Sound Signature: Midcentric
Disclaimer: I bought P3k150 v2 from a reseller that messaged me in facebook during my attempt to purchase second hand earbuds to expand my collection. This will be as honest a review as it can get. I uphold my morale code to be fair and just. All you can read here will be my own opinion, subject to different factors such as gear used, tracks and what my own ears perceive. I also only write reviews after thoroughly listening to it for a week or more rather than just a day; both casually and critically with reference tracks I'm personally familiar with. Please be respectful towards the comments section. With all that on the side, let's talk P3k150 v2.
Price: 40 USD/Php 2000 (MMCX Version)
Specifications:
Impedance: 150Ω
Frequency range: 20-20000Hz
Interface: Cable Dependent
Cable: None (MMCX)
MMCX: Rhodium Plated MMCX
Gear used:
(Hiby Music) Mi 9T Pro > Tempotec Sonata HD Pro w/ 2 Vrms active.
Reference Music:
Dream Eyes - Mine, Kosuke Quintet (DSD 128)
Anata ni aitakute - Seiko Matsuda (FLAC 24bit)
Giorgo by Moroder - Daft Punk (DSD256)
Making of a Cyborg - Kenji Kawai (FLAC 24bit)
My Immortal - Evanescence (FLAC 24bit)
Charlie Wasn't Afraid - Day Din (FLAC 16bit)
Uchiage Hanabi - DAOKO x Kenshi Yonezu (FLAC 24bit)
Upstairs - Psapp (FLAC 16bit)
Grand Escape - RADWIMPS ft. Toko Miura (FLAC 24bit)
Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach - Gorillaz (FLAC 16bit)
Hotel California - The Eagles (WAV 32bit)
Black Rainbows - Hawaii: Part II (FLAC 16bit)
Introduction:
Three months ago I wouldn't even know that earbuds are still alive. Three months ago I wouldn't even put them on my ears, much so; that there are filipino local sellers that do diy with them with extreme passion. After purchasing my first local earbuds: Pihu v3.0, I set my gaze upon purchasing and supporting local earbud makers as to whatever means I can. Unfortunately, I can't spend too much or I'll have to eat canned tuna every single day just for my hobby. I am still adamant however, still broke; but saw the opportunity where the folks in my country are shorthanded: reviews. There are some; but I feel that to help my fellow countrymen bolster their skills, maybe I can give back with what I know best: writing. Enter me, shamelessly soliciting for second hand earbuds for a cheaper price just so that I can experience and review them. I got my P3k150 v2.0 as a second hand in really good condition for a bargain price. I have the intent to review every earbuds and IEMS I got, thought painstakingly slow; I will uphold my promise so that I can help audio hobbyists find what they are looking for and maybe promote the craftsmanship the filipino makers endow.
A brief introduction to 3k Audio:
Karl Mark Musni, the owner of 3K Audio, started the one-man recabling service and creating his own earbuds years ago as a hobby. He first entered the audio hobby when he got the chance to purchase KZ ZSN, a popular IEM back in the old days. He started joining different groups dedicated to audiophiles, from there he saw diy projects; cables and earbuds of different forms. Out of couriousity, he went to Raon, a local marketplace to buy tools and tinkered every end of his shift. He found himself joining a group chat dedicated to "hard-mod", saw the opportunity, deciding to make his own from then on. Until now, the man behind 3K Audio is still amazed at the brilliant craftsmanship the Thais, the folks in the Philippines and Wong produced, and aims to make his Coup De Grace one day.
Build:
A white PK Shell with rhodium plated MMCX attached to the end of its stem. They are your typical plastic shells, they do the job just like the mx500 ones. To fit the MMCX connector properly, the stem was cut down from the end, leaving the part with L & R marking still exposed; frankly I do not know the importance of this as they are already for MMCX and the left and right should be decided by the cables themselves.
Comfort:
I have contact dermatitis that makes my ears itch and bleed with 15.4mm shells on foams. Pk shells do not trigger this for me even with foams due to the smaller faceplate diameter. They are very comfortable but without foams; people with medium to large ear canals might find their P3k150 falling with movement. They are also very good sleeper buds as they don't press up my conch when side sleeping. As a testament on how comfortable they are for me: I listened to them for 10 hours straight and fell asleep right after, woke up the next day with no discomfort whatsoever; they are that cozy for me.
