can be driven directly off a DAP to sufficient volume but adding a portable amp resulted in much better and less bright presentation with everything improving on it, and then moving on my desktop setup further enhanced my experienced. With desktop setup, it sounds like a headphone and sounds excellent. My impressions will be mostly on the desktop setup as the P1 Plus sounds much better on it.

Sound Signature

P1 Plus is flat sounding with no particular emphasis on any of the frequencies. The tonality is neutral to bright. It does react well to source, having a warm source brings in the warmth in the presentation. With better amping the P1 plus sounds more refined with better detail retrieval and overall, all the technicalities, sounding more even taking off any brightness or any peaks in upper midrange and highs. P1 Plus tend towards an analytical and accurate presentation. It sounds very clean and great clarity across all frequencies. Since sound signature is always an individual preference, there’s no use scoring it.

Lows

Probably the only thing I couldn’t get satisfaction out of the P1 Plus. The bass presence is there but the presentation is flat and neutral so bass definitely takes a backstage and would popup whenever required. Because of this I didn’t feel the impact much. I felt, a slight increase in quantity would have made it perfect. I can still ignore this since there’s so much more to the P1 Plus than the bass. Cayin n6ii A01 with Pico Power gives a nice warmish sound out of the P1 Plus with mild improvement on the bass compared to my desktop setup.
The quality of the bass is still commendable, its fast, articulate and very precise.
Score: 8/10

Mids

The mids on the P1 Plus are just beautiful. Vocals are appropriately forward for my taste with good texture but smooth in its presentation. Instruments sound natural with good detail retrieval. There’s really good layering and air in the mids and doesn’t sound congested. Its not very emotional in the presentation and tends more towards analytical and accurate presentation.
Score: 9/10

Highs

Highs are my favourite in the P1 Plus. Its clean, precise and well extended. The layering and airiness is excellent but surprisingly not piercing. It has great imaging and provides clear positional cues for instruments. Overall probably one of the best treble I have heard from an IEM till date.
Score: 9.5/10

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation

P1 Plus has very nice wide presentation, with decent height. The Imaging is really good on these, I was able to pin point instruments accurately. The layering and separation is one of the highlight of the P1 plus. Its has got excellent layering and surprisingly dissects all the instruments into different layers, its almost headphone like in this! I would have liked a bit more depth but that’s asking too much of it for its price.
Score: 9/10

Comparision

The immediate competition I can think of is 7Hz Timeless. Timeless is probably the best planar I have ever heard. P1 plus definitely sounds flatter and more accurate than Timeless, but Timeless has beautiful and fun sound signature. The bass quantity on Timeless is higher and equally fast and articulate. Timeless I felt has better well-rounded soundstage, holographic whereas P1 plus is wider. Overall it comes down to your preference, if you want something accurate and analytical, P1 Plus is the way to go but be sure to feed it proper desktop amplification it will perform better than Timeless. But if you need something fun, that goes well with portables, then Timeless is the way to go.

Conclusion

The P1 was already a very loved IEM in the planar IEM world, P1 plus just slightly improves on it without losing anything. I haven’t tried the original P1 but according to other people P1 Plus has improved on the bass response. And that’s a step in the right direction. I have been amazed by the kind of value these sub 300USD IEMs offer these days. So if you are okay to hook it up with a desktop amp, P1 Plus is a no brainer for 159$.

Overall rating: 9/10*
*not averaged, just overall considering everything.

Disclaimer:

The unit has been sent to me from Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo or 7hz and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Link for more information: https://hifigo.com/products/7hz-timeless-14-2mm-planar-in-ear-earphone

Introduction

Timeless has been the talk of the town recently for being a special entry in the mid budget segment. It houses a planar magnetic driver, which is not something unique, we have seen various renditions of planar driver in IEMs at different price points by different brands. So why is the Timeless talk of the town? The reason being its performance, both in technicalities and tonality. All other planar IEMs that came out earlier, primarily in the sub 1000USD price range, including the hybrids, usually did well with technicalities (not all) but weren’t doing anything special with the tonality. Tin Audio’s P1 was probably the best ever to come out but needed powerful desktop grade setup to shine, even then might leave most craving for bass and/or listeners finding the signature bright. Tin P1 still have a good fanbase even today after years of its release.

We will discuss in detail what makes the Timeless special and what you can expect from it if you decide to spend your hard earned money!

Build Quality and comfort

Timeless has a unique shell. The inside part being smoothly shaped to fit our ear, whereas the faceplate being a flat circular plate. The shells are lightweight, black in colour, made of aluminium and have a smooth feel to it. Fit wise, with stock tips some might struggle but using after market tips like Spinfit CP100, AzlaSedna Earfit Light Short or JVC spiral dots – as per your preference, sorts the fit issues, if any. Timeless doesn’t fit with high isolation creating a vacuum inside the ear, for which I am thankful, not really a fan of that fit anymore. The cable is lightweight too, comfortable, doesn’t really speaks of strength but does the work without and microphonics and tangling. It comes with an assortment of tips- different sizes and shapes, comes with probably the most premium looking case ever made of brushed aluminium, an extra pair of filters, some documentation. Overall, Timeless package is rich in good quality accessories, specially the case, which is a looker!

Score: 9/10


Lows
Probably the primary highlight of Timeless. I haven’t heard such good lows for a long time, most IEMs I tried till date, leaves me overwhelmed or underwhelmed with quantity or disappointed with quality. Timeless is none, its bass is tasty! You get the quantity in the most appropriate amount, followed by the excellent detail retrieval, just planar bass goodness. Bass have decent amount of slam and overall contributes to warmth and enjoyable sound signature of the timeless. On tracks like, Luka Chupi by A.R Rahman and Lata Mangeshkar from the movie Rang De Basanti, there is a bass line playing and coming up at certain intervals: 1:50-2:05, around and after 4:00, its clean clear with great details, most iems either miss it or overdo it making it overwhelming, some of them losing the texture, Timeless did it spot on. My library mostly consists of rock and a bit of jazz and blues and pop, for all these genres, bass plays an important role, it overall makes the music enjoyable, when done in appropriate quantity and quality, just like most things in life!

