Thanks for the great reviews 
.
After reading your reviews of IEMs I have (BL05s and ZSN Pro X) we tend to agree which is great (at least for me). I like your description of how the ZSN fails when track get busy.
Read your review of the DQ6 and I’m excited since it’s on its way… Seems I might like it.
1 Like
Review - Sendy Audio Peacock
At the risk of sounding repetitive (don’t worry, you’ll get used to it 
), this review is also available in Spanish on my blog and on YouTube, links at the end of the post.
These headphones have been very kindly sent for review by Keydis, the official distributor for Sendy Audio, along with Sivga, in Spain. Keydis does not sell directly to the public but I have left a link on my blog and YouTube that shows the various stores that carry these brands in Spain.
I am very grateful to Keydis for sending these in and, as always, I will leave my opinions in the most honest and unbiased way possible but, as I always say, it is good to consider the fact that it has not cost me anything to try these headphones.
Intro…
Not long ago I reviewed the Phoenix, which is a headphone by Sivga, who are a brand that belongs to the same company, Sendy Audio. While Sivga focuses on more budget orientated models, Sendy Audio is responsible for the higher end models, with the new Peacock being the TOTL planar magnetic headphone which was released quite recently.
It is my first experience with Sendy, however, this headphone is priced similarly to a headphone that is commonly recommended in this price range, the Hifiman Arya, a headphone that I do have quite a bit of experience with. So, although my review will be focused on the Peacock and how it performs in general, I will make a few comparisons to the Arya later in the review.
Presentation…
The headphones arrive in a simple brown box very similar to that of the Phoenix, with contents that are somewhat similar also but with more focus on quality.
Inside the box we find a headphone case that is also very similar to the one supplied with the Phoenix, however, in this case it is of a brown colour, with a gold coloured zipper and hardware, and has the Sendy Audio logo embossed on the top. This case, while mulded to the shape of the headphones, has four feet on the bottom to allow it to stand upright, making it much easier to store.
Inside the case we find the headphones and a drawstring cloth bag. The bag contains the cable that is supplied with the Peacock, a nicely braided two tone cable which ends in a 4.4mm balanced connector. The nice thing is that Sendy also includes two adapter cables, to convert the 4.4mm balanced to either a 4 pin XLR or a 6.35mm TRS, for those who want to use these headphones unbalanced. There is no 3.5mm option but this is to be expected, as these are not really headphones aimed at being used portably.
Build and aesthetics…
Let’s start with the cable. This is an 8 core braided cable, in two tones of brown, with a wooden chin slider and splitter that has Sendy Audio carved on it. The connectors seem to be of good quality, although I am not sure of the brand. The 4.4mm connectors (both male and female) have spring type cable strain relief and in general feel very nice. In fact, I would say that the cable is one of the nicest cables I have received with headphones for quite some time. I also want to say that I am not a fan of proprietary connectors on headphones, or at least ones that are not common, as I like to make my own cables, but the ones used on the Peacock are very nice, they are smooth and easy to connect and remove. I have found that I am quite a fan of them.
Moving on to the headphones… well… they are certainly aimed at looking high quality. I must say that while I love wooden headphones, I am not really one for gold (not just on headphones but in general, I don’t have any bass guitars with gold hardware either) and the cups sport very large gold and black grilles that certainly stand out. However, independently of my personal tastes, I can not say that these headphones do not look and feel like headphones of their price range.
Everything is well matched, well put together, I really can’t see any flaws in either build or aesthetics (again, ignoring my opinion of gold). Everything that should be metal is metal, everything that should be wood is wood, and even the pads feel and look premium (they actually smell of leather, so I am guessing they are real leather, although I may be wrong). The same goes for the headband, which is metal covered in leather and yellow stitching, with a very nicely padded leather comfort strap.
The headphones do have a little weight to them but they are not heavy enough to be uncomfortable, at least I haven’t found them to be tiring on long sessions (and I have certainly had some long sessions with these over the past week). In fact, I find them to be very comfortable in general, with nice openings inside the cups that are plenty large enough for my ears.
Sound…
When I receive a set of headphones for review, the first thing I do is open them and give them a very brief listen before I put them on another rig for burn in. This is usually only for about a minute, just to make sure that they work correctly and then I put them on the burn in rig for around 150 hours (I am not entering the burn in debate, it just doesn’t cost me anything to do it, so I do and avoid discussions while also avoiding brain burn in). When I did the brief listen of the Peacock, which was just with a Modi3 and Atom, I literally had to force myself to take them off about 30 minutes later.
Admittedly, at the time I was listening to the Marshall MID ANC (preparing for the review), so I guess it wasn’t surprising that the switch to these was very positive, but I just vibed with the music and really enjoyed them. I was actually very sorry to put them on the burn in rig and go back to the MID ANC.
During last week, I did listen to them a few times while I was testing the Zen Signature Stack and found them to be very nice on that set up but I refrained from using them too much until I could dedicate myself to them this week. Now, if you saw my review last week, you know that I finished the week listening to various Hifiman headphones, one of which being my favourite headphones, so normally anything would have been a bit of a let down after those, which is why I usually reset by listening to something else for a couple of days in between. In this case, I just went straight to the Peacock and can’t say that I felt let down but it wasn’t quite as perfect as my first listen may have led me to believe.
Starting with the subbass, as always, these are certainly not a sub bass heavy set of headphones. There is some roll off and I found that the iFi Zen CAN Signature HFM was a very good match for this, giving a little boost in the lowest regions (although the 2kHz boost that came with it wasn’t as much of an improvement as on other sets). This small boost in the lowest regions could be obtained with some very simple equalization but, as you probably know my tastes by now, I really don’t think it needs it because the music that these headphones make me want to listen to really doesn’t have much in the way of subbass anyway.
Moving on to the remaining mid and higher bass frequencies, here the bass is much more balanced and has a very nice warm and rounded sound to it. I have enjoyed listening to lots of blues, rock, simple electric guitar and bass tracks and, of course, my usual acoustic selections. I find the timbre of the bass to be very pleasant and smooth. There is plenty of detail in these lower regions but I don’t find it to have the dryness that I find on other planar offerings, such as the Ananda for example.
To give some examples from my usual test playlist, I basically enjoyed anything with a natural low end, from “No Ordinary Love” by Sade, “Crazy” by Daniela Andrade or “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” by Paul Simon, all sounded great to my ears. Other tracks that were more focused on electronic bass, such as “Sun is Shining” or “No Sanctuary Here” didn’t sound bad but didn’t seem to bring out the natural flavour that these headphones exhibit in these lower ranges. The Peacock doesn’t really inspire me to listen to EDM or even Hip-Hop, although it certainly doesn’t do a bad job of it.
In the transition to the mids, I did find that on some songs there was something that sometimes stood out as strange. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, just on a couple of tracks I found that the bass sort of disconnected from the midrange. Now, this was something that was so slight and so ocasional that I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it or if it was really happening. I noticed it on parts of “Killing in the Name” (although not throughout the whole track) and also in “Hotel California” by the Eagles (the acoustic version), along with a few others.
In the end I cheated and looked for measurements online (usually I don’t look at measurements until after I have listened and come to conclusions) to see if I really was hearing something or if I was just making it up. I found that (according to a couple of graphs) there is a little bit of a dip followed by a slight rise between the 500 to 1000Hz range. It is only slight and I really don’t think it is enough to be noticeable on 99% of the tracks I have listened to (I have listened to a lot of music on the Peacock) but obviously just sometimes coincides with certain frequencies in recordings and makes it seem more apparent. I really don’t think I would have ever been able to find it if it wasn’t for the graphs, in fact, it really isn’t even in the transition between ranges, it is just after the transition, but I thought I would mention it (especially after looking at graphs to make sure I wasn’t going crazy).
In general, the midrange is very nice. It is the sort of midrange that manages to provide plenty of detail while seeming relaxed, not throwing the detail at you. Voices sound rich and smooth, giving them a very intimate feel without feeling close like they do on something like the HD6XX. Voices such as Zella Day in her version of “Seven Nation Army” manage to be present without being overpowering or harsh.
However, moving up towards the top end of the mids and into the treble, here is where I find these headphones differ from what I am used to in planar magnetics. There is the usual dip found around 2kHz that is inherent to the Hifiman line up, however, the following frequencies don’t return quite like they do on said headphones. Rather than 3kHz being higher than the lower and middle of the midrange, the Peacock do not bounce back in the same way. In fact, the frequency response of the higher ranges is at a lower level than the mids all the way up to the highest of ranges.
In fact, the treble range is a little strange, it sort of seems like it is rolling off but in a bit of an intermittent way. This can cause the treble range to sound a little blunt but with certain frequencies cutting through on occasions that are not expected. The positive side to this is that the Peacock does avoid sibilance and harshness in its majority, except for those frequencies that seem to appear on occasions and are sort of unexpected.
I can’t say that I hate the treble, it is not quite as clear as I would like it to be but at the same time does help these to be a bit more of a relaxed listen than other options. I do feel that some EQ could go a long way with these headphones however.
As far as soundstage, it’s also sort of midway. It is not huge and open like on something like the Arya but it does not ever seem to be too closed in either. The image placement is very good, “Bubbles” is very 3D like, but it does it in a way that still feels close though not claustrophobic. For example “Letter”, also by Yosi Horikawa, has great movement but does not really go wide off to the left or right.
Comparison to the Hifiman Arya…
First let me say that these are the Arya 2020 version, not the new Arya with the Stealth Magnets (I will be reviewing those soon but have not yet heard them). If you want to know what I think about the Arya, then you can see my full review of them here. I also want to point out that this is comparing them side by side on the Asgard 3, not on the Zen CAN HFM, which I feel improves the Arya with the HFM+XSpace engaged.
I moved over to the Arya after about 3 hours of constant listening to the Peacock, so obviously things jumped out at me straight away, probably in a more exaggerated fashion at first.
I must point out that, to be at similar listening levels, I kept the same level on the dial of the Asgard and just flipped it to high gain when moving from the Peacock to the Arya (and vice versa), meaning that the Peacock does need less power.
The first thing that struck me straight away was the open soundstage of the Arya. Now, I have mentioned on many occasions that the Arya can sometimes be too open for my preferences, making things sound too far away. However, that is also a very impressive sensation when you first listen to the Arya and coming to them from the Peacock was no exception, the soundstage is huge and does make the Peacock seem very intimate in comparison. I am not saying this as a bad thing, I really like a closer sound on many occasions, but it is certainly something to consider if you are contemplating between these two headphones.
The next thing which is obvious is the treble of the Arya, being more elevated, making for a brighter sound signature but without losing that power of the bass that the Arya can portray when needed. But at the same time, the lower end of the Phoenix is far warmer, even if it is not more elevated in those frequencies than the Arya. It is the reduction in the higher ranges that makes the low end more noticeable on the Peacock.
For example, listening to “Give Me One Reason” by Tracy Chapman on both headphones, it is as though the guitar is being played through two completely different amplifiers/cabs. On the Arya it comes across as a rather clean guitar tone, while on the Peacock it comes across as a much warmer tone, as though it is being played through a warm tube amp (if that makes any sense to you non-guitarists, or even to the guitarists out there). Her vocals are pleasant on both headphones, however, the Arya does seem to bring them further forwards.
In fact, the comparison of amps I just made is quite relevant to these two headphones in general. As a bassist, and a lover of both clean tones and warm tubey tones, I would say that the Arya is the clean rig while the Peacock is the warm tube rig. Which one anyone will prefer will depend on their personal tastes.
Conclusion…
I really like the Peacock but I like it for reasons that are not usually my main focus when listening to, or chosing, headphones. The Peacock brings a warm and relaxed presentation, which I have found very enjoyable for long listening sessions, especially for a lot of my acoustic and also blues genres.
There is plenty of detail, however, that treble range does make the detail take a bit of a back seat behind the lushness of the lower end. It is certainly something that I have found more enjoyable for a relaxed session rather than a “focus on detail” session.
These are a set of very well built headphones, they look good (if you are into wood and gold) and they perform very well in comparison to so many other headphones. They include accessories that I wish other companies would take note of, especially in the cable department, and are quite easily powered for such a large set of planars (although the answer is no, I don’t suggest connecting them to a smartphone).
The question of whether these are for you or not will depend far more on your taste in sound signature than anything else. If you want a relaxed, warm set of planar magnetics, then the Peacock should certainly be on your list to try. If you are more of a clean and extremely detailed person, then maybe you might prefer some other options.
