---Introduction---
I love Massdrop. Despite living in Canada and bombarded with heavy import taxes, I am still very interested in special collaborations made by Massdrop such as the TR-X00, HD6XX, HD58X, and K7XX to name a few. After years of collaborations, Massdrop had to create something of their own; a product that is tuned in-house, made in-house, and unique to its name. Thus, the Plus was born. Made and tuned by Massdrop from the ground-up, these IEMs hope to try and aim for that sweet, seemingly impossible spot in sound signature: reference-like neutral tuning with extra emphasis in the bass region. With a year worth of R&D behind their belts and continuous testing prior its release, is the Plus worthy of your $300? Read on to find out!---Unboxing & Accessories---
I usually almost never do this section as I immediately throw boxes and wrappers out after I unbox things, but the Plus really got my attention...First of all, the box is really small, and I have a soft spot for small, cute things XD
Box design is a little different from the ones shown in other reviews... Is this a refresh? is it only a design update? My guess is as good as yours...
Kinda like what they included... A mini hardshell case, a pair each of foam, silicone, and dual-flange tips, a cleaning tool, and a nice velcro strap attached to the cables. Note that the black cable is not included, it is my personal Noble cable, attached cos I was too lazy to remove them..
If I could nitpick on something, I would say the case is a little bit too small, look at how ugly my Sage is in them..
Anyways, moving on...
---Build Quality & Fit---
The Plus is made out of 3D-Printed Acrylic, and it is what it is. The shells have a smooth surface all around, without seams or glue residue being present, which is nice. The edges/corners around the sides of the shells are also very round and smooth, which reduces fatigue and irritation on the ear once worn. Really it is as good as it gets, and there is no other special things worth mentioning here. The fit however, is down right amazing. This is the best fitting universal IEMs on the market right now. Period. No other IEMs come close to the fit of the Plus, with its custom-universal design nicely sitting inside the grooves of your ears, causing little to zero irritation whatsoever. Because of this the Plus also sits flush inside your ears, which gives you a more low-profile look, with nothing sticking out of either ear. Plus (no pun intended), it lets you lean on your sides with these on, which is amazing for those who love to sleep while wearing earphones!As you can see, the Plus looks more sleek and slender, as opposed to the more chunky, industrial design adopted by the Orions which gave my ears quite the run as it sometimes gets sore after awhile.. ymmv tho
---Cables & Connectors---
The cable that comes with the Plus is a respectable silver-coated copper, which is quite thin and flexible. Being thin and flexible however could be a good and a bad thing. The good thing is that this cable is lightweight and tangles less often, but the bad thing is that sometimes when yanked they feel like they are about to pop off, and it could accidentally get snapped when closing the case included by Massdrop, which is no fun especially when you are in the middle of a trip, etc. While using the Plus, despite being okay with the cable itself, I found myself looking for a replacement cable fairly quicker than I initially thought, as the end connectors tend to get a little loose over time. I believe the issue is with the cables itself, as when I swapped it out for several aftermarket cables, the connection becomes more secure and even for some cables you can hear a "snap" sound when plugging them in.---Sound Quality---
Okay, the most important section, the "make-or-break" section of a review. I will start off by providing a general tonality of the Plus before going over the detailed breakdown. So in general, the tonality of the Plus leans towards neutral-warm, with emphasis towards the sub-bass region (duh?). The character is somewhat very immediate and aggressive, with impact being the key player in each spectrum. Confused? read on...Highs: The high frequencies in the Plus is mostly neutral, with a slight emphasis in the upper treble (at around 10-11k) which gives the Plus some added shimmer and sparkle on the very top end. Although there is more extension compared to say, the Orions or the ER4XR, the Plus still can't compare to the likes of CA Andromeda, with orchestral and several instrumental pieces sounding a little bit compressed, with string instruments sounding like they are gasping for air. Swapping genres to Pop and EDM however, the slight emphasis gives the Plus a little bit more room to breathe, preventing the Plus from sounding congested and stuffy. Detail-wise the trebles bring some good detail, not amazing. Cymbals crash with natural crispness and quick decay, which is desirable for me. The treble also contributes a little bit to the soundstage, which I will talk about below. Overall, 8.5/10
Midrange: The Mids in the Plus are very well tuned and matched, and I found it to be exactly similar to the likes of Etymotics, with the exact same character, detail retrieval, and presence. I noticed the mids sound very detailed and forward, with solid vocals (both male and female) and excellent resolution on instruments; from piano notes to guitar strums, everything sounds crunchy and resolving. However, with this I also found that the mids sound cold, with less organic warmth present, especially within vocals. This makes the Plus very versatile, but not a master when it comes to slow pop, rock, or jazz. The Noble Sage, for example sounds more organic and involving with those genres, but sometimes sound less energetic with a more fast-paced Pop track. The Plus, on the other hand does not have that "inviting" feeling when listening to the aforementioned genres, but sounds better with more impact on fast-paced Pop tracks. Overall, looking at where these IEMs are aimed at and what is it for, I will give the mids a 9/10
Bass: Bass in the Plus is exciting, in a unique way. The 2 Sonion vented drivers really show its finesse here, with strong, powerful impact and rumble. Now the typical BA-bass sounds tight and impactful, but it decays so quickly there is no apparent rumble for us to enjoy. Adding a vent in the driver allows for more airflow, hence adding the sense of rumble into the mix. Whenever I load bass-heavy tracks with the Plus I sometimes even forget that this is not a hybrid, but a full BA model. Yes, the bass is dynamic-like, with the nice rumble being the defining factor. Is it as tight as say the CA Andromeda? No. But it does not have to be. It is enjoyable enough even like this. Tracks like Summer Air by Italobrothers sound amazing, with good depth and impact throughout the track. Now its not all good for the Plus's bass, as sometimes due to the uber-clean midrange and highs, the rumbling bass seems a lil 'out of place', and could surprise you sometimes by sounding a little bit boomy and uncontrolled. This, however often disappears midway throughout the track and back you go enjoying its rumble. Overall, 8.5/10. My kind of bass.