Score: 9/10

Mids
I’m not a fan of forward on your face kind of mids, mid forward signature probably isn’t suited for my music preference, hence I am always very particular of it. Too much laid back mids aren’t enjoyable either, the lows and highs turn out to be overwhelming when you crank up the volume since most people adjust volume with respect to mids. Timeless portray mids for me in an excellent way, its so appropriately staged, that even songs that sounds shouty on other IEMs were smooth on Timeless. It isn’t because the Timeless is aggressively laid back in mids, its because of the smooth and appropriately forward presentation of the mids. Looking back into time, I remember when I reviewed Blessing 2, it was an excellent IEM with great details, soundstage, tonality, all things done right but didn’t really suit my taste as it was little to mid forward for me. There’s a spike at the 2k region as per the graphs however with burn in, I feel it isn’t noticeable anymore.
Electric guitars, piano, brass instruments, flute etc sounds pretty good, good amount of details and layering in the mid frequencies, probably not the most natural I have ever heard but overall it’s a great balance.
Male vocals have good texture and depth whereas female vocals sound a little flatter, vocals in general sounds smooth with decent amount of texture, probably not the most natural tonality. Vocals doesn’t sound heavily focused at centre, rather smoothly dissipated. Tracks with multiple vocals as well as other instruments playing, doesn’t sound congested, vocals are able to stand out.

Score: 9/10

Highs
Timeless because of its peak at 2khz and 8khz might sound bright and peaky to some (even I observed it initially) but with time, probably with burn in (actual or mental) it smoothened out for me. It doesn’t sound like a peaky or bright IEM anymore, rather a smooth warm IEM with great detail retrieval across all frequencies. The highs are clean and clear, with good air and separation, this is evident from cymbal hits and hi hats from songs like Windowpane by Opeth. Acoustic guitars sound really clean and clear, for eg, the intro section of the song Luka Chupi and throughout the song.

Score: 9/10

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation

Soundstage is the only department where I feel Timeless could have done better, its fairly wide with good height but it could have been wider. Nevertheless, music never sounds congested even with tracks with busy sections like Luka Chupi starting from 4:30. Thanks to the separation and clean presentation, Timeless comes out on top. Imaging is great on Timeless, this can be observed on the song Thriller by Michael Jackson, where right at the beginning the door opens and the footsteps move from left to right, its so clear and can be pinpointed in both width and depth, speaks about the prowess of the Timeless in terms of imaging. Separation is another great aspect of the Timeless, all the above tracks, aren’t very well mastered yet sound clean, separated across all frequencies. This surely impresses me quite a lot.

The presentation here feels like a medium sized hall with the listener sitting probably at the 3rd – 5th row. There’s overall a holographic feel to it, air around the room with the sounds reverbing across the hall. Eg: Heaven (MTV Unplugged Version) – Bryan Adams

Score: 9/10

Tonality

Planar IEMs have almost been technically sound, but Timeless takes it to next level with its great tonality. It’s not, and need not be tonally correct, because it sounds great, with appropriate balance of being critical and fun sounding. It’s not the most natural IEM I have heard, its enjoyable and is a versatile IEM sounding equally good with all genres and better in some. I feel timeless has mild V shaped sound signature with warmth slightly laid back and non-fatiguing sound signature. Its not an IEM that will play the music on your face, rather it will just present the music in most humble way, you can go on hours without being exhausted, enjoying and rediscovering your music.

Score: 9/10

Source and drivability

During review, I have used the following setups:
Cayin N6ii with E02 (4.4mm balanced)
Cayin N6ii with A01 (4.4mm balanced)
Phi DecaDac + Sapphire amp (6.35mm single ended)
Timeless sounds great on N6ii and is fairly drivable. On E02 module, at Low gain the appropriate listening level for me is at 45/100. Its almost same as JVC FDX1.
On Phi DecaDac + Sapphire amp – its sounds the cleanest and best as Sapphire (based on RJMs Sapphire v4 diy amp) is a transparent amp, whereas Phi DecaDac (multi multibit DAC based on tda1387) is a smooth neutral sounding DAC.
It does scale up with cleaner source and power but sounds great even just out of the DAP.

Comparison

JVC FDX1 (blue filter+azlasedna airfit light short eartips) vs Timeless:
Yes, it’s an apple to orange comparison one being single DD vs Planar magnetic, but it fairs as both are around same price range and are probably best in their own little world. FDX1 is my favourite single DD IEM and I preferred it over Fiio FD5.
Timeless has more bass and better bass quality, while Fdx1 has an edge with the DD slam but low in quantity. Fdx1 sounds brighter and lean compared to Timeless which has a warmth and more note weight. Fdx1 however sounds cleaner comparatively with slightly more details. Both have similar extensions on both ends of the frequency spectrum. Timeless has better separation and layering. Vocals are more forward and natural on the Fdx1 whereas Timeless has laid back vocals. Fdx1 vocals texture is more noticeable probably due to its mid forward presentation. Fdx1 vocals sounded shouty at the busy sections of Luka Chupi after 4:30. Fdx1 has a neutral sound signature whereas Timeless has mild V shaped presentation. Fdx1 soundstage seems wider but loses in layering and separation to Timeless. Timeless handles busy and congested music better than Fdx1.


Conclusion:

I have said enough about the Timeless so I will leave the conclusion to the readers. Timeless is priced 225USD and if you ask my opinion, is worth twice the price. Few areas you might want to look at before buying is fit, the mild V shaped sound signature with not so forward mids and the decent soundstage – these might be points of compromise for some whereas would matter for some. From my side, it’s a definite recommendation.

Overall rating: 9/10


Tracks used:

• Luka Chupi – Rang De Basanti – A.R Rahman, Lata Mageshkar
• Windowpane – Opeth
• Thriller – Michael Jackson
• Human (acoustic) – Rag ‘n’ Bone Man
• Elephants On Ice Skates – Brian Bromberg
• The Expert – Yello
• Hotel California (2013 Remastered) – Eagles
• Global Warming – Gojira
• Highway to Hell – AC/DC
• Sway – Diana Krall
• Killing in the name – Rage against the machine
• Tears in Heaven (Acoustic Live at MTV Unplugged) – Eric Clapton
• Heaven (MTV Unplugged Version) - Bryan Adam

Disclaimer:

The Ranko Acoustics RIE-880 has been sent to me by Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.