5 Likes
T Force Yuan Li
As always, my reviews can also be found in Spanish on my blog and on YouTube, links at the end of this post.
The T Force Yuan Li were kindly sent to me free of charge by HiFiGo in exchange for this review. The only request they have made is that I also publish my review on Reddit in addition to the usual places I publish my reviews.
They have not requested anything else and my opinions will be, as always, as sincere and unbiased as possible, however, it is always good to consider that these IEMs have been given to me as a gift.
Although I don’t use affiliate links, I still do not post them on websites and forums where I am a guest, therefore, I have left the link to the Yuan Li via HiFiGo in the version of this review posted on my blog.
Intro…
T Force is a new brand in the IEM world, with the Yuan Li being their first producto, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I received them. The IEMs use a single dynamic driver with a DLC diaphragm, are spec’d with a sensitivity of 103.5dB at 32 Ohms and retail for just over 100€. That is basically all of the information I had about the Yuan Li before I opened the box.
Presentation…
The presentation is actually quite surprising. I mean, 100€ is not a super economic set of IEMs but it is a long way from being expensive in comparison to so many other models.
The box that it arrives in is on the larger side for IEMs, covered by a sleeve that is decorated in a very traditional Chinese way, with classical drawings of a dragon and Chinese letters, more reminiscent of something I would expect in a Chinese restaurant than IEM packaging. The sleeve also states that these are “Trilogy Part 1”, so I am expecting another 2 models from the brand but I have no idea what they will be.
From inside the sleeve slides out a black flip top box, with the T Force logo in Gold, inside of which we find plenty of content. First are the warranty card and a thank you card from the brand, which sit on top of another traditionally decorated sheet of transparent paper, under which the interesting contents are located.
At the top sit the IEMs, in cutouts surrounded by foam and with the IEMs actually being covered with peel off plastic, to make sure they arrive free of fingerprints. Under this tray we find a rather large selection of tips, all laid out in more cutouts and labeled with “Balanced Eartips” above the clear silicone tips, “Bass enhanced Eartips” above the darker silicone tips with a smaller and more rigid core, and “Foams” above the, well, foam tips. We get 3 sets of each of the silicone sets, with an additional “Bass enhanced” set installed, and one set of foam tips.
The bottom half of the box holds a large imitation leather carrying case with a flip up top and magnetic closure. The included cable is found inside the carrying pouch.
Build and aesthetics…
Starting with the IEMs, they are aluminium, small and very light weight. They have a nice mirrored finish to them, with the T Force logo in the center, however, they do collect fingerprints very easily. I guess this is why they came covered in plastic film (a nice touch by the way). I find them to be very comfortable and are small enough to insert quite deep into the ear, allowing me to use smaller tips and even lay on my side without too much discomfort.
The included cable is a simple twisted two core cable, which is not the most exciting cable in the world but is more than adequate for the IEMs. It doesn’t tangle and has nice mirrored hardware to match the IEMs, which of course also matches as far as fingerprints.
The carrying case is very classical, as far as aesthetics, in my opinion. The (faux) leather has a kind of snakeskin effect to it that reminds me of some of the cases my grandfather had for his photography equipment. It seems to be well built and is certainly a nice touch to include it rather than the typical small zippered cases found with many IEMs, not to mention those that don’t include a case at all.
As far as tips, I am not really keen on the clear silicone tips, I find them too soft and thin for my liking, however, the included “Bass enhanced” tips I find rather comfortable. In fact, I have mainly used these IEMs (except for some testing) with the tips that came preinstalled. Although they are smaller than my usual tip size, as the IEMs fit quite deep in my ears, they give me a good seal and are very comfortable.
I really don’t have any complaints about build, comfort or aesthetics, although these last two are obviously very personal.
Sound…
As I said, I had no idea what to expect when putting these in my ears for the first time. Let me say that I was very pleasantly surprised. My first listen was only for a few minutes (as usual) using the Apple Dongle but I found them to be very pleasant and was looking forward to giving them more time.
After the usual burn-in time, I came back to them and found that they were just as pleasant, in fact, the sound signature (with the stock tips) matches my preferences pretty closely. The following opinions are using the stock tips, the ones that actually came installed on the IEMs.
Starting off with the subbass, there is enough for me not to notice any roll off but at the same time it is not overly boosted, nor in the sub bass nor in the remaining bass. Tracks that have low bass notes are well presented, clean and articulate. If you are looking for a really rumbling low end, I don’t think these are your thing, but if you are someone who, like me, appreciates presence without too much boost and more than anything, cleanliness and articulation, the Yuan Li delivers.
The remaining bass frequencies, mid and higher bass, are also very clean and detailed, again, without putting too much emphasis on them. It is easy to appreciate bass lines, presenting them in a way that allows me to enjoy them but without them taking a front line in the mix. I enjoyed many songs with bass guitar content, however, it may not be the most adequate choice for electronic bass content. Not that it does a bad job of it, hip hop and EDM are very listenable on these IEMs, it is just not something that will draw in those looking for big bass drops. For example, “All Eyez on Me” by Tupac may come across as a little lean in the bass department, as can “Sun is Shining” by Robin Schultz & Bob Marley, which are both tracks where the bass is focused in the high subbass to mid bass regions. However, moving to tracks that are more instrument orientated, the cleanliness of the bass guitar /both electric and upright) is very pleasurable to say the least. Even more pop orientated tracks, such as “Don’t Start Now”, work very well in the low ranges.
While on the subject of bass, I did find that a swap to the Final Audio tips brought the level up slightly without having any negative effect on the performance and cleanliness. Personally I don’t have an issue with the stock tips but I can see the Final Audio tips being more to the liking of the majority (even though it is still not a very prominent bass set, at least not as far as rumble is concerned). My personal choice would depend on the kind of music I am listening to, probably keeping the stock tips for my acoustic and general instrument based music, where I would opt for the Final Audio tips in the case of listening to hip-hop. Please remember that, as I have stated many times before, I am a neutral bass fan, not a huge lover of boosted bass (except when in certain moods).
Moving back to the stock tips, the transition into the mids is very clean, without anything seeming bloated or muddy at all. The lower end of the mids is kept just as clean and articulate as the bass regions. There is a lower presence in the lower mids, which helps keep the transition clean, but it does not come across as recessed and the mids are very smooth in general as they climb towards the peak that is in the higher mids, around the usual 3kHz mark.
The mids are in fact very good in my opinion, they do a good job of giving voices (and instruments) the necessary presence without overdoing it. The peak at 3kHz is plenty to make sure vocals are up front but they do a very good job of avoiding harshness. From Dua Lipa to Daniela Andrade, vocals are kept very clean and detailed. I would say that the mids are definitely one of the highlights of the Yuan Li, doing a great job without stealing the spotlight.
As we move into the high regions, sibilance is avoided without becoming overly dull. “Code Cool”, which is my usual test track of choice, is not offensive and can be listened to without being irritating but you can still tell that Patricia Barber is on the verge of sibilance throughout the track.
The extension of the treble is not spectacular, but when is it ever in a review of a single DD by me? However, the roll off is gradual enough to not make it seem like it is missing a lot in the high treble. There is enough air to make music feel open and clear and even though I wouldn’t say that more extension wouldn’t be great, I don’t really have any complaints about the treble, which is quite an achievement in my book.
The soundstage is actually also above average in my opinion. I find that almost all IEMs are average, with very few being above that average. In the case of the Yuan Li, ok, they are not a set of open back planar magnetic headphones, but I still find them to have a decent spaciousness to them. They also do a good job of working with this space, placing images in a very clear and defined manner, using this to their advantage to make the soundstage seem bigger than it probably is.
Conclusion…
I am very surprised by the Yuan Li. I do believe that it is one of the best single dynamic drivers I have heard at this price point and actually much prefer it to the Moondrop Aria or Starfield (which come in at just under or over the Yuan Li in price, respectively). I feel that this is a very coherent set of IEMs that is very fairly priced at 100€. Could it be better? Well of course it could. It also won’t be the correct choice for everyone, especially those looking for more in the bass department, but for me to put it above the Aria (or the Starfield) is quite a bit of praise in my opinion, as the Aria is my daily driver when out and about.
As I said, it is not perfect, there are things that can be improved, but I am not sure I have heard those at this price range, and certainly not without gaining in one factor while losing in another. Things that are easy to improve, such as the tips and cable, are things that I can quite easily live with, I have a drawer full of both.
I am very grateful that HiFiGo sent me this, as I wouldn’t have heard it, or probably even taken a second glance at it, if they hadn’t. As it stands, I think I have found a set of IEMs that is a set to beat for 100€ or less.
4 Likes
KZ ZEX
As always, this is also available in Spanish on my blog and on YouTube, links at the end of this post.
Intro…
It has been a while since I tried any of the latest offerings from KZ and I somehow stumbled across the ZEX when it was announced for preorder. As it was a new combination of drivers from the brand and was at a very reasonable price, I placed the preorder and actually forgot about it.
It sat in an unopened box for a while until I saw somebody mention it on a forum and decided to check if I had actually received it or not (I had quite a few unopened boxes laying around). It was indeed there and I decided to give it a quick listen, I must say I was surprised at the first listen, so I put it on the burn-in rig and gave it the usual time before grabbing it again this week to test more.
Presentation…
Not much has changed in the KZ presentation, in fact, I don’t think anything has changed since the last time I opened a normal set of theirs. I mean, there have been a couple of “special” presentations, such as the ZAX, but this is just like any other of the many KZ offerings that have been across my desk.
A simple white box from which slides a tray with a clear plastic cover, showing the IEMs inside. Underneath this we get 3 pairs of silicone tips (including the ones installed), the cable and, well, that’s it.
Build and aesthetics…
While the shape of the ZEX is the same usual shape used by the brand, they are a little smaller than things like the ZSN range (only slightly), being the same size as the ZAX but with a bit more contouring going on. They actually look fairly decent for a set of IEMs that cost around 20€. I am not sure if the faceplate is plastic or metal but if I had to guess, I would say plastic. Overall I like the look of them, fairly discrete but without being too boring.
As far as the cable, well, here KZ have made a huge improvement in my opinion. Ok, it’s not a boutique cable with fancy braiding but it is miles ahead of the thin twisted cables that I was used to receiving from the brand. They haven’t even really done much to improve it, they have just covered a thin cable in a see through rubber coating, but it is enough for me to not want to throw the cable in the KZ pile upon opening the IEMs. My version has an inline mic and I am not sure if I ordered it like that on purpose or by mistake (or maybe that was the only one available for pre-order at the time) but it’s a shame as I wouldn’t mind having this cable mic free for when I use other KZ IEMs.
Sound…
Let me start by getting straight to the point, the ZEX sound pretty darn good for a set of 20€ IEMs. There are more and more options in this price bracket lately, some of which are very decent IEMs that would make plenty of people happy, and I think that the ZEX should be put straight into the decent category without a doubt. They do have a few issues that I will comment on shortly but these IEMs are a set that are impressive upon first listen.
I say first listen because my first impressions were “wow, these have a lot of bass yet sound very clear!” As I have spent more time with them, there have been a few things that have stood out, making them still impressive but remind me that these are not perfect.
The sound signature is very much the typical KZ “V” shape found on the majority of their IEMs, with few exceptions. Over time, KZ has stuck with a similar tuning on most of their set and just achieved it in different ways, with different driver configurations, some working better than others.
In the case of the ZEX, KZ are using a single Dual Magnetic Dynamic Unit and what they call a Low Voltage Electrostatic Unit. An electrostat is not something found on many IEMs, even if it is not exactly an electrostat, and it does seem to work in favour of these specific IEMs.
I am going to get into the specific frequency ranges and usual steps in just a second but first let me make a note on tips. I have used the included tips (which I wasn’t overly keen on), foam tips (that made them a little dull), Final Audio Tips (which make them more impressive but show a bit of harshness that I am about to comment on) and also Xelastic tips (which fix the harshness but again dull down the clarity a little too much for me). So, my thoughts are based on using the Final Audio tips, tips that do enhance the bass and retain the clarity that I feel these are good at.
Starting with subbass, these have plenty of it. If you are looking for rumble in the low end, the ZEX deliver and manage to do so without losing control too much. As I have stated on many occasions, I am not one for elevated bass unless I am specifically in the mood, well, the ZEX are good candidates for when I am in the mood. “Chameleon” can not be said to be lacking anything at the lowest frequencies and while it is not the most controlled I have ever heard it, it is certainly good enough to be enjoyable. “Nara” is also a very good example of the fullness that the ZEX have all the way down to the lowest notes. Let’s just say that my hearing rolls off before the IEMs seem to.