Isolation:
These are earbuds, don't expect too much.
Sounds:
Imagine you are lying on your bed, suddenly you sprung up as you heard somebody singing not far from the distance. You opened your window; a group of folks wearing barong tagalogs, with them are acoustic guitars and hand-made beatbox, neatly dressed with too much product on their hair; singing with all their might "Dubidubidapdap sabi ng jeep beep beep" then you awe at how adorable and sweet the voice is. I never experienced it myself, if only there were grown-ass woman in the Philippines who had the balls to court us the old fashioned way; I'd probably feel like I'm the luckiest man alive. This is how I would interpret 3K Audio P3k150 v2. Gentle but warm, serenading and sweet: this small but capable midcentric earbuds could lullaby you to sleep. In-depth review below:
Lows:
Let me be clear, this buds aren't for bassheads. They are built to suit the taste of classical and ballad-loving folks but still do justice on every genre that you could throw at it. Most earbuds are lacking in the sub-bass department, the same could be said for P3k150 v2, it lacks rumble thus the lows can be heard more than felt. Needless to say, playing both Giorgio by Moroder of Daft Punk as well as Day Din's Charlie Wasn't Afraid, the bass is satisfying albeit lacks proper punch and body. The texture is more than enough to give low thumping songs a push. The mid-bass can feel too fast on its decay, especially on energetic songs such as J-pop but are still well composed that it doesn't sound thin nor relaxed. The lows are probably the biggest weakness of this earbuds; those who are craving for boomy or fullness for their casual listening won't be enticed by P3k150, but if you are the type who thinks that mids shouldn't be smeared by the lows, this earbuds might surprise you.
Mids:
The biggest strength of P3k150 v2. I'd say they are clean and downright "lason" or poisonous. They are really well-positioned, not the kind of mids that shouts on your face or screams in front of you as if you f'd up your mathematics exam. They are the right kind of warm and intimate, they are forward but they do not leave behind the lows and treble, in fact; they have really good treble transition that other midcentric buds are ashamed to be even compared to P3k150. Listening to Uchiage Hanabi by DAOKO x Kenshi Yonezu; the female vocals are soothing, clean even, whilst the male vocals of Kenshi Yonezu felt warmth and properly placed. The only gripe I could think of with the midrange is because of the really smooth tonality, some of the details are gone. Because it was smoothed over, the natural transients, the raspiness especially with the male vocals are lost. This might be to the dislike of many, but I find them very enjoyable during my listening sessions.
Treble:
As I have mentioned, the treble transition were properly done. Presence region are nicely presented. This I think is the strength of P3k150, as most midcentric buds struggle with lower treble, sometimes they are too much like Moondrop's Shiroyuki and it might sound metallic or even edgy. They have really good initial bite on percussive and air instruments, as evident when you listen to Dream Eyes by Mine, Kosuke Quintet. Because of the smoothed tonality, the treble also appears to be musical and colored which might be a dealbreaker to some. The weakness with their highs however comes with the slow roll-off from 6k onwards. Despite having a good initial attack, cymbals and hi-hat sometimes sounds too dark for my liking. They fall short to follow up with proper crisp and sparkle that sometimes they appear veiled and lacking. If you are looking for detailed and bright earbuds, you can look the other way around.
If you want to get one, please feel free to give his page a visit:
3K Audio
Soundstage:
Due to the roll-off from the mid treble extending to the airy region, the soundstage is just average. They have good horizontal imaging and you can clearly hear which instrument is playing from left to right. There is depth but below average, I can identify some space when I listened to tracks such as Upstairs by Psapp but very audibly. Vertical imaging and headroom suffers, making the P3k150 v2 an intimate but still spacious enough earbuds for casual listening.
Layering and Separation:
The P3k150 v2. has good layering and separation. You can identify what instrument is playing, which is which but complex tracks hinders this. If multiple string and air instruments are played, you might have a hard time choosing what was the ciello and what was the violin. Due to the treble roll-off, they lack the precision in detail to accurately reproduce the sound but because of this, they are inoffensive and can be worn for hours without fatigue.