Build Quality and comfort
RIE-880 has a good build quality. The white shells are made with high precision 3d printing technology using a skin friendly Resin material. The faceplates are beautifully hand painted. The IEM fits well and are lightweight at just 3.5gms each, long listening sessions does not cause any stress on the ears. RIE 880 features a 9.2mm dynamic driver.
The cable is a high purity RHA-1050 cable made with 6N OCC Silver-Plated copper and OCC copper wires. It has flexible PVC insulation, standard 0.78mm 2pin connectors and a gold plated 3.5mm termination plug. The cable is very well built and should be able to withstand stresses and the test of time. No microphonics were observed. The included carry case looks premium and sturdy too.

Score: 4.5/5

Sources Used
Cayin N6ii (A01) via 3.5mm phone out
Cayin N6ii (A01) Line Out to Pico Power

Sound
The lows in the RIE880 are well detailed, and not too high in quantity, the sub bass has got good punch and has decent extension. The bass is not accentuated hence supporting the overall neutrality in the sound signature. The mids are relaxed and has a good texture. They are appropriately forward for my taste. The upper midrange has some peak but are not fatiguing. The treble is smooth and sounds clean. The extension is not that great but I feel, the way this IEM is tuned, it doesn’t matter. It sounds quite fun anyway. The Cayin N6ii with A01 is a warm source and with it I didn’t notice the sibilance.

Score: 4/5

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation
Soundstage on the RIE-880 is pretty wide and has good depth. The imaging is good and has fairly distinct positioning. The layering is decent. However, RIE-880 struggles with busy music, I felt it to be slightly congested in the mid and high frequencies. That also depends on the quality of music, with good quality music it didn’t struggle as much. Now that also explains the revealing quality of this IEM, it is fairly good.

Score: 4/5

Source and drivability
RIE-880 is fairly easy to drive, it can be easily driven off the Cayin N6ii A01 PO. There is a slight improvement in sound quality when listening from Pico Power. Sound signature has opened up and more air is observed in the treble region.

Conclusion:
This is the first IEM I have tried from Ranko Acoustics. I am amazed by their build quality, these are beautifully made and the cable looks really sturdy. The sound signature is well balanced. The tonality can still be improved and probably a bit more extension in both the ends could have made it no brainer in this price range. But even then it performs fairly well for the price of 140 USD.

Overall rating: 4/5

Disclaimer:

This is a personal unit borrowed from a friend. I am in no way associated with Soranik or any dealer.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Introduction

Soranik is a brand which is not very popular yet. They are from Vietnam and has some good number of IEMs in their catalogue. Soranik Ion 2s is a dual driver IEM, having a Magnetostatic driver coupling with a DD driver configuration. It is priced at 199 USD.


Build Quality and comfort

The shells are made of resin (most likely as I couldn’t find anything) and are black in colour with golden details. The faceplates have Soranik etched on one side and their logo on other side in golden colour. The connectors are 2pin and the stock cable is 3.5mm cable, silver in colour, which I am assuming to be a SPC cable.

The IEM fits well, they aren’t too heavy. The cable is good too, looks premium and I didn’t notice any microphonics. I didn’t feel any stress on my ears after long hours of listening.

Overall, the build quality looks quite good and I don’t have anything negative to point out about it. It’s a beautiful looking IEM with good fit and comfort.

Ion 2s has got 3 vents on the earpiece in each side protected by grill.

Score: 9/10


Gears Used

Cayin n6ii A01 3.5mm PO

Cayin n6ii A01 3.5mm LO + Pico Power in mid gain

PhiDeca R2R DAC + Sapphire Amp

Whirlwind M size wide bore tips

Sound

Ion 2s is a very technical IEM, it has got some strong technical performance and it definitely performs much better in those areas than other IEMs in the similar price range. Overall Ion 2s has got great details, its fast and has mild V shaped sound signature. I never noticed any graininess, it has very well refined presentation. The sound signature is slightly lean but that can be cured with a good warm source. The tonality is more towards reference/technical than natural.

Lows

Bass is one of the many highlights of this IEM. It is fast, detailed and has got good extensions. The impact is good and users won’t feel the lack of bass at any point. Sub bass rumble is good too, and on my test tracks it performed quite well. However, I felt it lacked some depth. The overall sound signature tends to be on the leaner side but that is just as per my preference.

Score: 9/10

Mids

Vocals are recessed and that’s typical of a V shaped sound signature. They work up well with the sound signature of the Ion 2s. Vocals are sweet, smooth and effortless, slightly laid back. The midrange isn’t as detailed as the top end, I felt it lacks the depth. However, the performance in the mid frequencies is fairly good for the price.

Score: 8/10

Highs

Highs is one of the primary highlight of this IEM. The overall top end is very detailed. It has certain amount of sparkle to it. The separation is great and it sounds very clean and crisp. Against other IEMs I have heard around this price range and probably higher, Ion 2s has great airiness, they never sounded congested to me, this is flagship level of airiness in the top end I am talking about. The highs are certainly highlighted, and hence Ion 2s may sound bright to some, I used it with a warm source and it was borderline neutral. Even with the detailed and emphasized highs, I never noticed and grain which is quite commendable for its price.

Score: 9.5/10

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation

Ion 2s has got a wide soundstage. The width is surely above average but I am not sure if that’s the result of its performance in the highs. The imaging and separation is quite good, I was able to pinpoint the sound coming out of the instruments. It handle the busy tracks well, I’m sure the detailed presentation and the airiness is the reason behind it. There isn’t much congestion noticed in any of the frequency ranges. In this price range, I believe Ion 2s performs decently in soundstage and imaging, separation is still better than the most.

Score: 8.5/10

Source and drivability

I believe warm sources will pair well with Ion 2s. It certainly requires good amount of power. Moving from the 3.5 mm PO of Cayin N6ii A01 to Cayin n6ii A01 LO to Pico power in mid gain setting, I felt the presentation became more atmospheric, the depth surely improved and was sounding less lean comparatively. The bass becomes more impactful with good depth, mids doesn’t change much, highs have the airiness improve slightly and probably slightly crisper and more detailed.