In the mid and higher bass regions, the bass is still very present and is also clear and articulate. Listening to things like “Forgot About Dre”, where the bass line moves around between 50Hz and 100Hz, it stays present without anything seeming out of place. I listened to quite a bit of Hip Hop and EDM, enjoying the low end presentation of most of it. Moving to things that are less electronically focused, such as “Give Me One Reason” by Tracy Chapman, the bass is a little more elevated than I would choose but does a decent job of staying out of the way of the rest of the frequencies. With “Black Muse” by Prince, I did find that I wanted to dial it down a bit though but still listenable.
And I think that is where KZ have made a decent job of these IEMs. I don’t know where the crossover to the electrostat happens but the ZEX manage to keep mids and highs clear and present, even when the low end is boosted.
There is a dip in the mids as I mentioned, but the dip is not overly done, or at least the climb up at the end of the mids is enough to make sure vocals and mid centric instruments are present. I was actually very surprised at how detailed and clear these can be in the higher end of the mids and lower treble frequencies. Even for my typical vocal and acoustic instrument focused tracks, they do a good job of keeping everything clear and well presented.
The negative side, there is always a negative side, is that sometimes vocals and other parts of the higher mids can come across as harsh. They are actually not sibilant, at least they don’t add sibilance, but certain parts can be a little brutal at times. This is not all the time, just on occasions, but that can actually be worse at times, as EQ (or tip changes) to remove these harsh appearances seem to dull down the overall signature in general, becoming a little too blunt for my tastes.
Don’t get me wrong, I still feel that these are excellent value for their price, and would still be good value at a much higher price, but those peaks do take the enjoyment away now and again.
As far as soundstage, well, we are back in the average camp here. They are not bad but are nothing worth noting in this regard. Image placement is also acceptable, maybe a little over average, but again nothing out of this world.
Conclusion…
I think the last set of KZ IEMs I reviewed were the ZAX, a more classic hybrid set up from KZ, and I must say that these are more impressive than the ZAX. By this I don’t mean they are better, I mean that they are more impressive in what they can do. I think that I can dial the ZAX more towards my tastes with my usual selection of music (not just the stuff on my test list) but they are not IEMs that I usually reach for, I have others that I prefer much more.
However, the ZEX are sort of a “Here, take that!” set of IEMs. I was literally surprised when I first heard them and I still am when I pick them up after listening to other stuff, especially with hip hop and EDM.
I would not put them at the top of my recommended list for my personal tastes but I certainly think they are worth (more than) their price. I would have no problem recommending them to people who want to party inside their head. They sort of remind me of some car systems that people spend a lot of time (and money) perfecting to get that Saturday night parking lot EDM party set up, and these only cost 20€.
7 Likes
CCZ Melody & CCZ Emerald
As always, this review is also available in Spanish on my blog and on YouTube, links at the end of the post.
The CCZ Emerald and the CCZ Melody were sent to me free of charge by KeepHiFi in exchange for this review. They have not requested anything, therefore my review will be as honest and sincere as possible, as they always are, but it is always good to consider the fact that these IEMs have not cost me anything.
As mentioned before, I don’t share links on websites, even if they are unaffiliated, so to see these products direct from KeepHiFi (or on the Aliexpress store), please visit the version of this review published on my blog.
Intro…
This is the first time I have tried any CCZ IEMs and I decided to review them both together. My main reason for this is that they are so similar that if it wasn’t for the colour (and a few sound differences), I would not be able to tell them apart. Therefore, I will discuss both of these and also compare them against themselves as I go.
Before getting on with the usual parts of my review, I will mention the specs so you can see what I mean about being similar:
The Emerald uses a single 10mm DD together with a custom CCZ BA driver. It states an impedance of 16 Ohms and a sensibility of 110dB.
The Melody uses a single 10mm DD together with a custom CCZ BA driver. It states an impedance of 16 Ohms and a sensibility of 110dB.
No, I didn’t just copy and paste that paragraph, maybe you are starting to get my point.
They are even the same price, well, the Emerald is actually about 1€ more expensive, both coming in at under 20€.
Presentation…
It’s no surprise that both sets of IEMs come packaged in exactly the same way. A simple white box with an image of the product on the front, with a few specs on the back and features on the sides of the boxes. Apart from the difference in image on the front of the box, the only other difference I can find is that the Melody mentions “Lightweight design” as a feature whereas the Emerald states “Selected Dynamic Driver” in the same place on the box.
Also, on the front of the box of the Melody it states that the are “Stunning New Sound from Inside Out”, while the Emerald just says “DD and BA Hybrid In-Ear HIFI Earphones”.
Inside the box we again find everything is identical except for the actual IEMs. Both contain the exact same cable and two extra sets of silicone tips along with the ones that are installed.
Build and aesthetics…
First, as both are the same, the cable. The cable is a thin black cable that is reminiscent of those that were included with earlier KZ models. There is nothing really wrong with the cable, it is a basic cable that serves it’s purpose but won’t be winning any prizes.
Now the IEMs, which are actually different, well… sort of. The shapes are identical, the size is identical and the only difference (apart from colour) is a small slope on the faceplate of the Emerald, which you can probably see in the photo above.
There is lees than a gram difference in weight, so I would have thought that the lightweight design would have been a feature of the Emerald also but, I guess the selected Dynamic Driver was more appealing.
There seem to be no obvious build issues or flaws, at least at this price point, and I got the Melody in clear so I can actually see the inside. I am certainly not going to pick faults with it as it is a sub 20€ IEM, so as long as it has no obvious flaws, that is fine with me.
I will say that I prefer the look of the Emerald, in my case in blue but also available in green, as I think it looks a little better while hiding the internals (only on the top, the back is still transparent so you can see the driver capsule.
As far as comfort, I have to say that I experienced some issues with these IEMs (remember they are both identical. On the top part of the inside they have something that is kind of like a rubber lip. This actually puts pressure on the inside of my ear and became rather uncomfortable after an hour or so. I found that I couldn’t wear them for longer than that without discomfort, so my sessions have been intermittent. Comfort is obviously a very personal thing and I have no idea if this will affect other people also but I can only speak for myself.
One other thing I noticed was that the tips included have a kind of channel around them, near the tip. I have no idea what this was supposed to do, if anything, but I found the tips to provide a decent sound and comfort that wasn’t bad either, so my sound impressions are with the stock tips.
Sound…
So, onto the part where things are a little different, with the emphasis being on “little”.
First let me say that I started off with the Emerald and found that the sound signature was quite pleasant. I didn’t immediately pick up any specific flaws and found that I was quite happily listening to my music while working. If it hadn’t been for that hot spot I mentioned in comfort, I would have easily listened to these IEMs all day.
The Melody was also a pleasant enough listen but I found it to lack a bit of body and fullness in comparison to the Emerald. I will mention a little more as I go through the usual frequency groups.
Starting with the subbass, the Emerald has a nice extension with good presence but without being overpowering in any way. Low notes are clear and articulate but do not give the impression of being overly boosted. For example, a song like “Royals” by Lorde proves to have enough in the subbass regions to appreciate what is going on down there but when passing over to something more acoustical, the Emerald don’t suddenly add weight at the low end that shouldn’t be there.
In comparison, the Melody is quite a bit thinner on the low end. There is still a presence of subbass, enough to appreciate the tracks, but it is not as full as the Emerald in this regard. I suppose one could argue that it is cleaner but to be honest, the Emerald is not exactly dirty in its subbass reproduction.
Honestly, I could live with the subbass on either of these two sets but my guess would be that the majority of people would opt for the subbass on the Emerald over the Melody.
Moving into the mid and higher bass territory, the situation is repeated. The Melody is very clean and is by no means overly boosted. It presents bass lines with nice articulation, making it easy to appreciate all kinds of bass lines, from Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” through to “All Eyez on Me” by 2Pac.
However, moving back to the Emerald, the clean and articulated sound of the bass lines is still just as present, with just a little more presence. I mean, there is not a huge dB difference between the bass on the Melody and the Emerald, but it is noticeable and in my opinion, the Emerald makes it seem a little fuller, with more body. Again, as my preferences usually move towards the neutral side of things in the bass regions, one would think that the Melody would have the upper hand, but again I find that both are good, just that the extra body of the Emerald makes music seem a little more lively.
Moving into the mids, these are also quite pleasurable. There is no real recess in the mids, however, as the Emerald does have that little extra in bass, the mids can seem slightly further back. The difference is not huge and this is only really noticeable on tracks with a lot of bass, such as “Chameleon” or “Sun Is Shining” etc. I think I would again choose the Emerald for the mids as I like that little extra roundness of the low end with the majority of my music. Maybe on occasions where bass is very present in a track, again, such as “Chameleon”, then maybe I would opt for the mids from the Melody but the majority of the music I listen to is not overly boosted in the low end.
Vocals come across very nicely on both sets, with enough presence and clarity to make the majority of my music very enjoyable. There is a nice balance throughout the vocal ranges of both male and female singers, with tracks like “Billie Jean” by The Civil Wars being well balanced between both voices and without either becoming overly harsh. In the case of vocals, I think both sets are very similar, except for a little extra weight in the lowest ranges of very deep male vocals. There were a few brief occasions where I noticed a little harshness in some of the higher mids of specific voices but it was a very rare occurrence and very much dependent on a specific note in a specific recording.
Up in the higher ranges, both sets offer a decent amount of air and extension, without being overly sibilant. There is a slight touch of sibilance on my usual “Code Cool” test track, not enough to be painful but certainly a little bit more that I would choose. The Emerald seems to be slightly better in this regard but not by a huge amount. The extension is also very similar on both with the Melody perhaps seeming to be more airy due to that slight touch more presence in these frequency ranges.
As far as stage and image placement, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by these IEMs. Listening to “Strange Fruit” by Dominique Fils-Aimé, the multiple vocals are nicely spaced and the layers are easily identified. Of course these are still IEMs but they are above the averageness I have come to expect from the majority. I think that the Melody gives a sensation of being slightly wider, however the Emerald makes the layers sound a little smoother and more “locked in” with each other, although the differences are minimal.
Conclusion…
I have been pleasantly surprised by these offerings from CCZ for their price bracket. They are very coherent and enjoyable IEMs. It is a shame that the comfort doesn’t work for me, meaning that I can’t listen to them for extended periods of time. By the end of the tests and comparisons, my ears really did feel painful.
As far as the actual sound signatures, I think I would choose the Emerald over the melody. I know this sounds strange, me choosing the bassier set of the two, but I feel that it just ties everything in together a little better, giving an overall roundness to the presentation.
To be totally honest, I think that either of these sets is a good buy for the 20€ asking price, but the Emerald is just slightly more refined and a better deal.
2 Likes
Hifiman Arya Stealth Magnets (2021) vs Arya v2 (2020)
As usual, this is also available in Spanish on my blog and on YouTube, links at the end of this post.
Here is my comparison of the Hifiman Arya Stealh Magnet revision vs the Arya v2.
As always, this is also available in Spanish for anyone who “habla español” on both my blog and on YouTube, links at the end of this post.
The Hifiman Arya, 2021 version, has been kindly loaned to me by Hifiman for this review. They have not requested anything and my opinions, as always, will be as sincere and unbiased as possible, always taking into consideration that it hasn’t cost me anything to test these headphones.
Intro…
The Hifiman Arya 2021, which is just called Hifiman Arya as far as I am aware, is a new revision of these headphones that was released recently by the brand. One of the main factors of this revision is that the Arya now uses Stealth Magnets, something that already made its appearance early on other models such as the HE400se.
The Stealth Magnet system is basically, in broad terms, a change to the structure of the magnets, rounding off the edges and helping avoid unwanted reflections caused inside the cups.
I don’t know if anything else has changed in this new revision other than the magnet structure, but the specs do show a change in the impedance (now 36 Ohms rather than 35 of the previous version) and an increase in sensitivity from 90dB to 94dB.
The price, as shown on the Hifiman website, stays the same.
Presentation, build, aesthetics, etc…
I usually separate these and give a rundown on how the headphones are packaged, what they include, what they look like, are they comfortable, etc.
However, as far as I can tell, absolutely nothing has changed in this regard to the previous revision, therefore I am just going to focus on sound and comparisons in this review. If you would like to see details on the presentation, build, etc., you can see my review of the previous Hifiman Arya here.
The grille on the cups has changed slightly, being obvious if you hold them side by side but not something that jumps out at you.
