InChor M0 Wood Earbuds

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

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

Packaging and Accessories:

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



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



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



Build:

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



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




Fit/Isolation:

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



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

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

Sound:

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

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

Bass:

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

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

Mids:

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

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

Treble:

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

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

Soundstage:

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

Comparisons:

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

vs KZ ZS3 ($8 USD):

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

vs KZ ATE ($9 USD):

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

Final Thoughts:

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