Comparison

Thinking about the comparison, I feel See Audio Yume and BQEYZ Spring 2 are something I have had/reviewed around this price range. Please refer to my individual reviews of both these IEMs for more clarity. I will keep this objective so that the readers have a clear idea. These comparisons are very relative to each other and is based on which I enjoyed more.

Bass: Spring 2 > Ion 2s > Yume (Spring 2 has more depth, but other than that Ion 2s is very very close, Yume lacks the punch and quantity)

Mids: Yume > Spring 2 > Ion 2s (Yume has got great tonality, and mid range is a highlight in it, great details and very natural, Spring 2 had decent midrange but Ion 2s slightly lags behind)

Highs: Ion 2s > Spring 2 > Yume (Ion 2s, hands down. Spring 2 has got good details but has graininess, Yume is decent probably with lesser air and extension than the two)

Detail retrieval: Ion 2s > Spring 2 > Yume

Soundstage and imaging: Spring 2 > Ion 2s > Yume (Spring 2 felt better than the two, Yume being the intimate one)

Tonality: Yume > Spring 2 > Ion 2s (Yume has got great natural tonality, Spring 2 and Ion 2s are more about preference, Spring 2 is more fun whereas Ion 2s is more technical/reference)

Drivability: Yume > Spring 2 > Ion 2s

Conclusion

Ion 2s is a technically strong IEM and any negatives I talked about is probably me nit-picking. For its price range, I feel its one of the best. I wonder why its not very popular the like the other two I compared it with, or like many others in this price range which doesn’t even come close. If you want something detailed and articulate, Ion 2s is a good option.

Overall rating: 9/10

Disclaimer:

The Kinera BD005 Pro has been sent to me by Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

The Kinera Bd005 pro was priced at 49 USD but is currently available at 45 USD.


Build Quality and comfort

The Bd005 Pro has a good build quality. The hand-crafted 3D printed shells are well built and looks beautiful. The IEM fits well and are not heavy, long listening sessions does not cause any stress on the ears. Bd005pro features a dual driver hybrid setup – 9.2mm beryllium diaphragm dynamic driver paired with custom tuned 30095 series high-frequency BA driver.
The cable is a 2pin 0.78mm high quality 4 core silver plated with 3.5mm termination plug. It is flexible and no microphonics were observed. It also come with a round basic carry case with Kinera logo on it.

Score: 4.5/5

Sources Used

Cayin N6ii (A01) via 3.5mm phone out
Cayin N6ii (A01) Line Out to Pico Power

Sound

The bass has good body, is punchy and has good amount of details. The bass has good quantity to satisfy bass heads but what is interesting is the quality of the bass for the price of the IEM. It is thick and impactful. Bass bleed is noticeable, but I was not really concerned.

Mids are recessed and has decent amount of detail retrieval. Vocals aren’t into our face. There’s a bit of congestion in the mids when the track gets busy.

Highs have decent extension, good amount of details and airiness, atleast for the price, they are pretty good. Some peaks are noticed and can be a point of concern if the source is bright.

Soundstage is fairly decent too, presentation is mostly in the head. Imaging is good and instruments can be positioned in most scenarios, although the music tends to play within the head and the space feels like a mid-sized room.

Conclusion:

Kinera’s BD005 Pro is a beautiful looking iem, that is well made and comes with fairly good accessories for the price. The tonality is fun and unoffensive, has a nice laid back V shaped signature. The looks are enough to justify the price but that’s not just about it, the sound is equally good to be a really good contender in this price range of sub-100$.

Overall rating: 3.5/5

Disclaimer:

The KBEAR Believe has been sent to me by Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Build Quality and comfort

Believe has a good build quality. The black shells are well built with beautiful faceplate, the IEM fits well and are not heavy, long listening sessions does not cause any stress on the ears. Believe features a 9mm pure Beryllium diaphragm dynamic driver.

The cable is a 2pin 0.78mm 4 strands 40 core 6N Furukawa single crystal copper litz structure with 3.5mm plug. It is flexible and no microphonics were observed. The included carry case looks premium with the KBEAR logo.

Score: 4.5/5

Sources Used

Cayin N6ii (A01) via 3.5mm phone out

Cayin N6ii (A01) Line Out to Pico Power

PhiDeca DAC with DIY Sapphire v4

Sound

The lows in the Believe are deep and slams hard, the sub bass has got good body and has decent extension. The bass is a highlight for the Believe and is definitely quite enjoyable. There is a slight lack in texture, but the bass has slow decay and has a good resonance to the sound signature.

The mids are laid back and has a good texture. The mids have a thick body to them supported by the lows. The overall sound signature of the IEM is warm. The upper midrange has some peak but are not fatiguing, rather makes the sound signature exciting.

The treble is smooth but has a slight peak adding to the fun signature of the IEM. For some people it might sound sibilant, but for me with Cayin N6ii with A01 which is a warm source I didn’t notice the sibilance.

However, with the PhiDeca DAC and Sapphire, the sibilance was slightly noticeable which was expected since PhiDeca DAC is neutral sounding and sapphire is extremely transparent.

With Cayin N6ii with A01 line out to Pico Power is where Believe shined. The lows became tighter and precise, the soundstage became holographic and the highs were detailed but not sibilant, and well extended.

Score: 4/5

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation

Soundstage on the Believe is pretty wide and has good depth. The imaging is good and has fairly distinct positioning. The layering is good and music, even with busy sections are being rendered correctly without sounding too congested, instrument separation is pretty decent for the price point.

Score: 4/5

Source and drivability

Believe is rated at 17ohms@98dB/mW, does require a bit of power to be driven. Portable sources like phone or even a DAP’s 3.5mm phone out might not have enough juice but adding a portable amp or desktop setup surely helps. The sound does scale up with power to be more dynamic with better punch in lows and good extension in the highs, the soundstage, layering and separation also improves when the Believe is driven with adequate power.

Conclusion:

Believe is a capable iem with lot of good points. the sound signature is laid back but quite enjoyable. It has average detail retrieval but has the brownie points for tonality. One point of concern would be the power requirement, but a portable amp can drive them pretty easily. For the current price of 180USD they are quite capable if you can satisfy its power requirements.

Overall rating: 4/5

Disclaimer:

The unit has been sent to me from Sennheiser India as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Sennheiser and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Build Quality and comfort

The retail box looks good, it comes with a set of silicon and foam tips, a cleaning tool, a carry case and the IEM with the cable.