The only other visible change is to the magnet structure which, again, you can only see if you hold them side by side and look through the outside of the cups. This is something that you can only really see if you look at them side by side and with enough light.
Sound and comparisons to the non-stealth version…
First off, I would suggest that you read my complete review of the Hifiman Arya (again, here), so you can see my impressions of these headphones and what I feel about them in detail.
I also mentioned the Arya a fair bit in my recent review of the iFi Audio Signature Stack HFM (which you can read here) and I did a comparison of the Ananda, Arya and HE100se here. The reason that I mention all of these is so you can have relevant background on my reviews of the previous revision before I start the comparisons, as this review will mainly be focused on said comparisons.
For brevity, I will refer to these as 2020 and 2021.
I will start off by referring to the power. As I mentioned above, there is a difference in sensitivity and impedance. These differences are minor but are noticeable when switching from one set to the other. Although I have listened to them on other amplifiers, my comparisons have been made using the Schiit Asgard 3 to power them and to reach the same listening levels, I did need to increase the Asgard level by around 10% when switching to the 2020 version.
With regards to sound, first off, let me say that these headphones do sound different from one another, at least in my opinion, however, the differences are not really in the sound signature, rather the way that the sound is presented, things like details, width, imaging, all those things that never seem to show up on graphs but doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t exist.
As far as the actual sound signature, I really can’t find a difference that I could guarantee exists. There are times that I feel like certain songs sound different but I am fairly sure that it is just in my mind and most probably dependent upon a slight difference in volume levels when switching between them (I don’t measure the dB level each time I switch, only the first time in order to have a reference point on the volume pot of the amp, so it is not an exact science).
After giving up on trying to spot sound signature differences, which I later saw on a graph (courtesy of Resolve from The Headphone Show) that they do in fact measure very very similar.
*graph posted by Resolve in the Hifiman Arya thread on forum.headphones.com, click here to visit
There are some slight differences and these seem to be found mainly in the treble but to be totally honest, before I saw this graph and the mention of this slight difference in the treble, I can’t say that I noticed it, or at least it wasn’t something that stood out to me enough for me to say “the treble is different”. Since seeing the graph and a few other people mentioning the treble, now I feel that I can spot it a little more but I really can’t say if this is because my brain is now focusing on that more or because my brain is telling me it is there so I am automatically thinking it is. If I went back to blind testing, which I have actually done a sort of blind test (forgetting which one I had on my head at the time), I am still not certain I can pick up those changes with 90% of my music, and certainly not with confidence, therefore I started to focus on the things that I mentioned above.
Let me point out that the differences that I do notice are so slight that I would never be able to notice them if I didn’t have both models side by side, and even then, I can only really spot them in specific tracks that I have listened to more times that I can remember (i.e: my test list). Even with my test list, there are only a few songs that I feel show me the differences that I am hearing.
Starting off with “All Your Love (Turned to Passion)” by Sara K, the intro of this song is an acoustic guitar intro with some hefty plucks and a few hits on the body of the guitar. This is recorded in a room with a lot of reverb (or a very natural reverb was added in post) and where I notice the difference between the 2020 and 2021 is in the sense of distance that the reverb produces. This is not a huge difference, if we were to compare the difference between the Ananda and the Arya instead of the Arya 2020 vs 2021, the difference would be meters rather than centimeters. But I feel that the Arya 2021 seems just a little closer than the 2020.
Moving on to a binaural recording, “La Luna” by Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra, this recording places instruments all around you. Especially noticeable in this track is the distance to the guitar that is placed on the left and towards the rear. Again, my feeling is that said guitar is just that little bit closer, giving a sense of being a little more present in the mix.
Next up is a track that everyone thinks is the audiophiles favourite track, although audiophiles won’t admit to listening to it (you all know you do ), “Hotel California”, the acoustic version. The difference that I noticed on this track was the width of the applause coming from the crowd. Again, it is a minimal difference but I feel that the crowd is not quite as spread out on the 2021 Stealth version.
In the case of “Letter” by Yosi Horikawa, I thought that I would straight away notice less left to right extension based on my listening to other tracks and finding a trend of things being slightly closer on the 2021. However, I was surprised to find that I could not tell the difference. I went back and forth plenty of times but I just couldn’t sense any extra width on the previous model.
However, with “Bubbles”, also by Yosi Horikawa, I did notice the sensation of extra space on the 2020 model. With the Stealth version, the effect of the bouncing balls seemed to be that bit more intimate, just a little closer, with the 2020 model giving more sensation of openness.
The last track I am going to mention from my test list, so that this review doesn’t just go on and on, is “Hallelujah” by Pentatonix. The backing vocals on this track seem to be, again, just a little closer and more intimate on the 2021 Stealth version. I am actually not really sure that I should be using the word intimate as these headphones are by no means an intimate sound, they are open and spacious, I just can’t think of a better description to put it into perspective.
Conclusion…
I spent a couple of weeks listening to the Arya Stealth Magnet version before I started to do these direct comparisons. I had listened to the 2020 model not long before I started listening to the 2021 model and when I first started listening, my first impressions were that they were not as open sounding and there were differences.
After listening to them off and on for a week, followed by using them daily for another week, I started to think that maybe the difference was not really there and I had maybe just become acclimatized to the width of the Arya. To be honest, my only gripe with the Arya (2020) was that things could sound too open, making certain images be placed too far away. This resulted in a presentation of sound that was nothing short of amazing upon first listening but after a while made me feel that I had to focus a little too much to appreciate the details, again, everything just seemed a little too far away.
The new Stealth Magnet version seems to keep everything that I enjoyed about the previous Arya model, which I find to be an excellent headphone, and manage to bring everything just a touch closer. It is like when you are in a large room with people spread out and you ask them to just move a little closer, it makes it a little easier to appreciate the input of everyone in that room, I feel that is what the Stealth Version of the Arya has done.
Now, this means that the first listen to the Arya, depending on the music selected of course, may not be such an impressive immersion in sound as the previous model, but after those initial moments, I feel that it is a change that makes (my) music more enjoyable. I am not straining to hear the details that I sometimes missed on the 2020 version unless I paid attention, but they are not pushed in my face either.
According to the literature presented by Hifiman (included in the box), this new magnet design reduces wave diffraction turbulence which degrades the integrity of the sound waves. Now, I have no idea how the physics work behind this but the result on the Arya is something that I find to be very pleasurable.
Before I end this review, I just want to repeat myself and make something clear. ALthough I may have been making this sound like the difference between the 2020 and 2021 models is huge, it is not. For the majority of music genres I have tried, I could not tell the difference in a sighted test, nevermind a blind one. The songs where I have noticed a difference have been where the tracks have a large content of details in the background, making them sound a little more present in the mix, but again, if I wasn’t to compare them side by side, over and over again, I am not sure I would have noticed the majority of things that I did.
Both the 2020 and 2021 models of the Arya are great headphones. Either of them are a great option and I don’t think that the vast majority of listeners should even worry about the differences between them.
However, if you are one of those people that found the Arya 2020 model (known as the v2) a little too spacious for your preferences, I think that the new Stealth Magnet version is something that is well worth a listen, it may just give you that extra little bit that you craved from the previous version.
8 Likes
@Rikudou_Goku has been kind enough to form part of the reviewer interview series I am slowly publishing on my blog.
As with previous interviews, I’m afraid I am not going to copy the interview here (I need to do some spamming now and again ), so please feel free to check out the interview (available in English & Spanish) here:
9 Likes
Hello! Let me start of my saying thank you very much for all your in-depth reviews! I really enjoy reading through them 
I wanted to ask: I’m looking for a single DD IEM with excellent tonality, sub 250 USD. I will use them for classical music (instrumental, film scores, orchestral, choral), and I am trying to decide between Yuan Li, Vento Conductor, NF NA2+, and Hana 2021. Which of these have you demoed, and which one would you say would be best for classical music?
Thank you in advance!
2 Likes
Thanks for the kind words and for checking out the reviews.
I’m afraid I am not going to be much use as out of the ones you mention, I have only tried the Yuan Li (although the Hana is supposed to be arriving at some point). I am also not someone who listens to a lot of classical music, only now and again and certainly not enough to pretend to actually know enough about it.
The Yuan Li I really like, I find it matches my tastes very well, but the majority of music I listen to is acoustic instrument and vocal based. I would certainly put it above the other single DD IEMs I have listened to and the small amount of classical I have listened to on it sounds good (mainly just London Philharmonic) but again, I am not versed in classical enough to really give a good opinion, sorry!
1 Like
No worries at all, thanks for taking the time! I’ll keep an eye out for your Hana 2021 review
1 Like
I know I have said this already but… this is also available in Spanish on my blog and YouTube, links at the end of the post.
Thieaudio Legacy 2
The Thieaudio Legacy 2 have been kindly donated by Linsoul in exchange for this review. They have not requested anything specific, however, as I always point out, even though my review will be as sincere and unbiased as possible, it is always good to consider the fact that these IEMs have not cost me anything.
As usual, I will refrain from posting purchasing links on external websites, even though they are non-affiliate, but please feel free to visit the version published on my blog for the link to the Legacy 2 via Linsoul.
Intro…
To be honest, I hadn’t really been keeping up with the Thieaudio product line. I mean, I know Thieaudio, as it is a brand that is mentioned quite a lot in the IEM world and has uite a fame for some of their higher end models, but I really didn’t know much about their price models or price points. I remember the Legacy 3 interesting me at one point but I never actually got to hear it.
After spending time with the Legacy 2 to form my opinion on it, without even knowing its price, I decided to check it out on Linsoul. I was surprised to find that there are also various other models, such as the Legacy 3 I mentioned, along with the 4, 5 and even 9. I thought that maybe the Legacy 2 was an older model but some quick investigation showed that it is actually newer than the other models in the series, so I was somewhat confused by the naming scheme. However, after a bit more reading, I realized that the model number matches the driver count, which now makes sense to me.
The Legacy 2, as I just mentioned, has 2 drivers in each side, a proprietary 10mm beryllium dynamic driver along with a Knowles ED29689 balanced armature, a driver that has been used on some other very well regarded IEMs.
I must say that I was actually surprised to find that the Legacy 2 sells for $89 (less than 80€), as I actually thought the price would be higher. It is slightly above the sub 50€ bracket that I mention in many of my reviews, IEMs that I consider very budget orientated, but at its price it is still a very economical IEM in the scheme of things.
Presentation…
The Legacy 2 arrives in a largish black box covered by a black cardboard sleeve. The sleeve is all black and simply says Thieaudio on the front. Sliding the box out from inside the sleeve surprisingly reveals a box that is identical to the sleeve, simply black with Thieaudio on the lid.
Inside the box we find the IEMs with their 2 Pin cable attached, along with a selection of silicone tips, a rather nice blue (imitation) leather case with magnetic closure and the usual QC card, warranty card and even an instruction manual.
I have absolutely no complaints about the contents included for the price, it is much more than is included with many other models at similar (or more expensive) price points and there is nothing really missing.
Build and aesthetics…
Thieaudio uses a semi transparent blue shell for the Legacy 2, with a faceplate that has a kind of resin marble effect. I must say that I actually like the look. It is colorful enough to be different from so many other brands but at the same time is not overpowering nor does it stand out too much.
The IEMs themselves are very lightweight and are shaped in a way that I find very comfortable. I have been using the stock tips with them and I have been able to listen for hours without any issues in regards to comfort. There is no filter on the outside of the end of the nozzle, which actually has two smaller openings, to which the drivers are routed via their tubes.
The included cable is also pretty nice. It is a 4 core braided cable, with silver coloured connectors and split, which does have a few loose weaves here and there but nothing to complain about. The chin slider is transparent plastic rather than matching metal but it works as it is supposed to and does not seem out of place.
As far as build and aesthetics, I find that they are a nice set of IEMs that seem well built and are certainly comfortable for long sessions, even if this is something that is obviously a very personal thing.
Sound…
Now, where to start with the sound… My quick description of the sound would be pleasant, not overpowering, just generally a comfortable tuning. There is really nothing that jumps out at me in a bad way from the Legacy 2, although there is nothing that really jumps out at me in a great way either.
I suppose the word mediocre would come to mind but I think that mediocre is more negative than positive and I really don’t think that there is anything really negative about the Legacy 2, it is just not exciting. I have been using these IEMs daily for a week and at no moment did I ever feel that they were doing anything wrong, but I didn’t get any “wow!” moments either.