Soundstage: Now the Plus does not offer a great deal of staging, and although it is better than say, my Orions, they are no match for my Sage. The Plus sounds more wide than tall, with the slightly lifted treble giving a little bit of air throughout every mix. Separation between instruments are good however, with each one finding its own spot in your ears. I would say 8/10. BTA but not amazing.
---Comparisons & Matchability---
The Plus is an easy IEM to match as it has a more or less neutral tuning, which makes it less picky when it comes to DAP pairings. The impedance, however states otherwise as with a 10 Ohm Impedance, players with OI of 2 or more would be less than desirable for the Plus. This renders players like the HiBy R6 a little unusable with the Plus, as the frequency fluctuation tends to make the bass sound boomy, pushing the midrange back in the mix, but leaves the highs untouched. Weird, but it happens. Now if you own DAPs with an OI of >2 Ohms, never fear as there is a product called iFi iEmatch and EarBuddy, which reduces your DAP's OI to less than 1. Use that with the Plus, and rip through your albums!Comparisons:
I compared the Plus against several IEMs listed, with the same tracks, same DAP (AK100ii), and same OI (Balanced for all)
vs Noble Sage: Both have similar configurations, with 2-way crossover which controls each BA individually (1 and 2 for the Plus). Tonality is a little bit different, with the Sage tuned more towards warmth, and the Plus more towards reference-like neutrality. The striking difference between the two IEMs is actually in the mids and bass. The Sage has a warmer midrange, with thicker, more organic notes being presented whilst the Plus offers detail and transparency right off the bat. Now I enjoy the Sage's mids more, as it sounds more pleasing and relaxing for my ears, but ymmv. The bass is where I wish the Plus is similar to the Sage, as the Sage receives a good lift from the midbass and to the sub-bass. The Plus however, does not have any midbass increase, and then suddenly you have a bunch of impact and rumble on the sub-bass. This makes the Plus sound less coherent, less 'refined'. But then again, with $300 difference, I can't complain, can I?
vs Noble X: I think this matchup is important as both is up on Massdrop but the difference is the Plus cost more ($50) but ships much faster than the X. Now the striking difference is with the midrange and bass, similar to the Sage. This time however, I favor the Plus more, as the X has this warmish midrange similar to the Sage, but has the sub-bass suddenly slapped in there without careful tuning on the midbass. This causes the X to sound more muffled compared to the cleaner sounding Plus. The Plus also has a more satisfying rumble to them, which makes them a clear winner over the X.
vs CA Orions: Against the CA Orion, I would say the Plus offers better balance and tonality for all-around listeners. Being one of the first adopters of the Orions, I used them quite a lot back in the day, and I can immediately say they are cleaner and clearer than the Plus, but they sound less dynamic, with little to no punch at all in the bass region. Granted, its 1 vs 3 BAs and although I feel the Orions still stand as the best, 1-driver analytical IEM on the market, I will say given the price ($349), the Plus offers more flexibility for less money. Definitely the Plus as a starter IEM unless you hate bass and want uber-transparent sound.
vs ER4XR: The ER4XR sounds very similar to the Plus, and I can confirm that the Plus's midrange is tuned exactly the same way as these. The Etys however offer less rumble in the sub-bass region compared to the Plus, due to the less driver count (1 vs 3, again). The only thing that differs between the two is I would say the treble extension, with the ER4XRs sounding more extended, but the Plus sounding more immediate and crisp due to the dropoff at around 10-11k for the Etys and at 15-17k for the Plus.
---Conclusion---
I would say this is an amazing find for me, as I never thought I could find something close to the Plus in the market right now for $300. Being a fan of midrange and highs and not too much bass, I find myself looking towards more analytical IEMs, but sometimes I crave for bass at the same time and whenever I do, I am always faced with choices that cost me over $800. The Plus really sets the bar for "entry-level IEMs" right now and I believe the Plus is worth picking up, as whether it ends up as another piece in your collection or your first IEMs, the Plus will not disappoint you.