The build quality is excellent for the IE300. The shells are beautifully finished, small and very lightweight. They sit comfortably in the ear and doesn’t cause any fatigue. The earguides on the cable are something I am not a fan of, they don’t sit well on the ear. The cable however is decent and is flexible, the build is decent and looks like will offer good durability.

Score: 9/10


Sound Impressions:

IE300 sound signature is V shaped, with mildly elevated lows and highs, recessed mids. The lows have good texture and good impact. They don’t bleed into the mids. Mids are recessed on the IE300. They also lack clarity and are unappealing in nature. The treble is detailed with mild peaks in the lower treble region. There’s energy in the treble region which does bring out an exciting sound signature. However I feel treble could have bit more extension and air. Soundstage is good on the IE300, it has good width and depth. Layering and separation is good too. I didn’t notice any congestion on any track, instruments can be distinctly identified and can be located across the space.

Score: 8/10

Drivability and source matching

I have used Cayin N6ii with A01 module. IE300 is pretty easy to drive, it can be driven off phone but I would suggest using atleast a dongle or a player for best experience. Tonality wise it may sound a little bright on some tracks, so smooth warm sources will pair well the IE300.

Conclusion

Sennheiser’s IE300 is one of the most comfortable IEM I have ever reviewed. Its so lightweight and sits comfortability in ear, one would just forget about it and can just enjoy the sound. The tonality is more on the commercial side and most people will enjoy the IE300’s V shaped fun sound signature. Along with that the beautiful build and Sennheiser’s brand name are good enough reasons for audio enthusiasts to try the IE300.

Disclaimer:

The unit has been sent to me by Catear as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Catear and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Specifications:
Cable length: 1.2m
Cable material: Silver Plated OCC copper
Material purity: 99.99997%
Plating Purity: 99.996%
Coating thickness: 60mil. (approx)
Wire Structure: Multiple Stranded Litz Structure
Conductor thickness: 26awg x 4 strands
Number of cores: 252
Insulation material: DuPont-PVC



Introduction:

Catear is a new brand that made its entry with budget friendly products like Mimi, Mia and Tuxedo cable. Mimi was a highlight as it was a brilliant earbud considering its price. I haven’t yet tried Mia but now I got the opportunity to try the Tuxedo cable. It retails for 79USD and available at various stores internationally. It is available in 2pin/mmcx connectors and 2.5mm/3.5mm/4.4mm terminations. The cable specifications are already mentioned above. There are a few more information about its construction like 3-stage cryogenic treatment, Rhodium plated copper plugs, gold plated mmcx/2 pin connectors, German WBT silver solder used for welding etc. You can find the details here: https://www.catearaudio.com/product/catear-tuxedo



Build Quality and comfort:

I have the mmcx cable with 3.5mm termination for review, I didn’t receive the full retail packaging so I can’t really talk about the unboxing/packaging experience. The is lightweight and flexible, probable one of the best cable in terms of comfortability I have used. Its light on the ear, folds easily along the curve behind the ear. I didn’t notice any microphonics. The build quality is overall good however I cannot really speak about the longevity as I have it for just a week, I’m not sure how the cable will degrade with time. The comfortability comes at the cost of the sturdiness and I am not sure if it can sustain occasional stress and the usual wear and tear over time. Nevertheless considering the price its a home run.

Score: 9/10



Sound Impressions:

For sound impressions I will be using the Campfire Audio Andormeda 2019 as I feel Andromeda is a very sensitive IEM and tend to respond well to cable changes. I will compare it with Satin Audio Hyperion 8x cable whose technical description you can check from Satin Audio website.
I personally use Effect Audio Thor II Silver cable as I feel this is the best cable for Andromeda as per my preference.

Tuxedo vs Satin Audio Hyperion 8x:
Tuxedo with Andromeda is a good pairing, the sound is smooth with a tinge of warmth and is fairly dynamic. The tonality is natural and I didn't notice any peaks.

Hyperion 8x has similar characteristics as it is also a Silver plated OCC cable. The sound is smooth upto similar levels, the warmth is slightly less. The tonality is natural too but I felt the dynamic range to be slightly better. There’s more depth to the sound. I also felt the extension in the treble region to be slightly better than Tuxedo, but then this is me being extremely critical about it and maybe most people wont even find the difference. The soundstage seemed similar with good width and average depth.
I don’t like both the cable’s pairing with Andromeda as they are too smooth and lacks the punch. Thor II in this case is much better and brings the most out of the Andromeda but then it is 4 times the price so it is unfair to take this into consideration.

Score: 8.5/10




Conclusion:

The Hyperion 8x is an 8 strand cable so it feels more sturdy and looks like will survive through occasional stresses and usage wear and tear more than the Tuxedo. The Hyperion 8x is equally comfortable to use. But the 8-strand cable comes at a slightly higher price of around 100USD. There are other variations with 4 and 6 strands too at a lesser price. I am not sure if increase or decrease in strands can impact sound quality.
Tuxedo is a good cable for its price and can be a very good replacement to stock cable to low-mid tier IEMs. The stock cables in most IEMs aren’t of best quality and hence Tuxedo can be a great cable to bring the most out of the IEMs. Here I would also like to mention that it is characteristics of the Andromeda to sound overly smooth with SPC cables, and hence it needn’t be that Tuxedo will sound too smooth with other IEMs too. It will mostly bring out a refinement in sound quality compared to stock cables and hence I believe it will a good choice.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Disclaimer:

The unit has been sent to me from BGVP as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to BGVP and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.



Build Quality and comfort

Priced at 169 USD, the NS9 looks good in its golden faceplate and CNC machined aviation grade alloy shell which is black in colour. NS9 has a driver configuration of 2DD+7BA. The diaphragm material is composite titanium plated silicon and the drivers are calibrated using a four-way electronic crossover. The retail packaging comes with a good bundle of accessories – a 3.5mm silver plated braided cable, various assortment of tips and 2 extra sets of filters which helps in tuning the sound signature.

The shells are slightly larger in size but has a snug fit for me, anything bigger even by a slightest margin wouldn’t have fit me. It might not be very comfortable for longer sessions. The cable looks decent and no microphonics either. Overall the set feels decently comfortable.