In the subbass regions, there is quite a bit of extension down to the lower regions, without the lowest notes seeming to roll off but there isn’t any boost either. I didn’t find that songs with deep sub bass came across as powerful in those regions, but they didn’t really come across as lacking either. The usual “Chameleon” work out proved to have enough sound to appreciate the subbass but didn’t really rumble like it does on other sets.
Moving into the mid and higher bass areas, again, presence is correct and bass is as present as it needs to be without being overdone. As you all know (unless this is the first review of mine you read), I am not a bass head, so take that as you will, but I found the bass to be nicely balanced as far as tuning. When I looked at a graph after listening for a few days, I was surprised to find that the bass actually shows to be more elevated than I would have guessed. It is higher than my usual preference in the bass region but it did not give me that impression.
I think that the main reason for it not giving me that impression is that the bass is rather smooth, without really standing out. Listening to “Black Muse” by Prince, I can’t really say that there is any lack of bass presence but once again, it doesn’t really stand out like it does on sets with more exciting bass response (even sets that actually have less bass as far as tuning). As a bass player, I automatically pay attention to bass lines even when I don’t want to, but the Legacy 2 doesn’t make me do that. The bass just doesn’t seem to stand out, but when I actually make an effort to listen to it, there really isn’t anything wrong, it just forms part of the overall music (which is what it should do, but usually doesn’t in my case because I am always unconsciously paying attention to it).
Moving into the mids, I feel I am going to start being repetitive. I listen to a lot of acoustic and vocal music and the mids sound fine but again, not exciting. Listening to “Strange Fruit” by Dominique Fils-Aimé, again her vocals were fine, no harshness, nothing particularly missing or added, but it did not come across as it does on so many IEMs with particularly good mids. Again, I need to stress that it does not do a bad job of the mids at all, in fact it doesn’t make a bad job of any of the frequencies, it just doesn’t excel at them.
Up in the higher regions, this is the area that I usually find most faults on economic IEMs and again, I can’t really fault them. They are clean, they are not harsh, there is no sibilance, there are no weird boosts. Yes, they could extend a little further but I really can’t complain that they roll off too early, or lack air, or any of that. Again, they just don’t stand out.
As far as soundstage and placement of images in that stage, well, the width is typical for an IEM. It is again not bad but is nothing out of the ordinary. The placement of images is decent although not amazing, but I think that this is more due to the fact that everything is sort of coherently balanced, there are no real background details that stand out. It does not give the impression of being a very detailed set of IEMs but if you actually look for a specific detail that you know should be there, it usually is, it just doesn’t amaze with details.
Conclusion…
I may have given the impression that the Legacy 2 are not good IEMs but that is a long way from being true. They are good IEMs, there really isn’t anything bad about them, but they are just an overall safe and coherent presentation of music.
I really don’t think anyone could say that they hate the Legacy 2 (well, this is the internet, I’m sure plenty of people can) because there really isn’t anything to hate about them. I think that they are a set of IEMs that you could literally buy for anyone without knowing their preferences and they would be a safe bet.
My conclusion is that the Legacy 2 is a good set of IEMs that is a safe bet, something that doesn’t really excel in anything particular but doesn’t really fall behind in anything particular either. If there is something specific you want from a set of IEMs, then I think that there will always be an option that will be better at that specific task but the Legacy 2 is an all rounder that will just do its job without complaint.
3 Likes
The following, as usual, is also available in Spanish on my blog and on YouTube, links at the end of the post.
The Symphonium Helios have been sent to me on loan from the company Symphonium Audio without a request for anything at all. I am very grateful for the loan of these IEMs as I would not have had a chance to try them out and they are certainly a set that have changed my view on IEMs as a whole, but more on that in a moment.
You can find the Helios on the Symphonium site here: Helios – Symphonium Audio
As always, my review and opinions will be as sincere and honest as possible but you do need to factor in two things, first that it hasn’t cost me anything to try out these IEMs and second, I may have already had some preconceived impressions of these IEMs before I even received them.
I will explain more on why I may have some preconceived impressions in a second but as I am someone who believes in honest and unbiased reviews, along with sharing as much information as possible, I have arranged with Symphonium to allow me to send these on to two other Spanish reviewers who know nothing about them. The Helios will be going to both Vertex, who posts his reviews on the YouTube channel “Auricular ORG” (in Spanish), and to Cqtek, who posts his reviews in English and Spanish on hiendportable.com, so please check out their reviews as well (I have no idea what they will think of them but I do know that they will share their unbiased opinions!).
Anyway, with that cleared up, let’s get on with the Helios!
Intro…
The Helios is a very recent release from a company called Symphonium Audio that has very few models and I only know about them due to the Helios and the talk of these IEMs in a Discord server that I am part of, along with people who worked on the design of the Helios and some reviewers whose opinions I have a lot of trust in.
This is the reason for the possible preconceived impressions that I mentioned, as I have heard nothing but praise for these IEMs since they started getting heard by those reviewers and by some other non-reviewers who have also had the chance to try them. It was actually quite an experience to see people try them and as soon as they passed them along, place their order for them. This obviously made me expect something great from the Helios, as there is no better positive publicity than people hearing them and then spending 1000€ to own them.
And that is another part of my impressions, I have never experienced a 1000€ set of IEMs before. In fact, it wasn’t too long ago that I said that 100€ was my limit for a set of IEMs and although I have broken that limit a couple of times, I am still a long way from having spent such an amount on a set of IEMs. The main reason is that I always prefer headphones, however, I have started to realize that I do use IEMs more than headphones, mainly due to the heat here for the majority of the year, so I have been more open to higher priced IEMs lately (although I still haven’t made the commitment).
All this is basically nothing to do with the Helios but I thought I would include this information as it gives you an understanding of where I am coming from with my impressions of the Helios, which I can already say is the best set of IEMs I have ever heard.
Presentation…
I am not 100% sure if what I have received is actually the same as what is received in a retail set of these IEMs, as I said, these are a demo unit, but I think that things like cables can be chosen when purchasing from Symphonium.
This set arrived in a black box, which I understand is the retail box, along with another case containing a second cable, wrapped separately.
The extra case is a very nice travel case which is (imitation) leather on the outside, sporting the Symphonium logo, with a nice furry interior. As I said, I am not sure that this case is included with the retail version but I have seen that it is available on the Symphonium webstore for $10 and it really is nice to have the lined interior. Inside this travel case they included a 2.5mm balanced cable.
Inside the main box we get a rather special aluminum storage case, which is round and has a screw off lid. I say this is a storage case as I don’t think I would personally use it for transporting the IEMs due to the size and weight of it, but again, it is very nice and does make it seem like you are receiving something special. The round case is located at the top of the box and has a metal plaque underneath that reads Symphonium Audio Helios. This presentation is rather simple but elegant, again, making it seem like something special.
Inside the storage case are the IEMs, a 4.4mm balanced cable, a small cleaning brush and tool, along with a few Symphonium Audio stickers.
The bottom end of the box has a small drawer that slides out to reveal another metal plaque with the serial number engraved, under which we find 6 extra sets of silicone tips, 3 sizes of large bore and 3 sizes of small bore. As this is a demo unit and I already have hundreds of tips in different sizes and styles, I haven’t actually used the included tips.
As far as the presentation, that about sums it up. Again, it is rather simple but elegant and includes enough accessories, although an unbalanced cable would have been nice but that will depend on the source that each person is planning on using.
Build and aesthetics…
Starting off with the IEMs themselves, they are very simple rounded triangles, all black, with Helios on one side and Symphonium on the other. To be honest, they are nothing much to look at, they are a simple shape and finish that does not jump out as being anything special, they certainly aren’t something that screams “expensive” to someone who doesn’t know IEMs, which can be a good thing depending on your use case.
They are also quite large and have a fair weight to them, with quite a long nozzle that is also on the larger side (although not to the extent of some nozzled like those of the iSine or Blessing). I found that a lot of tips didn’t slide all the way to the end of the nozzle, making the Helios stick out from my ears a little too much, although they still weren’t uncomfortable in this way. However, they are meant to be used with a deep insertion, meaning that I needed to select tips that are a little longer and also of a smaller size (as the seal happens further inside my ear). To be honest, I am not a great fan of deep insertion but they still weren’t too uncomfortable even when pushed deep.
The rest of the contents are of good quality, the accessories are great, as I mentioned, and the cables are nice. I guess my only complaint, which is not really a complaint, is that the cables do not have preformed memory wire or ear hooks, but that is not my complaint (I actually praise them not being preformed), it is the fact that the 2 pin sockets on the IEMs do not have a guide for the connectors and as the cables are not preformed, it makes connecting them out of phase very easy. This is easily overcome by looking at the channels on the connectors themselves, making sure they are the correct way round, but I can see people making mistakes and ending up with left and right out of phase by accident.
Sound…
So, I already said these are the best IEMs I have heard. That is obviously enough to know that my impressions of sound are very positive, but that still doesn’t mean that they are perfect for everyone, or that they are even perfect for me.
I am going to go through my usual steps as far as sound but I want to point out beforehand that any negatives are minor and they are relative to what I want from a 1000€ IEM, not because the IEMs have any faults themselves.
As I have said with reviews of headphones, once we reach a certain sound quality, the rest is more about preference. That doesn’t mean that all headphones or IEMs above a certain price point are great, there are some that don’t hit the “certain quality” mark, but that is definitely not the case with the Helios, they surpass the that “certain quality” with ease, so it puts them in a zone where personal preference becomes the main deciding factor.
Starting off with the subbass, it is excellent.
Ok, I guess I better be a little more specific The extension of the subbass is great, reaching far lower than my hearing range, providing plenty of rumble but keeping it very clean and articulate, never seeming to lose control over even the lowest frequencies.
Now, I already knew what the measurements of these IEMs looked like way before I got them, and also heard praise for the subbass, but even so, I was very surprised. As I have mentioned many times, I am not a bass head and the graph of the subbass would place these well over my preferences, but the sound doesn’t. The cleanliness and presentation of the subbass means that the power to rumble is there, but it doesn’t just add it to everything, it just presents what the track needs at each time.
I don’t think I have mentioned yet that the Helios is a 4x BA set up, which is something that doesn’t really attract me on paper. I am a lover of dynamic driver bass, probably due to the fact that I have spent all my life listening to bass from dynamic drivers so it is what I find natural. In the case of headphones, I said that the HE1000se (and now possibly the Arya Stealth Magnet version) were the first headphones to make me feel that I didn’t need a dynamic driver for bass tonality and it seems that the Helios can take that same claim for subbass in IEMs. The rumble, articulation, coherency are all just mixed together perfectly for my tastes in subbass.
I can’t finish the subbass section without mentioning “Chameleon”, which is usually a good stress test for an IEM subbass, however, in this case, it is more of a massage for the eardrum, giving a sensation of power that I have not experienced in an IEM before without it becoming overpowering and uncontrolled.
Moving up to the mid bass ranges, the articulation and speed are again there, making any tracks, no matter how busy in the bass areas, sound clean and never seeming to lack any dynamics in the bass area. However, and this is my first negative (which I repeat, is relevant to what I am looking for, not because it is bad), I feel that the midbass is lacking a little bit of warmth and presence to be totally natural on the majority of music that I listen to.
I listen to a lot of acoustic guitars and basses in my music preferences, some samples of which can be found on my test list, such as “Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton, “Free Fallin’” by John Mayer or “Seven Nation Army” by Zella Day, just to name a few. With this kind of music I find that the acoustic guitar (and upright bass in something like “Back it Up” by Caro Emerald), lacks a little bit of body to meet my preferences for these instruments.
I know by looking at the graph that the mid bass is slightly below my preferences as far as presence but even with a little bit of EQ in this area, I still don’t find it to be as natural as I would like, which I think could be due to these frequencies being handled by a BA and not a DD. Again, I must stress that this is some very minor nitpicking on my behalf, it is not that the instruments sound totally off, far from it, they just don’t seem to have the body that I love about the midbass of an acoustic guitar or bass.
When listening to similar styles of music that uses electric guitars rather than acoustic, such as “Give Me One Reason” by Tracy Chapman or “Sugar” by Francesco Yates, I do not get this same feeling. I feel that is more relative to the fact that I have been listening to acoustic guitars in a live setting (unamplified) since, well, forever, and it makes it difficult for them to sound the same.
With tracks that move more towards rock, such as “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin, then I find the midbass to be great, with great clarity and coherency that makes it possible to even appreciate effects used in dirty tones such as “Bombtrack” by Rage Against The Machine.
