[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Whizzer A15 Review: When Did Chi-Fi Get So Well-Rounded?[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Ever heard of Whizzer? Well, me neither. They careened into my conscience about two weeks ago when Penon Audio began to stock what appears to be their first IEM, the A15. While there were some shipping complications, I’ve finally gotten these IEMs into my ears. After sitting with them for a while, only one question burned in my mind: when did Chi-Fi get so well-rounded?[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]You can find the Whizzer A15
here, on Penon Audio, for $69.[/color]
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Disclaimer: This unit was provided to me free of charge for review purposes. I am not affiliated with Penon Audio or Whizzer beyond this review. These words reflect my true, unaltered, opinion about the product.[/color]
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Preference and Bias: Before reading a review, it is worth mentioning that there is no way for a reviewer to objectively pass judgment on the enjoy-ability of a product: such a thing is inherently subjective. Therefore, I find it necessary for you to read and understand what I take a natural liking to and how that might affect my rating of a product.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]My ideal sound signature would be an extended sub-bass with a leveled, but textured, mid-bass. The mids should be slightly less pronounced than the treble, but still ahead of the bass. I prefer a more bright upper range.[/color]
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Source: The A15 was powered like so:[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Nexus 6P -> earphones[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]or[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Hidizs AP100 3.5mm out -> FiiO A5 3.5mm out -> earphones[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]or[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]HiFiMAN SuperMini -> earphones[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]or[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]PC optical out -> HiFiMe SPDIF 9018 Sabre DAC 3.5mm out -> earphones[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]All music was served as MP3 @320Kbps or as FLAC.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The A15 played nice with all my sources, and didn’t change too much when used on cold or warm sources. As such, I did most of my testing on my most linear setup, the AP100 -> FiiO A5.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Sound Signature[/color]
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Initial Impressions:[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Whizzer A15 is a rare-beast. It does not have any strange peaks, harsh frequencies, or overblown tenancies. Instead, you are greeted with a laid-back sound with a well-matched treble and upper mids. The lower-mids are a bit warm of neutral and are paired well with the mid-bass. The sub-bass is slightly boosted past the mid-bass and lower mids.[/color]
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Treble: Songs used:
In One Ear, Midnight City, Outlands, Satisfy[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Treble isn’t particularly boosted, but is certainly clear. High-hats and cymbals cut through the din well without sounding sharp or abrasive. There’s no hint of sibilance on any of my songs, even the infamous
Satisfy by Nero.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The treble elements of
In One Ear were quite well resolved and toned. The high-hats were smooth and well-timed. Not only could I hear them, I could hear them clearly throughout the whole song. While it’s not quite like what the (very, very bright) Macaw GT100s or RHA T20 can do, it is impressive in its own right given the A15 has a laid-back sound signature.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The synths in M83’s
Midnight City were well defined, hard-bordered, and well toned. It’s not often that you can find an IEM that maintains separation of the synths without making them harsh of sibilant, and yet the A15 does so seemingly with no effort.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]I find the greatest part of the Whizzer A15’s treble to be not its good decay, not its lack of sibilance, and not its great separation. I find it to be how cohesively it interacts with the rest of the sound. The treble doesn’t get disconnected from the music by a harsh boost to the 7KHz to 20KHz range unlike many “clarity” based IEMs.[/color]
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Mids: Songs used:
Flagpole Sitta, Jacked Up, I Am The Highway, Dreams[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The A15’s mids are quite smooth. They lack character, which in my mind is not a bad thing. If you want the IEM to just get out of your face and let you hear your music, then these are the kinds of mids most of you will want to hear. While a bit warmer than neutral, the A15 is careful to not color the sound too much. Instead, Whizzer tuned it such that the mids are comfy and inviting.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Guitars, both acoustic and electric, sound very good on the A15. Those within
Flagpole Sitta sounded exceptionally good in terms of tonality, and were clear and defined throughout the entire song. The warmth in the mids didn’t color out the song at all.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]While normally dry-sounding, the drums within
Flagpole Sitta and
Jacked Up performed well too. While they were relegated to the back of the mix, it was easy to hear them. The drums did seem a bit truncated, though that is likely due to there being a lot going on in the songs.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Male vocals performed very well. Weighted naturally and clear, vocals on the A15 are respectable. While listening to Audioslave and Weezer on the Whizzer I found it easy to jam along with the vocalist. You won’t find any immersion-breaking sibilance in the vocalists’ words with the A15.[/color]
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Bass: Songs used:
Moth, Gold Dust, In For The Kill (Skream Remix), Leave Me[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The engineers in the East did a good job making the bass present, relatively impactful, and shaped. DJ Fresh’s single,
Gold Dust, had a good level of visceral impact with only a minor level of bass bloom/bleed.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The bass seems a tad sluggish but hurried at the same time. It’s not bothersome during the song, but is something I’d not yet heard on an IEM. If I had to guess the cause it would be slow attack and fast decay of the midbass.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Sub-bass performance is above average but still nothing I’d call spectacular. The A15 did a reasonable job manipulating the complex and sonorous bass lines of La Rou’s
In For The Kill but ultimately failed to impress me.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Bassheads will be satisfied with the A15. Quantity and quality are both up to spec to allow it to do battle with many of the more aggressive electronic genres. Taska Black’s traditionally dry bass lines were appropriately wet during
Leave Me.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Packaging / Unboxing[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The A15 has some seriously impressive packaging. It’s among the best I’ve seen so far among IEMs in this price range. The box it comes in is quite large.[/color]
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[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Build[/color]
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Construction Quality[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]You might think that Whizzer would have to forsake build quality in order to give the A15 such good performance for the price, as well as it’s fancy packaging, but you’d be wrong. The A15’s driver housing is built from two steel plates. The construction is quite impressive as the crease between the two plates is very small, something even the mighty engineers at RHA have hard time doing consistently. On the inside face of the housing you’ll see a bass port, above average in size, with some anti-dust foam sitting just below it.[/color]
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[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The nozzle is fairly short, but doesn’t have any slippage issues. I actually really like its design as it allows me to easily swap out various foam eartips without being worried about damaging them. Inside the nozzle you can find a removable debris filter. There are about 10 extra filters included in case you find yourself in need of a quick swap.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Whizzer chose to go with a slightly modified MMCX connection for the A15. The modifications are small and unobtrusive, so you should be able to use whatever aftermarket cable you want. The change, in essence, is that the MMCX port is slightly deeper, allowing the included cable to get a pretty good seal. Despite this extra length, none of my other MMCX cables suffered from not being able to connect though they were a little less secure than the stock cable.[/color]
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[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The cable itself is a bit strange, though not nearly as much as the one that comes with the Cappuccino Mk. II. The jack is terminated in a metal-housed right-angle 3.5mm jack. From the jack you’ll find a good amount of rubber stress-relief connecting to the nylon-sleeved lower-half of the cable.[/color]
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[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Above the Y-splitter the cable becomes a thin plastic-covered wire which connects to the wire-based mouldable earguide and MMCX terminations. I am a bit concerned with the connection between the wire and the earguide, as there isn’t too much stress relief there. When coiling this cable, ensure that you do not put too much stress on that connection. However, worst comes to worst, you can buy a replacement MMCX cable for as little as $8 on some aftermarket sites.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]There were no cable microphonics that were out of the ordinary.[/color]
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Comfort[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The A15 is reasonably comfortable, but fails to disappear like the Rose Aurora can. I find this to be a necessary evil with stainless-steel earphones, as this durable material comes at a hefty weight-cost.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Accessories[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Whizzer outfitted the A15 with a pretty impressive set of accessories. While the actual contents of the accessory package aren’t to spectacular on their own, their presentation really wowed me. Inside the box you’ll find:[/color]
- 1x semi-hard carrying case
- 6x pairs of spare silicone eartips
- 2x pairs of foam eartips
- 10x spare debris filters
- 1x filter removal tool
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]For $70, I’m not sure what else you could ask for. Perhaps a pair of genuine Comply would be nice, but the included foam tips aren’t all that bad to begin with. The carrying case is reasonably competent, if not a bit small. My case’s placard is slightly misaligned, but you wouldn’t notice if you weren’t looking for such imperfections.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The eartips are stored in a sturdy metal plate. The plate stands up by itself, almost as if Whizzer expects you to display them to your guests as they walk into the house. It’s a nice addition that I’ve not seen other OEMs go for.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Summary[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The A15 is a very well-rounded IEM for the price. With an impressive accessory package, a good price-to-performance ratio, and solid build-quality, there’s not much to complain about. While the A15’s sound signature isn’t for treble-heads, I’m sure most people could find a place in their collection for the A15.[/color]
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