Looking at the build quality of the IEM and the cable, and the set of included tips and filters, it looks fairly good for its price. Its has various combination of colours and cable preference available in various sites.

Score: 8.5/10



Sound

For the review I have used the grey filters which provides a balanced tuning along with vocal eartips. This seemed to be the best combination for me.

NS9 has a fairly distinct V-shaped sound signature with relaxed highs, recessed mid and boosted punchy bass. Its quite fun to listen to and does well for most genres. It is able to handle complex genres with ease.

The bass has decent amount of texture, abundant amount and punch. The low extension is quite decent for the price and has been the highlight of the pair.

The mids takes a step back and are at times overshadowed by bass, and a minor amount of congestion and lack of clarity is noticed. Recessed mids aren’t particularly and issue for me, I tend to prefer balanced to V shaped sound than a mid forward presentation however I’m not a fan of bass being too powerful to overshadow the mids.

The treble is laid back, with decent amount of details. However highs lack extension and air. The sparkle is still there and attributes to the fun sound signature, but a bit of air and transparency in the mid and high frequency would have certainly taken the NS9 to whole new level. I am not sure though as to attain that type of tuning the sound signature might lose its relaxed nature and maybe that’s not what BGVP would have aimed for its tuning.

Score: 8/10



Soundstage, Imaging, Separation

Soundstage of NS9 has decent width and depth, and helps keep enough space for instrument heavy tracks to not sound congested. The imaging is decent. It has decent instrument separation. A clean sound signature and has good refinement.

Score: 8/10

Source and drivability

I have Cayin’s N6ii with A01, Lotoo Paw s1 and DecaDAC (diy r2r) as sources. N6ii and S1 are fairly warm in its presentation however DecaDAC is more of a neutral source. In my experience, the sound signature of the source hardly impacts the NS9. Its strongly retains its sound signature and tonality all thoughout.

Conclusion:

I have previously reviewed See Audio Yume which is an excellent IEM under 200USD. Both are priced exactly same at 169USD. Comparing with the NS9, the Yume has better tonality with slightly better performance in mids and highs, and the soundstage. The detail retrieval and imaging are on same level in both. NS9 has stronger bass and has a more fun approach to the sound signature. My recommendation under 200USD will still be the Yume however someone who wants a fun bass heavy warm sound signature might try the NS9 and wont be disappointed. Accessories and design wise NS9 is still better unless you have a smaller ears and cant really fit bigger shell IEMs.

Overall Score: 8/10

Disclaimer:

The unit has been sent to me from See Audio as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to See Audio and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Build Quality and comfort

Yume is a budget offering from See Audio, a 1DD+2BA configuration placed inside glossy black shell with a bit of design on the faceplate along with the branding and logo. The shell looks beautiful, and has a pseudo custom fit. The cable is 0.78mm 2 pin OCC cable with 3.5mm connector. There were 3 pairs of eartips of S, M and L sizes.

Yume fitted really well and was comfortable for long listening sessions. The shells are lightweight and doesn’t lead to any kind of fatigue.

Score: 8.5/10

Sound

The first thing I noticed with Yume is its excellent tuning, its fun as well as engaging at the same time. The tuning is inspired by the 2020 Harman Target. The overall sound signature seemed balanced and neutral to me.

The bass quality is really good and fast. The bass seemed slightly lower in quantity than my preference and lacks the slam. The sub-bass is light and lacked rumble. However, it is what the tonality is intended to be, and the bass is just adequate with respect to the Yume’s tuning.

The mids are however very clean and appropriately forward to my liking. Mids have good amount of details and separation is quite good too.

Highs have good amount of macro details and well extended. Highs are clean and crisp and has good amount of air.

Score: 8.5/10

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation

Soundstage of Yume has average width and depth, and helps keep enough space for instrument heavy tracks to not sound congested. The imaging was good and I was able to pinpoint each instrument. It has good instrument separation and layering and even though soundstage isn’t very wide, the layering and separation along with clean presentation is what makes Yume sail through complex tracks with ease. I never felt any congestion and these properties are really flagship level according to me.

Score: 8/10

Source and drivability

I believe neutral to warm sources will pair well with Yume. I have Ibasso’s DX160 and Pico Power amp. Both Ibasso DX160 PO and DX160 (lineout) to Pico Power paired well with Yume, however Pico Power improves the bass performance and makes the presentation musical and euphonic.

Yume does scale a bit when I moved to my desktop setup, Phi DecaDac (DIY R2R Dac) to Sapphire Amp. The highs became more crisp and oozed out all the details the drivers could afford, the bass had slightly more punch however still seemed lacking to me.

Comparison

A few months ago, I reviewed BQEYZ Spring 2 which I absolutely liked for its performance in the price range it is available. It was really hard to imagine some other IEM can come up and compete with Spring 2 anytime soon. Yume proved me wrong, with its excellent tuning and technical capabilities, Yume is now my favourite IEM under 200$. Compared to Spring 2, Yume has better tuning, more refined sound and excellent layering. Spring 2 had graininess in the highs. However Spring 2 has more bass quantity and punch and soundstage is slightly better than Yume.

Conclusion

Yume’s tonality is comparable to IEMs much higher than its price and even might be better than the most. Technically in terms of soundstage and detail retrieval it might still fall short of higher priced competitors. However, as per my experience, it will be really hard to find anything than can do better than the Yume around or even slightly higher than its price of 169USD. Yume is now my topmost recommendation below 200USD.

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Disclaimer:

The unit has been sent to me from BGVP as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to BGVP and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Build Quality and comfort

The DM8 looks beautiful in its transparent shell, and you get to see the 8 BAs inside. DM8 is a all BA iem, with a crossover design, 8BAs taking care of different sound frequencies. The retail packaging comes with a great bundle of accessories – a 2.5mm thick frozen UPOCC 6N 8-strand single crystal copper 24awg handmade litz cable, 2.5mm to 3.5mm connector, 2.5mm to 4.4mm connector, various assortment of tips which can fine tune the sound signature, a tin container to store the IEMs,

Score: 9/10

Lows
It’s a common convention that BA-only IEMs can’t do bass that well, surely we have had flagship IEMs that broke this convention, but DM8 has really outdone it in the mid-fi category. DM8s bass is strong and punchy, impactful and sounds like a dynamic driver. It’s not overwhelming, rather very satisfying as it takes care of that appetite for bass that we have. The bass doesn’t bleed into mids, neither over emphasized to call it a bassy IEM. Sub-bass is great and has good grip on the overall low frequencies. The lows are textured and detailed, and has really good quality. The bass is slightly boosted but in the best quantity possible with great quality.