Moving out of the bass and into the mids, there is no need to mention the transition as there is absolutely no hint of anything that resembles bleed or bloat. This is obviously helped by that small lack of presence in midbass (in comparison to other sets) but also the fact that these IEMs are so clean and fast that it is not even something to consider.
The mids themselves are very well presented, keeping up with that clarity and speed found throughout the whole of the frequency ranges. Voices are clear and upfront but without becoming harsh or pushing their way too far forwards. From vocals such as Dominque Fils-Aimé on “Strange Fruit”, through to Beth on “Don’t You Worry Child” (who can easily become harsh), I have no complaints about them at all. There is great balance between the male and female vocals on tracks such as “Billie Jean” by the Civil Wars, without either overshadowing the other.
Songs with multiple voices, such as “Hallelujah” by Pentaonix or “These Bones” by The Fairfield Four, are separated perfectly and allow all the layers to be easily identified. I also need to point out that the very deep voice on “These Bones”, which could possibly be affected by the midbass that I mentioned earlier, does not seem to be lacking in warmth at all, which goes to prove even more my point about it being relative to my expectancy of the acoustic guitar rather than the IEMs.
Moving up into the higher regions, I must say that this is by far the best treble I have heard on a set of IEMs. Everything is smooth, articulate, airy, all those words that actually mean nothing but serve to try and explain the sound. There is no issue with sibilance, although it doesn’t tame it either, so if the track is recorded with sibilance, the Helios is not going to hide it. I can see that maybe the treble would be slightly too much (but only slightly) for some people but personally I really can’t pick faults with the treble of the Helios, it is great and, again, by far the best I have heard in an IEM.
The soundstage is also way above the average I have come to expect from IEMs. I mean, it is not an Arya v2 (nothing is really an Arya v2) but it does place itself in the category of being open and spacious, something that is not common on IEMs that I have tried.
Something that helps add to the spaciousness is the detail and placement of images inside the soundstage. This means that it makes the most of the space that is available, placing images in a way that makes it easy to appreciate small changes in placement and making the whole picture seem larger than it actually is. This is by far the most detailed IEM that I have heard also.
Conclusion…
I think that I have made it clear that I am very impressed with the sound of the Symphonium Helios, as I have already said a couple of times, it is easily the best sounding IEM I have heard. The details, spaciousness, sound signature, there really isn’t anything that can be called an issue, it is just an amazing set of IEMs.
Now, I guess that thousand euro question is… would I actually spend a thousand euros on the Helios?
Let me say that I am very tempted and just the fact that I am even contemplating spending this kind of money on a set of IEMs is proof that I am really impressed with them.
So, what is stopping me?
Well, apart from the fact that I still feel that 1k is a lot of money for a set of IEMs (it was only a year ago that I thought it was crazy), if I was to spend it, I would want something that is perfect. By this I don’t mean a perfect set of IEMs, I mean something that is perfect for me, and there are really only two things that I don’t find perfect about the Helios for my personal taste.
The first is comfort. While these are not uncomfortable IEMs, they are also not the most comfortable IEMs I have worn. I always notice them in my ears. As I said, I am not a fan of deep insertion and these do go a little deeper than my preference. I can also get a good seal by using tips that sit further away from the shell and they still sound great, but not quite as amazing as when inserted properly. I also find that the back part of the triangle shape rests on my ear and the top sticks out at an angle, causing the cable to be at a weird angle also, which is not terribly uncomfortable but it is something that I notice constantly.
The second thing that has me hesitating is the mid bass / lower mids timbre that I mentioned. With almost all music except for that based on acoustic guitars and basses, this is not even an issue, however, a very large part of my listening is based on music that revolves around these two instruments. Again, this is not bad by any means, far from it, but it is just not the perfection that I would hope to achieve by spending this much on a set of IEMs.
Now, both of those reasons are completely personal. Comfort is a very personal thing and my impression of an acoustic guitar’s natural timbre may not coincide with yours. You may not even listen to any music that involves acoustic instruments at all, in which case I would not be able to point out a fault at all as far as sound. I have listened to all kinds of music throughout the week and there really isn’t any genre that I haven’t enjoyed on the Helios. Even music that is based on acoustic guitars has been thoroughly enjoyable, I really am nitpicking when I talk about that “body” of the instrument.
You might even be someone with plenty of disposable income and think that 1000€ is a very reasonable price, which I guess it is in comparison to other IEMs that are twice as expensive, or even 3, 4 or 5 times more expensive. I obviously haven’t heard any of those more expensive models but based on commentary from people that I trust, I don’t think the Helios has anything to worry about as far as sound quality in comparison.
So, I am still on the fence about the purchase but what I am not on the fence about is the fact that they are an amazing set of IEMs that I am very grateful to Symphonium for sending out to me, giving me the opportunity to get to hear them.
As I mentioned at the beginning, I am sending these on to Vertex and Cqtek for them to share their unbiased opinions of these IEMs as, again, I might have already had a preconceived opinion before starting this review, so I would suggest checking out their reviews once they have had chance to publish them (heck, they might not even like the Helios!). I will update this review with a link to their reviews once they are available.
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Good job!
I’m envious, as they are one of the sets I wish I could demo in the near future as they interest me a lot.
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KZ EDX Pro
Around a year ago, I reviewed the KZ EDX, a set of IEMs that really surprised me at the time, mainly due to the fact that they made a reasonable sound at a very cheap price, just over 5€ at the time of posting that review.
Since then, there have been quite a few extremely economical IEMs released, although not many have come quite as cheap as the original EDX, and some of them have been pretty darn good for their price, with some not being so good of course. However, I think that the EDX still holds the record for the cheapest set of IEMs that I find pleasurable, along with the TRN MT1.
Yes, there are other alternatives that I would recommend over these at a slightly higher price point, which are still very cheap such as the Moondrop Quarks, but I am pretty sure that the EDX was a bit of a pioneer in this bracket (at least for me).
So, following the usual KZ naming scheme of adding a “Pro” or an “X” or a “Pro X” to the end of an existing model, today we have the KZ EDX Pro, a set that comes in slightly more expensive (I have seen them at just over 6€ but they are usually around 10€) and is supposedly an upgrade to the original EDX.
Presentation…
There is only one thing that has changed in regards to presentation, which is actually not even how it is presented, rather the contents of the box.
The overall presentation is identical to the EDX and almost every other KZ, a simple white box that I have already shown more times than I can remember.
Inside the box we get the IEMs presented in the same usual way, along with the usual 3 sets of tips and a cable. It is the latter that is the only thing different.
Build and aesthetics…
As far as the IEMs, there has been a change to the aesthetics but no change to the build. The shells are lightweight plastic in the same shape and form as the originals, however, this time they have opted for a clear see-through shell with a small metal circle sporting the KZ logo. I am not actually sure if it is metal or just plastic with a metal finish but it does look like metal. I can’t see this change having any impact on the durability of the IEMs, but to be honest, I have not yet had any issues with the build of any of the KZ models (and I have had quite a few).
The thing that has changed is the cable. Following the style of the new cables that KZ seems to have introduced in their latest models, the cable is now covered in a silicone tubing and is the same as the cable included with the ZEX that I reviewed recently. I am actually a fan of this new cable style from KZ, it is far superior to their older versions in my opinion, even if it is only a bit of tubing over the same internals. I find it to be a lot less prone to tangling and to be more pleasant to the touch overall.
In the end, I can’t complain about build quality especially at this price and although the contents are scarce, again, this is a sub 10€ set of IEMs.
Sound…
There are sound differences between the original EDX and the EDX Pro, whether these are an improvement or not will depend on personal taste more than anything. The overall quality of the sound is very much the same, it is just a slight change in tuning, and I do mean slight.
The box says that the EDX Pro is a “New Generation Heavy-Bass Earphone” and I must say that the increase in bass is the first thing that stood out to me (before I even noticed this written on the box). It is still not a huge amount of bass but it is noticeable. The tuning is actually the usual KZ “V” shaped tuning that is found on so many of their models but I’ll go through the typical steps anyway.
Starting off with the subbass, I feel that this has been increased in comparison to the original EDX. There wasn’t much roll off on the previous model but it seems that the Pro has actually boosted these lowest ranges, making them take more of a presence in the low end.
Moving into the mid-bass, these frequencies are also more present than on the original EDX. I wouldn’t say that they are extremely boosted, otherwise I would be complaining, but they are certainly more present than I need them to be for my preferences.
As with the previous version, the EDX Pro still do not do a great job of controlling the low end, which can result in some bleed into the lower mids depending on music choice, but as I said about the original version, we do need to consider the price of these, so I really don’t think it is fair to complain too much, although it is worth mentioning.
The mids are a little recessed, as is to be expected with the overall tuning of these IEMs. They are not to a point of being absent, in other words, the vocals and other mid centric instruments are present enough to be heard and appreciated, but if you are someone who likes mid forward sound presentations, you will find that the EDX Pro don’t fit into that category.
As we move into the higher frequencies, these are boosted, maybe a little too much. They are not boosted to a level where they become uncomfortable, they are still quite listenable, but there is a slight presence of sibilance and certain vocals can become a little harsh on occasions, especially if the recording is already a little on the bright side. As with the original EDX, the highs actually extend fairly well and there is a nice presence of air, which sort of simulates some extra detail. By this I mean that these are by no means extremely detailed IEMs but the extra brilliance in the higher ranges gives the impression that there are details.
As far as soundstage and image placement, we are on a par with the previous model and the majority of other IEMs in the lower price brackets. There is not a huge soundstage and the images are placed in a way that lets you appreciate the overall placement but does not present pinpoint accuracy.
Conclusion…
I am basically going to wrap this up in the same way that I wrapped un my review of the previous EDX. There are plenty of things that are not great about these IEMs but when we factor in the cost of them, it is really difficult to complain too much, although there have been many contenders starting to appear in this range.
As I mentioned earlier in the review, I think that there are better alternatives at prices that are not much more expensive than these, but if your hard limit for budget is 10€, then I do think that you get plenty of value for your money.
Personally, if I had to choose, I would probably pick the original EDX over the EDX Pro, not because I feel that they are better, more because I don’t really need the extra bass that the Pro delivers. The rest of the package as a whole is pretty much on a par, except for the cable which I find is much nicer on the Pro model.
If you want or need a set of very cheap IEMs to enjoy music without getting into picking faults, then the EDX Pro is another set of IEMs you could consider. Personally, if budget allows, I would just go a tiny bit higher and pick up something like the Quarks, the Emerald (although I did experience comfort issues with these) or the ZEX.
*** Also available in Spanish on: | Review también disponible en español en: ***
Top 5 - What has impressed me the most in 2021?
As we get closer to the end of the year, I wanted to do a quick recap of the products that have impressed or surprised me the most so far in 2021. I know there is still over a month left but with Black Friday this next week, followed by Cyber Monday, then the incoming holiday gift season, I think now is a good time to publish this. If anything that comes in from now until the end of the year replaces anything on this list, I will make sure to let you all know!
I must say that it has been difficult to limit this to just 5 products, as there have been quite a few products that have surprised me and impressed me over the past 11 months, some of them that should probably make this list, but after lots of deliberating and listening, I have decided that these are the ones that make my own list.
This is certainly not a list that will match the tastes of everyone, nor have I had chance to try every product out there, so there are many that will disagree with this list and I may also disagree if I had tried certain other products, but as of today, the 20th of November, these are the 5 products that have most impressed and/or surprised me in 2021. Click on any of the product names to see the full review of that item.
At the lowest price…
I am going to start off with something that is extremely cheap but is, in my opinion, far better than the price tag would indicate. As you may know if you follow my reviews, I like to look at a lot of products in the sub 50€ category, as I think there are some very good deals in this price bracket that offer good quality audio for those who don’t want to spend a fortune.
I have tried quite a few sub 50€ products this year but the ones that have surprised me the most are actually available for not much more than 10€ (as of today), these are none other than the Moondrop Quarks.
Ok, the Quarks aren’t perfect, but they are a very good set of IEMs that sound good, are small, lightweight and cheap. If somebody said “I want the good sound for as little as possible”, the Quarks would be my first suggestion. They are also a great backup option, perfect to be left in a bag, car, drawer, anywhere that you want to have a spare set of IEMs that don’t take up any real estate.
There are a few things like non-detachable cables that won’t make everybody happy but, at the end of the day, that means you don’t have to worry about them, just find the correct tips and you are good to go (and let’s face it, a replacement pair is cheaper than a new cable!).