Comparison:
Vido Red: Winner (P3k150 v2) The Vido Red sounds warm and provides a really good bass response. It does good on all-genre, and has a really decent treble crisp despite its really cheap price. Mids from Vido Red are positioned flat, whether it'll be female or male vocals, it sounds linear with no bias whatsoever. However, P3k150 with its intoxicating smooth mids prevails over Vido's flat vocals. There is just better lower treble transition to the P3k150 and makes it a very pleasurable listen, with a better initial bite of percussive instruments without sounding too bloated. The only winning factor for Vido is its bass but it doesn't translate well when it becomes too bloated, making the soundstage appear congested. All in all P3k150 takes the cake but stay away from club tracks, that is Vido's territory.
Moondrop Shiroyuki: Winner (P3k150 v2 by a mile) If we are in a battle of midcentric leaning to bright earbuds, P3k150 holds its chin up high and can compete with them decently, sometimes even give them a run for their money; as is when pitted against Moondrop Shiroyuki. Some say they are neutral bright or even flat, personally; I don't know what they are smoking. Moondrop Shiroyuki sounds almost baseless even with foams, not to mention the bass texture is so awful that it couldn't even be played on any hip-hop & pop tracks, much more dubstep and electro. Despite the shiroyuki having articulated mids, it gets ruined by really bad treble transition; peaking in lower-treble, some tracks may sound metallic especially autotuned vocals. The p3k150 v2 doesn't have any of this problem, though they have really different tonality with Moondrop Shiroyuki sticking to transparent whilst P3k150 goes with smoothness, the P3k150 just handles the mids and treble better. For comparison, the pk shelled earbuds plays really well almost on every genre whilst you can only enjoy Shiroyuki with Ballads, Classical and songs that have low amount to null lows.
Qianyun Qian39: Winner (Qianyun Qian39) Now these earbuds are both midcentric, they have the same tonality: smooth and musical, I'd say they are the most comparable side by side. They both have really well positioned midrange, and just as poisonous as the other. Now why would Qian39 win? As mentioned above from the reviews, the P3k150 v2 is lacking in treble and also, most notably the lows department: this is where Qian39 takes the banner and swoops the opposition. Imagine Qian39 is the big brother whilst the P3k150 v2 is the youngling, still learning the ways of life. The Qian39's really well implemented lows, perfect bass decay and sense of punch is really complimentary to its mids. Also, Qianyun Qian39 didn't slouch on their treble department either, as they provide a more energetic, crisp and sparkly highs compared to P3k150 v2. Honestly, I can't really think of any way that Karl Mark Musni earbuds would win when pitted against this budget monster, they at least even out on the mids though.
Tingo TC200 Old: Winner (Tingo TC200 Old) One of the budget earbud kings, standing high above the pedestal; the Old Tingo TC200 earned his spot by proving to me that a flat sounding earphones leaning to bright and real holographic soundstage is really hard to achieve even with the fierce competition in the 20 USD below price range. The only take away for this budget champion is that some can't really take its sharp treble, fortunately; it doesn't bother me at all and I could listen to it for hours on end without fatigue. P3k150 v2 offers an intimate clean midrange whilst the Tingo TC200 offers an articulate, natural tonality. What p3k150 lacks, the Tingo TC200 robustly offers, albeit not as good as Qian39 in terms of bass, they are still really well-textured and has a sense of depth. The treble however, the TC200 takes the cake by a margin. The sparkles, the crisp, the details; are done so well, that the sound is holographic. The extension of the highs provides an open ambience, as if you are listening to a live recording. Tingo TC200 is just exemplary.
Conclusions:
If your jam is J-pop, ballad, classical or even acoustic and indie rock; the P3k150 v2 does its job and quite frankly, excels. They have a really inoffensive tuning, sporting the clean, smooth tonality that I'm sure most people would appreciate. At the price of 40 USD/Php 2000, they are quite costly; and if you are unsure whether or not you'll like it, it might be wise to audition them first just so you can get a feel for it. If you are near his location, I'm sure Karl Mark Musnil would gladly help you out with this request as he is really approachable. The P3k150 v2 offers its strength within the lovely midrange tuning, despite its shortcomings; it is still really well done and crafted. Do I recommend them? Yes I do, especially if you love J-pop, YOASOBI just freaking sings in this thing. However, there are a lot of competitions in the market and frankly, for a price of USD 40, there might be better options for you with your own choice of songs.