Score: 9/10

Mids
Midrange is smooth and slightly laid back in the DM8. It sounds natural to my ears. Upper midrange has slightly more energy comparatively. It’s well detailed but non-fatiguing at the same time.

Score: 8.5/10


Highs
Highs in the DM8 is clean and smooth. It has good really good amount of details and decent amount of air in the top end. Treble extensions could have been slightly better and could have had more air in the top end. Overall, its still really good and does better than most of the IEMs in this range. It has good amount of macro details but manages to be smooth at the same time.

Score: 8.5/5

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation

Soundstage of DM8 has good width and depth, and helps keep enough space for instrument heavy tracks to not sound congested. The imaging was really good for an IEM to be able to pinpoint each instrument and identify even the how distant those were placed. It has good instrument separation and I believe DM8 performs in this area way better than most other IEMs in this range. The layering is decent in DM8 too.

9/10

Source and drivability

I believe neutral to warm sources will pair well with DM8. I have Ibasso’s DX160 and Pico Power amp. Both Ibasso DX160 PO and DX160 (lineout) to Pico Power paired well with DM8, however Pico Power improves the bass performance and makes the presentation musical and euphonic.

DM8 is a low impedance high sensitivity IEM, although less sensitive than CA Andromeda. Power wise they can be driven off mobile phone but I would recommend a good source, atleast a decent dongle DAC as DM8 is a very capable IEM.

Conclusion:

I previously owned BGVP DM6 which was a well received IEM during its time, although had mixed reactions due to its V shaped sound and the efforts it takes in terms of source matching, cable and tip rolling to make it sound best. I went that extra mile and I was well rewarded, I still love that IEM and I don’t think any other IEM could have taken its place, not for that price. I had high hopes on BGVP as a brand, I didn’t get to try the DM7 or BGVPs other offerings, but I was lucky enough to get to review the DM8. And I can happily say that BGVP has delivered to my expectations, and this time without me needing to go that extra mile for the DM8 to sound good. It has a mature tuning, one that of the likes of flagships IEMs. It has excellent package of accessories, really good build quality and sounds excellent. There’s always room for improvement and hence the same will always reflect on the score, DM8 is going to be my highest rated IEM among the ones that I have reviewed so far, DM8 is a complete package and offers great value for money.

Overall rating: 9/10

Disclaimer:

The unit has been sent to me from Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
You can buy the Tin P2 from here.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Build Quality and comfort

Tin P2 like any of Tin Audio’s offerings has a really good build quality. It has a metal shell which is on the smaller side, and should fit everyone, with variation in the tip sizes if required for better fit. P2 houses 12mm planar diaphragm. The stock cable is 6N OCC 2.5mm balanced braided cable. The package also comes with 2.5mm female to 3.5mm male single ended connector and 2.5mm female to 4.4mm male balanced connector. The cable and connectors are very well built, connectors looks sturdy and overall the package looks quite premium.

Score: 9/10

Source, drivability and pairing

I believe warm sources will pair well with P2. I have Ibasso’s DX160, a Pico Power portable amp and a DIY Sapphire desktop amp. P2 need a lot of power, playing it merely from the phone or the DAP wouldn’t satisfy its power requirements. In any case, today most of audiophile listeners use portable amp or desktop amp for listening, for P2 I’m ready to consider these minor inconveniences because of how good it sounds with minor tweaks. By default with the silicon tips it sounds bright and the bass occasionally bleeds into mids, but all these issues were solved with foam tips. With foam tips, the sound signature becomes slightly warm, but lows are improved now, highs are taken care of too, and doesn’t sound peaky anymore. For the review, I used the foam tips paired with either Pico Power or Sapphire amp with Ibasso DX160 line out as source.

Lows

P2 has good amount of bass and of good quality. P2 doesn’t shy away from presenting some good bass, but at the same time doesn’t overwhelm you. The lows are tight and impactful with decent rumble and control. On the track, Moon Light on Spring River by Zhao Cong, the lows are mostly done correctly by the P2, there are very few IEMs that were able to perfectly render this complex track. On other tracks and all forms of genres, the P2 has been able to present the bass in a beautiful and satisfying way.

Score: 8.5/10

Mids


The mids on the P2 are laid back yet detailed. The sound signature isn’t mid forward, and that’s my preference. Mids have good body and texture. Even on long listening sessions, the sound wasn’t fatiguing.

Score: 8/10

Highs
Highs are the main highlight of the P2. It can be utterly devastating if you are using silicon tips, as it would sound peaky and bright, or smooth yet very detailed if you are using foam tips. P2 with foam tips, have one of the best highs I have ever seen around this price range and maybe higher. Its very detailed and yet doesn’t sound bright and doesn’t cause fatigue on longer listening. The air or the openness is good for its price range, but anything better could have placed it among TOTLs. However its wrong of me to expect that, but I have loved Tin Audio since I owned the legendary Tin T2 and have high expectations, atleast in the highs.

Score: 8.5/10

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation

P2 when driven from a powerful amp has a headphone like presentation. The soundstage has good width and height, the imaging is really good. Instruments can be distinctly identified and have a fair headspace. Music usually didn’t sound congested, no matter how busy they are.

9/10

Comparison

Sometime ago, I reviewed the Moondrop Blessing 2 (hereon as B2). B2 was an exceptional pair and has set a benchmark in the price range it was available for. But P2 now competes strong against B2. Speaking about the differences, P2 has more bass quantity, B2 has more detailed and textured bass. Mids in B2 are more forward, someone like me who isn’t much of a fan of mid forward presentation, would prefer the P2. Highs are crisper and more detailed in P2 with foam tips, B2 with stock tips may appear slightly brighter than P2. B2 is easier to drive than P2. P2 with smaller shells seemed more comfortable. Because of the sound presentation, P2 seemed less fatiguing than B2 and are suitable for long listening sessions.