Daily IEMs…
Back in May I reviewed the Moondrop Aria, which I found to be a great alternative to the Moondrop Starfield (which was my daily IEM at the time) for a lower price. These would probably have been my choice for this list if I hadn’t had the chance to try the T Force Yuan Li last month.
The Yuan Li are a set of IEMs that have just clicked with me. I enjoy their sound, I find them comfortable, they include plenty of accessories, all in all I just find them a very good buy for around 100€.
Again, this is not a perfect IEM, there are things that can be improved and I have heard other sub 100€ options that do certain things better, but as an overall package, I think the Yuan Li are great and have become my personal favourites under 100€. Since the arrival of the Yuan Li, the Aria have become my bluetooth option, they basically live connected to the Shanling MW200 and sound great.
Favourite IEMs…
Ok, this is another category where the item has been replaced and in this case, as little as a couple of weeks ago. Up until that point, I would have said that the Blessing 2 Dusk are my favourite IEMs that I have reviewed this year, and they are still my most used IEMs, however, getting to try the Symphonium Helios opened up a whole new category for me.
I have to be honest and say that I have not yet been able to bring myself to spend 1000€ on them but it is not because I don’t feel they are worth it, these are by far the best IEMs I have heard.
Again, there are a few little things that I find not perfect about the Helios but they really are small things that stop them being perfect for me personally, but there really aren’t any complaints that I can make about them, they are an amazing set of IEMs.
If I can bring myself to actually spend 1000€ on IEMs, then I would not hesitate to order the Helios.
Headphones…
I thought that this one would be easy, the Hifiman HE1000se. A set of headphones that I fell in love with and enjoy immensely each time I get to use them.
However, I recently got to try the new Hifiman Arya Stealth Magnet Edition, which really made some small tweaks to the original Arya (v2) and brought it much closer to my preferences. When I reviewed the Arya SM I already made it clear that I thought they were an amazing set of headphones but I would still have picked the HE1000se.
As I have had the chance to spend more time with them and compare them more to the HE1000se, I am no longer as convinced that I find the HE1000se superior. Yes, I prefer the aesthetics of the HE1000se, which I think are beautiful, and there are a few little things that still make me drift towards them, but these are more personal biases than actual sound qualities.
On the other hand, the Arya are a much cheaper option and the more I listen to the new Arya’s, the more I enjoy them and I really think that I would struggle to choose one only based on sound. The battle would probably come down to price vs aesthetics and at the end of the day, I prefer to listen to headphones than look at them, so the 2000€ savings would play a major part in my decision.
In fact, for the budget of the HE1000se, I could get the Arya Stealth Magnet, the Helios and the “bonus” product (read to the end to know what this is), giving me quite easily an end game set up in all three categories for the same price.
Most impressed by…
This is the item that has most impressed me this year when factoring in cost to performance. There are a few that could have been contenders for this bracket, including those that I have mentioned already, but one just stands out above the others in my opinion and that is the Hifiman HE400se with Stealth Magnets.
These are a set of headphones that match my tastes and, in my opinion, sound great!
Yes, there are better headphones out there, I just mentioned two of them in the last category, but for just over 120€ (at this time), none of them come close to offering this performance to price ratio.
Again, there are a couple of things that do not thrill me about the HE400se SM, but none of them are related to sound and certainly not at this price bracket. They are a set of headphones that, if I wasn’t so deep into the headphone hobby, I would have no problems having as my main headphones for sitting back and enjoying music.
I could go on about these headphones but you can read the full review for that, let’s just say that the HE400se SM are the best value for money that have come across my desk this year and probably since I started in the headphone hobby.
Bonus product… Source…
Ok, I know I said my top 5 products but there is one more item I would like to put on the list and that falls into the sources category.
I have reviewed a few sources this year, not as many as I would have liked to but they were all decent products. The Asgard 3 became my preferred amplifier for relaxed listening purposes, I enjoyed the iFi Audio HFM Signature amp and what it can do to certain headphones and IEM, but there is one product that I feel was above the rest… the iFi Audio Diablo.
The Diablo is an amazing piece of gear, with enough power to run just about anything, great sound, great looking (if you like red) and is just an overall great product which just so happens to be portable and battery powered.
My only issue with the Diablo is its price. Now, I am not saying that it is not worth it, it is a product that could probably replace most of my desktop stacks, so it could probably save me more than it costs, but it is still 1000€ for a portable DAC/Amp.
Saying that, there is no way I can’t place it on this list as it deserves it, in my opinion of course, and as I said in the headphones category, I could get the Arya SM + Helios + Diablo for the same price as just the HE1000se and have my end game for all situations. But maybe “end game” is just a myth anyway
Conclusion…
I really enjoyed making this list because it got me to listen to things again (even if only briefly) and compare things directly. Due to the fact that I am usually trying something out to review, it is things like this that allow me to spend more time with stuff that I have enjoyed and don’t get to use as much as I would like to.
Of course, this list is just my personal opinion, I am not saying that the products I have mentioned are the best for you, they are just the items that have impressed me, in a good way, throughout this 2021.
There are a few more reviews left this year, so maybe something will come along and be far superior to anything on this list, which would be something that would make me happy, I always love reviewing things I like.
However, as of today, if I was looking to find good offers on items during these sales periods, I would certainly be looking for the products I mentioned on this list. I have already mentioned what I feel about them at their price as of today, any discount would increase my approval!
Also available in Spanish on my blog and on YouTube:
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Hidizs S9 Pro
As always, this is also available in Spanish on my blog and YouTube, links at the end of the post.
Let me start out by saying that I am not someone who has tested a lot of dongle style audio devices. I have a few Apple Dongle DACs, and have tried a few of the Creative Labs and similar solutions for laptops quite some time ago, but that is about it. But let’s face it, dongles are in fashion at the moment, with releases from all kinds of companies and at all kinds of prices, from the Apple option at less than 10€ (or even cheaper from some other random brands), all the way up to over 300€ or maybe even more.
I am actually a happy user of the Apple Dongle, it has proven to be of very good quality for its price (which is why I have ended up with multiple units) but there are a few situations in which the tiny device just can’t cut it. This is mainly with over ear headphones, which I rarely use away from my desktop devices anyway, but there are also some IEMs that benefit from having a little more power, especially if we consider the fact that the EU version of the Apple Dongle is only half as powerful as the US version.
So, my review of the Hidizs S9 Pro is really only going to be my opinions on this little portable device in my intended use scenario, without much comparison to anything similar. If you want detailed specs on the S9 Pro, with a full set of measurements etc, along with a very good review (in my opinion), you can check out the review by CqTek here: https://hiendportable.com/hidizs-s9-pro-english-review/
My use case…
My main reason for looking for something like the S9 Pro is to have a very transportable device that I can keep in my bag (ok, man purse) and give me something that has a similar sound signature to the Atom and THX set ups that I (usually) use for detailed listening and comparisons when reviewing.
Without going into sound preferences, basically I just wanted something as clean and detailed as possible, while being as small and compact as possible. I also wanted something that I could plug into my DAP to be able to have the same sound reference without being tied to my phone or tablet, more on that in a moment.
As I said, I don’t have much experience with dongles so I spent some time checking out reviews of all kinds of solutions. I don’t think that there was a single one that had all positive reviews, which is to be expected, and some of the most praised were ones that had some kind of “house sound”. Again, my search was for something that didn’t really have a sound, just pure old gain, in order to evaluate IEMs and not necessarily relax and listen.
The S9 Pro seemed to fit this description along with a few other contenders and was actually the cheapest option out of those that were easily available here.
Anyway, I think that is enough random chat, so on to the actual product.
Presentation…
The presentation of the S9 Pro is nothing spectacular. It arrives in a simple black box with some text on it, inside which we find the dongle in a foam cutout. Underneath the top layer of foam we get the included accessories, consisting of a user manual, a transparent clip, a short USB-C to USB-C cable and a USC-C to USB A adapter.
All the necessary bits are there and it is well packed, but again, it’s not really anything exciting for the price.
Build and aesthetics…
The S9 Pro is smaller than I expected it to be, which is good. After seeing photos online, I expected it to be larger than it actually is, which is still bigger than something like the Apple Dongle but is small enough to store in an IEM case quite easily.
The build of the actual unit is ok. Again, I wouldn’t go crazy and say that it is great, although there is nothing really wrong with it. The aluminium frame is nice but the glass covers on each side, which actually feel like perspex more than something like gorilla glass, do move and creak quite a bit when pressed with any kind of moderate force. Really there is no reason to actually press them with any kind of force, so I guess this is just me being picky, but it doesn’t exactly scream “high quality build”.
The included cable is also ok. It seems to be well made but the length is not quite right for my use case. I find that if I connect it to a device (phone, tablet, etc) and place the S9 Pro behind it, the cable is a little too long and sticks out a bit much at the bottom. The cable also came folded in the box, so it has a built in bend to it at exactly the half way mark. However, if I place my device on a stand, the cable is not quite long enough for the S9 Pro to reach the table, so it hangs from the USB port. Again, this is only relevant to my personal use case, it is impossible for a manufacturer to include a cable that is a perfect length for everyone (this applies to all devices, such as headphones, IEMs, amps, etc.).
The clip serves its function well, allowing you to clip the S9 Pro to your pocket or whatever, but if you are using the included USB cable and attaching this to your phone, it means that your phone can only be within 10cm of wherever you clipped the S9 Pro. This can be solved by using a different USB cable but I have found that not all of my USB cables actually work with the S9 Pro and the included one only works one way around. I haven’t investigated this more, so I don’t exactly know what is special about it but it’s worth noting.
Anyway, there is not much more I can say about the build and aesthetics of the device, I think it can be recapped the same way as the “Presentation”, it’s ok but nothing spectacular.
Functionality…
There is nothing really to explain as far as functionality. You plug the USB cable between the S9 Pro and the device you want to connect it to and that’s it, off you go.
My plan, as I said a moment ago, is to be able to use this with my Android devices but also (mainly) with my DAP which is a Shanling M2X. The reason I like the M2X is because it is my preferred size and it is not Android, it lets me get away from the online world while still being able to stream to it. However, the bad news is that my M2X is still at “the doctor”. I had issues with the volume wheel and they replaced it with a new one. The second one had the same issue so I sent it back (to China) again and they have sent me a new one again. Unfortunately this has still not arrived and I have been without the M2X since February!
But all is not lost, I do have the little brother of the M2X, the M0, which is actually a great little device that I keep in my bag also. It may not be the easiest DAP to use because of it’s size but it does (almost) everything its bigger brother can do. This includes two way LDAC communication, and by connecting the S9 Pro to it, I have been able to use certain IEMs with bluetooth that don’t really place nicely with my other bluetooth solutions, such as the B2 Dusk. It has also let me check that the S9 Pro will in fact work with the Shanling (non-Android) DAPs.
Power…
This is the strong point of the S9 Pro, it is a very powerful device for its size. Ok, 200mW balanced and 100mW unbalanced might not seem like a lot when we are used to talking about desktop (or larger portable, battery powered) devices but it is the difference between being able to enjoy the sound from headphones and certain IEMs on something this small or not, as the case may be with something like the Apple option (which I believe is around 30mW).
I have used the S9 Pro this week to drive the B2 Dusk, the iSine LX, HE400se, HD6XX and a few others, all getting plenty loud enough for my usual listening levels from the SE output, however, I would suggest moving over to the balanced output for things like the HE400se and HD6XX, as I don’t listen very loud and I was near full output and the sound certainly seemed to suffer. Unfortunately I didn’t have a 2.5mm cable available for these headphones so I haven’t been able to test them out of the balanced output.
The negative side to this much power is that it also consumes a lot of power. I haven’t really done any detailed tests of battery life on my Android devices (I can’t afford to let them run out of battery completely), but using it powered from the M0 while the M0 was receiving LDAC from my phone, I only got around 2 hours out of the M0. When using the M0 in the same way but without the S9 Pro, I can easily get more than 4 hours out of it (and more when playing local files with BT off). Obviously this will all depend on what you are running from the S9 Pro and how loud you like it. For this test I was running the B2 Dusk at my usual listening levels from the SE output.
Sound…
Ok, the difficult part.
I am not going to do my usual rant about how difficult it is for me to compare clean SS amplifiers, so I will just get on with it.
The sound is very clean, what could easily be described as cold and analytical. In comparison to my JDS Labs Atom (which is currently being fed by a Modi 3+), I would say that the S9 Pro seems to be a little brighter. This could just be me imagining things, but it seems that the treble areas can be a little hotter on the S9 Pro (when listening to the same tracks with the same IEMs at the same volume level, etc.). Would I pick it out in a blind test, I would like to think so, but I probably couldn’t, at least at my normal, low, listening levels.