Conclusion

Tin P1 had a place of its own in the market, being a planar IEM. P2 carries on the legacy and for me, is a really good sounding IEM. It has a mild V shaped sound signature, but at the same time having really good mids. Treble has good energy and very detailed whereas bass has good quantity and extension. The sound signature with foam tips is warm and lush and quite enjoyable to listen to. For the price its available, I think it’s a good sounding IEM provided you use the foam tips.

Disclaimer:

The unit has been sent to me from Cat Ear Audio as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to the brand and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Introduction

Cat Ear Audio is a fairly new brand in the market with 3 products in their cat-elogue, the Mimi, the Tuxedo (earphone upgrade cable) and the Mia (IEM). This review is about the Cat Ear Mimi, it is a 9$ earbud, and have certainly gained popularity amongst audiophiles recently – what’s so special? That’s all the review is all about!

Build Quality and comfort

As soon as you unbox the Cat Ear Mimi, you start having the feel of a minimalistic but beautiful design. Then the question arises, 9$? Seriously? That’s the exact moment I realised, its going to be worth it! Inside a square shaped paper box, with a cat impression cut out on it, is a round shaped tin container. The tin container has a cat paw and the branding printed on it.

Inside the container, is the earbud and couple of donut style foams. The earbud itself, is beautifully designed. It has a transparent shell with mirror finished stem, the stem has the Cat Ear logo and Mimi imprinted on each side, and L-R markings on the underside.

The cable is tangle free cable, very lightweight and no microphonics.

The Mimi is quite lightweight and fits conveniently. Even for long listening hours, its comfortable and doesn’t cause any stress on the ears.

Overall, its really hard to justify the excellent build quality of the Mimi against the price it is available for. It surely looks better than the RY4S and VE Monk or Monk Plus, these are available almost at similar price range.

Score: 9/10

Lows

Bass on Mimi has decent quantity, and if I recall correctly, slightly more present that Monk Plus which I used to own a year ago. It has got good punch and doesn’t overpower other frequencies. Sub-bass presence is something it is lacking, the sub bass rumble is something I missed. Although with EQing this gets fixed. It has good mount of details in the lows and provides a warm and pleasing tonality to the Mimi.

Score: 8/10

Mids
The mids are highlight for me, they are really good and punches way above the price. It has a very good amount of details with appropriate forwardness. Mids sounds lush and smooth, vocals are natural and doesn’t usually sound congested.

Score: 8.5/10


Highs
Mimi as decent sparkle in the highs, which itself is a big achievement in its price range. The highs are detailed, not to forward but doesn’t lose its essence in the music. The overall warm tonality does slightly subdue the highs but makes them really good for long listening sessions, without missing out on those cymbal hits.

Score: 8.5/10

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation

Soundstage is another highlight of the Mimi, I feel its unrivalled in this price range, I have owned Monk Plus and still own HE150pro, HE150pro being some 30$ in its price, Mimi competes fairly with it but definitely does better than the Monks. Mimi has really good soundstage width and height, imaging is really good too. The instruments can be fairly pinpointed, supported by good separation provides an unique experience. I never felt any congestion in any frequency.

8.5/10

Source, drivability and scalability

Driving the Mimi is pretty easy, it can be driven off easily from a phone. Better sources does result in better experience although the differences are negligible as our sources becomes more complicated.

I have driven them off One Plus 6 phone, Ibasso DX160 3.5mm headphone out, Ibasso DX160 (line out) > Pico Power and Ibasso DX160 (line out) > Sapphire amp. DX160 3.5mm headphone out seems to be a decent source and above which the improvements are minimal.

Conclusion:

To conclude, Mimi is an absolute no brainer for the price of 9USD, it has a really good tuning, unrivalled soundstage and imaging. This whole review is me being extremely critical about it without keeping the price in mind. It doesn’t sound out of the world, but then it doesn’t need to! In the times where people are spending thousands of dollars on audio gears, Mimi at such a price is an absolute gem and might as well be the best dollars ever spent for most of us.

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Disclaimer:

The unit has been sent to me by Tipsy as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Tipsy and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Introduction

Tipsy is a known brand in the market, it has quite a line up in the wired IEM range but this time Tipsy has something new to offer, the TM1. It is a truly wireless earphone available at the price of 139USD.

Design, Build Quality, Comfort and Fit

The TM1 features an IEM like design, with a beautiful faceplate with touch control. The earpieces are lightweight, fits comfortably and stays put. Even with long sessions, I didn’t feel any stress or fatigue on my ears. The case is pretty compact and looks premium, one need to pull the right earpiece first and then the left earpiece for seamless pairing. Tipsy’s design is usually very minimalistic but with good quality and comfort, it stays the same with TM1.


Usability and Functionality

Connectivity is pretty fast and good on the TM1. I checked the extent of its connectivity, at random the connectivity extends to approx 10m radius from the source device and upto 6-7m with two brick and mortar walls between them, it is like you can freely roam around your apartment or workplace with your source device in another room. This is pretty impressive connectivity for a TWS, the best I have ever seen.

Moving on, the call quality is decent. I had no issues receiving and making calls, I could hear clearly and I don’t think the person at the other end was having any issues hearing me, they never complained!

With devices that have Aptx, the TM1 connects via Aptx. I believe Aptx is fairly superior than SBC codec and is fairly evident while listening to music.

Sound Impressions

The first thing you notice when you listen to TM1 is exceptional details and clarity on the top end. There’s some amount of energy and decent sparkle, with good air in the highs. The bass quantity is decent and quality is good too. The quantity might not satisfy bassheads, but for someone like me, I prefer a balanced presentation, which is what TM1 exactly has. The mids are smooth and appropriately forward, they sound natural. The decent soundstage and good imaging provide a good media consumption experience. The overall tonality is quite natural. This kind of performance in TWS is very rare. The amount of details and the overall presentation is better than most wired IEMs available at this price range.

Conclusion

TM1 is indeed the best sounding TWS I have reviewed. Others that I reviewed in this price range are Shanling MTW100 and RHA TrueConnect. MTW100 had more features like Ambient Mode, but this is something which is rarely useful to me. TM1 still gets extra points for the sound it offers at an affordable price.