Other than that, I would say that it accomplishes what I set out to achieve with the purchase of this dongle, it is clean, powerful (for a dongle) and does not seem to impact the sound in any negative way with any of my IEMs. I do feel that my planar magnetic headphones seem to be a little more “alive” when connected to any of my desktop solutions, but that is to be expected, there is really only so much available power we can expect from a tiny bus powered device. The HD6XX also does not sound great out of this dongle, it gets plenty loud enough for me but sounds a little compressed.
Conclusion…
I like the S9 Pro, it meets my criteria and does exactly what I wanted it to, but I am not in love with it.
I don’t think that I would choose this as my main listening device, I don’t find myself wanting to use this instead of any of my desktop devices. In fact, I would probably put it in the same group as my THX789, it is not my favourite amplifier but it is a very useful amplifier. I use the THX when I am listening for specific things or comparing specific items, but I don’t find myself sitting down and choosing the THX for a long relaxed listening session, the Hidizs S9 Pro makes me feel the same sort of way. It’s true that it can produce some fatigue on longer sessions.
I am certainly hoping not to go down the dongle rabbit hole but I do think that I will continue to look for something that is portable and more “pleasurable”, although that will probably come in a much bigger (and probably more expensive) package than the S9 Pro.
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I have just published another interview in the series of reviewers who are kind enough answer the questions and let us get to know them a little better.
This time it is Mark Ryan (a.k.a MRS) from Super* Review.
As with previous interviews, I am not going to copy the full interview here, so I apologise for the spamming of the link only, but you can find the full interview in English and Spanish here:
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Super ( ) awesome that you do these interviews! I find it very insightful. Thank you both!
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Moondrop Nekocake
As with all my reviews, for the Spanish speaking crowd, you can find this review in Spanish on Youtube and my blog, links at the end of the post.
The Moondrop Nekocake have been sent to me by Shenzen Audio in exchange for the publication of this review. They have not requested anything specific but my usual warning stands, I will do my best to be as honest and impartial as possible but it is always good to consider that these earphones have not cost me anything.
As always, I avoid posting purchase links (even though they are non-affiliate) outside of my own blog and channel, so to see the link to the Nekocake via Shenzhen Audio, please visit the version published on my blog.
Intro…
As some may already know, I am a fan of Moondrop. My experience with them has been that they offer quality that is at least as good as the price range they sit in, sometimes competing with others that are quite a bit higher in price.
This was one of the main things that made me happily accept to review the Nekocake when Shenzen offered to send them out, although I don’t usually review many bluetooth products, mainly because I am not a huge user of bluetooth.
I do have a few TWS IEMs, although they are getting a little long in the tooth (in Chinese product release time at least), but my main bluetooth set up of choice (when I want to be cable free) are the Moondrop Aria connected to the Shanling MW200. The Moondrop Nekocake come in quite a bit cheaper than that, costing less than 40€ (around 100€ cheaper than the MW200+Aria option) and placing them easily inside the sub 50€ bracket that I focus on.
The IEMs themselves use a 13mm dynamic driver, with a titanium coated dome and a Daikaku ultra-thin CCAW voice coil imported from Japan, which they say is to “ensure the lowest possible suspension system mass, so that the earphones can offer a more rapid transient response and further enhance detailed performance”. This sounds pretty impressive on paper, especially for 40€, but let’s see what it’s like in the real world.
Presentation…
Continuing with the anime theme that Moondrop have on the majority of their products, the box is a white box with a sketch of an anime girl on the cover. On the back they show the specs along with a graph of the FR, but we’ll get to sound in just a moment.
Inside the box we find the IEMs along and the charging case on the top level, with a manual, 3 sets of spare silicone tips and a charging cable underneath.
There is nothing really exciting about the presentation or contents but for 40€, I would much rather see that not much has been spent on packing and accessories.
Build and aesthetics…
The aesthetics of the IEMs are very reminiscent of the Apple options. Although not identical, they do have that kind of vibe to them and I could see someone who has never heard of Moondrop mistaking these for some kind of Apple imitation. On the part that extends down there is the logo of the cat (which I guess I should have mentioned that Nekocake means “Cat Cake”, not sure who came up with that name but it is at least a break from the usual Pro, X and Neo that we keeps seeing everywhere) along with Moondrop, both in brown.
The charging case is also a very simple white case with the cat logo on the front and Nekocake across the top cover. It is actually quite a nice and compact case, not the smallest I have ever seen but compact enough to easily be carried in a pocket.
The comfort of the IEMs is not bad, not the most comfortable but they don’t irritate me over periods of 2 or 3 hours, and they are nice and light.
The build quality seems to be pretty decent, it is obviously still completely plastic but in general it does seem to have been well put together and I see no obvious flaws.
Functionality…
The functionality of the Nekocake is simple, much the same as 90% of the TWS offerings available. You take them out of the case, they connect to your phone and you are ready to go. The only thing that is slightly different is that you enter pairing mode by holding the button on the case while the IEMs are in it (with the cover open). Other than that, you get play/pause by tapping either side once, you get next/last track by tapping the right or left side (respectively) and you get the assistant by triple tapping. You can also activate ANC by tapping and holding either side for a couple of seconds, with a VTuber voice that tells you it has been activated or deactivated. You can also answer calls, hang up and refuse calls by using the same system.
The functionality of these single/double/triple taps can be reassigned in the Moondrop Link app, letting you choose which you would like each combination of taps to do, although there are no extra functions you can assign. To be honest, I have no issue with the way the functions are assigned as they are, however, I do miss not being able to raise and lower volume from the IEMs themselves, something that I would like all bluetooth IEMs and headphones to have, as getting my phone out of my pocket to change volume is something I would rather avoid when going wireless.
In the app you can also change the EQ of the IEMs and it gives you a choice of 5 different settings, I will mention more about these in just a second.
I can’t say that I have had any issues with connectivity, although I haven’t really tested the distance (10m according to the spec) and the battery life has been enough for my daily use, which is 4 hours for the IEMs and 12h with the case (according to the manufacturer). As I usually place them back in the case when I don’t have them in my ears, they have never run out of battery on me and the case has lasted over 2 days easily (no warning light for the battery), although I automatically recharged it at the end of the second day.
I made a few calls and the other end said that while I didn’t sound perfectly clear, they could easily understand me, so I can’t complain about using them for calls either.
The last thing to mention is codecs. While the Nekocake uses bluetooth 5.0, which seems to be good to not experience any glitches in connection or lag, they only support SBC or AAC codecs. Now, I would much prefer to have the option of a higher quality codec, such as LDAC, but I haven’t found it to be that important, my opinions on sound will probably clear this up.
EQ Presets…
As I just mentioned, the Moondrop Link app (which is the same app for the Moondrop Sparks) allows the choice of 5 EQ presets: Balanced (the default option), Moondrop Classic, X’ Dynamic, Nobass and Wennebostel.
Balanced is, as I just said, the default option and, in my opinion, is the only one that I found to be usable for me. I will talk more about this preset in the sound section, as it is the one I have been using and have based my opinions on.
This is what the Balanced EQ looks like on paper:
Moondrop Classic is strange as it seems to cut the volume level in half, I mean, it actually drops the output by about 8dB in comparison to the Balanced option. I have no idea why this is a preset or who came up with the idea but here is the graph of it vs Balanced:
X’ Dynamic is a bass boost but not in a good way, at least in my opinion. I know that I am someone who is not a bass head and that I don’t favour overly present bass (except on occasions) but this preset just seems to make everything muddy and, well, wrong. It boosts everything all the way through the mids also. This is the graph of the ‘X Dynamic vs Balanced:
Nobass is just that, no bass. This is certainly not a tuning that I would choose but, to me at least, it is much better than the X’ Dynamic option. This is what it looks like on paper, vs the Balanced option, although the impression when listening is of even less bass:
Finally we have Wennebostel, a very strange name for an EQ preset. Wennebostel is a place in Germany and from what I have read, this preset brings “Sennheiser like” characteristics. Now, I haven’t had much experience with Sennheiser TWS IEMs, except for some brief tests, but this doesn’t remind me of any Sennheiser I have heard, at least that I can remember. Maybe I am remembering wrong and it is reminiscent of a Senn product but I certainly wouldn’t have guessed it if I hadn’t read it, it reminds me more of the X’Dynamic preset than anything else.
Here is the Wennebostel graph vs the Balanced:
Sound…
So, finally, on to the sound section. As I said, I chose the Balanced profile and all of my opinions are based on using this preset.
Starting off with the subbass, I would say that it is on a par with the rest of the frequencies. There is a roll off that happens due to the fact that there is no boost and our hearing rolls off naturally as we get to the lowest end of the spectrum. There is some rumble present when listening to “Chameleon” but by no means is it to a level that I would consider “bassy” in comparison to so many other sets. This is not really an issue for me with the majority of music I listen to but it is something to consider if you like deep rumbling subbass.
Moving into the mid bass frequencies, as you can see on the graph, there is a bit of a dip going on. This dip works fairly well to stop any muddy transitions between the bass and mids but can also remove some of the lower body of acoustic instruments. To be fair, it is not as bad as it looks on paper, I still find acoustic guitars and basses to have a nice body to them but they are missing a little bit of warmth down there.
The lower mids are clean due to the dip in the upper mid bass that I mentioned and are actually fairly well balanced up until the higher mids where there is again a bit of a dip. This does avoid the vocals becoming harsh in their upper mid range but may make some voices feel a little further back than usual. For example, Leonard Cohen has a voice that is usually placed quite a bit forwards in comparison to the instruments (using “Happens to the Heart’’ as an example) yet on the Nekocake it is much more balanced. It is as though Moondrop has used these two dips (upper bass and upper mids) to stay safe and it seems to work ok. It is not my favourite FR in this regard but it is definitely not offensive.
The higher ranges are rather smooth, once again avoiding any harshness or even sibilance. My usual “Code Cool” test did not present any more sibilance than it should. However, in this same track, the treble itself does sound a little wrong.
I know that wrong isn’t really a good way of explaining anything, but it sort of sounds like there is a slight delay between the hit and the roll off of the higher notes, giving a sort of strange misaligned effect. Again, this is not exactly a very comprehensive way of explaining it but I am struggling to describe it.
The higher end of the treble does roll off, lacking a little bit of extension and air, but that is something that I find on 99% of single DD IEMs that I try.
The soundstage is actually rather decent, better than I would have expected, with a placement of images that is actually fairly well done. No, this does not make you close your eyes and focus on images with millimetric accuracy but I find it to be better than many of the wired alternatives at similar prices.
As far as detail, these are not the most detailed of IEMs. There is a bit of a smoothness to the overall sound, meaning that small details do get lost in the overall picture of things, but that doesn’t really take away from the enjoyment of the Nekocake for what they are, which I guess brings me to the…
Conclusion…
I feel that the Moondrop Nekocake are a set of TWS IEMs that don’t pretend to be something that they are not. They are a simple, economical, set that just delivers sound in a smooth and simple way.
I found myself using them with Spotify most of the time and enjoying them. I did not spend my time focusing on the music and looking for details (except when actually consciously doing so for this review), I just got on with my life with the freedom that TWS brings. That is, in my opinion, what these IEMs set out to do, they give you a way of listening to some background music while you go about your day to day.
They follow a tuning that is fairly balanced and safe, at least in “Balanced” mode, which some may think is a bit boring but I, personally, found it quite pleasant and non offensive, again, meaning that my attention wasn’t really brought to the music, it was kept on whatever other tasks I was doing at the time.
The ANC is not the greatest but it does tame constant rumbles (such as the AC) reducing them by quite a bit, although voices and other non-constant sounds are still easily audible.
I don’t have a huge amount of experience with TWS IEMs, so I really don’t know what these are up against in the price bracket they sit in, but I certainly don’t think they are bad value for 40€ if what you want is the commodity of TWS and not ultra defined high resolution audio. Yes, I could pick plenty of things that I would prefer to improve on them but they are things that are not really important (to me) when I am doing something that brings me to choose TWS.
I think that the vast majority of people who just want some wireless buds to go with their phone for when they are out and about would be more than happy with the Nekocake, unless they are someone who wants a lot of bass, but then they could just turn on the X’ Dynamic mode and have more bass than they wished for In fact, I think if moondrop could release a few more (i.e: better) EQ presets for these, they would be a great buy for the price.
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