Intro So far, I've been more familiar with SoundMagic's in-ears and am an obvious fan of the E11 in particular. In fact, there are even some sonic parallels to the company's flagship over-ear model, the HP1000, especially in the bass and midrange, although (to preface this) I appreciate the E11 more for its tonal consistency. Handling As expected, the build quality is very good considering the price. I like the simple and slim design, which conveys value and also confirms this haptically. Plastic and aluminum form an...

Rating: 8.6 Sound: 8.5 Intro New IEM companies keep sprouting up and it's hard to keep track of them all. SEEAUDIO is one of them, and with the YUME they want to fight for a place on the market in the middle class. With the NEO or KAGUYA they still have slightly higher priced models, but the YUME more or less represents the "door opener" in the highly competitive IEM market up to $200. There are already three models of this in-ear, which have been adapted depending on the market (tuning) (Japan - ANOU and a YUME-HK version). The standard YUME is...

Rating: 8.8 Sound: 8.7 Intro THIEAUDIO has quickly grown into an established company. Probably the most decisive reason for this is the tuner(s) behind the models, who always has the tonality in mind, but can also technically get a lot out of the chosen drivers. Despite different signatures, the individual models are mostly aimed at the general listening habits without great experiments (I exclude the Voyager 3). The company (which is run under the patron Linsoul) knows how to convince in almost all price categories from 100$. However, I assume...

Rating: 7.5 Sound: 7.3 Intro After the two ("expensive") full-BA models (ASF & ASX) that were clearly behind expectations, KZ is getting back to the price segment and market they have always been able to dominate and hold their own in in an impressive way. Even if their model policy and especially its variance is questionable, they always manage to bring good budget IEMs to the market and satisfy the average music consumer with a strong price-performance ratio. The DQ6 is now supposed to strike in the same notch as well. What is certainly special...

Rating: 7.2 Sound: 7.2 Intro CVJ didn't take too much time to launch two new products. The CSE and MIRROR represent the company's new line-up and are meant to follow up on the debut successes of the CSA and CS8 (I'm excluding the CSN here). For me, rather a shot in the oven as far as the CSE is concerned, since the CSA (with which the CSE competes in the budget segment), sounds much more mature and natural and does not try to artificially suggest things that have no substance. Handling The CSE is a typical budget IEM, sharing a similar body with...

Rating: 7.5 Sound: 7.3 Intro The MIRROR represents the current flagship of the company after the CSN and goes a sonically very interesting, in theory very appealing way. However, the potential was unfortunately wasted here and so the MIRROR even draws the short straw for me against the CS8, even if it actually has more to offer tonally. Handling Visually, I associate the MIRROR more with a penguin wing than with a mirror, but this IEM is probably the most discreet and at the same time the most appealing of the series in terms of design. It looks...

Rating: 7.8 Sound:7.9 Intro VALCO is a fairly unknown audio company from Finland that specializes in Bluetooth headphones and came out with their first model in November 2019. This review is about the successor model, which appeared in 2020. Through the witty marketing as well as promotional posts on Facebook, you quickly realize that the company, especially Jasse Kesti (producer and sound engineer), doesn't take itself quite so first and thus earns sympathy points, because the VMK20, on the other hand, is not a joke, but a sophisticated Bluetooth...

Rating: 7.7 Sound: 7.5 Intro AVANTREE may not be a household name to everyone. They are a company that specializes in various audio products. They have some Bluetooth speakers, headphones (with and without Bluetooth), and IEMs in their portfolio. I haven't had many opportunities to test their products yet, so my experience with the company so far is rather modest. However, one thing that runs through their products like a common thread is the somewhat exaggerated bass emphasis, at least as far as their headphones and IEMs are concerned. The ARIA...

Rating: 8 Sound: 7.8 Intro MEZE always has the ambition to combine design and sound, so that their products not only functionally provide what they are made for (music playback), but also an aesthetic claim behind it. Since I rather value the functional aspect, I often complain that this part comes too short with some manufacturers and then you have a headphone sparkling in the sunlight with unique hand paintings of Native Americans, but in the best case can also hold a tin can or a shell to the ear, where then the "sea noise" still sounds more...

Rating: 8 Sound: 7.8 Intro AUDIOSENSE is maturing more and more into a professional IEM manufacturer from China that is to be taken very seriously. The company has developed steadily and offers IEMs with a wide variety of configurations at an always fair price. With the T180, the company already has a single-BA driver IEM in its portfolio, which is, however, no longer really up to date technically. The DT100 is supposed to change this now, but at three times the price. Can this be justified? Handling AUDIOSENSE never disappoints with the...

Rating: 8.6 Sound: 8.6 Intro The HE5XX is another collaboration between DROP and HIFIMAN and is supposed to be more similar in sound and appearance to the DEVA than to the HE500, or other models in the HE5 series, but I can't judge that because I don't have a comparison. What I can compare the HE5XX with, however, is the DROP X SENNHEISER HD6XX, which I currently rate as one of the best value for money and which thrills me with its neutral, detailed, unagitated and relaxed sound. At the same price tag, the HE5XX is a successful counterpart to the...

Rating: 8.2 Sound: 8.1 Intro DROP tries in cooperation with established companies to make their products accessible to a wider mass at lower prices by taking former or current products with a good reputation, giving them a little more mainstream (soundwise) and also trying to implement more cost-effective variants in the design. Although DROP does not always succeed with these "slimmed down" versions to land a big hit, but in collaboration with SENNHEISER (HD6XX & HD58X), for example, respectable headphones have been created, which can represent a...

Rating: 8 Sound: 7.8 Intro SIGVA has specialized in developing headphones with a noble wood finish. The PHOENIX is their current flagship and is aimed at bass-hungry listeners with audiophile demands. Whether the PHOENIX can do justice to this remains to be seen. The low impedance and high sensitivity of the PHOENIX should make it suitable for any playback device. Handling Zebra wood sounds promising, but in the end it is a type of wood (which exactly is not specified) that has a naturally zebra-like grain, which means...

Rating. 8.7 Sound: 8.7 Intro After the DH3, the second IEM of the ArtMagic series from BGVP has now also made it into my hands. It is the middle class car within this series, so to speak, but it has the technical features to compete even higher. The VG4 is an IEM with wow-effect and knows how to convince with the first notes. Its immediately outstanding features are an extremely expansive stage, wonderful, clear and accurate mids, as well as trebles and a punchy BA bass which, however, has good dynamics. In short, the VG4 is exciting and in my...

Rating: 7.2 Sound: 7 Intro The SHUOER TAPE had made a name for itself in the Chi-Fi world (even with misleading marketing - it's a dynamic driver with a low voltage electrostatic unit in front of it, just like the BGVP ZERO), with a good and fun V-signature, without the quite high audiophile claim. The TAPE PRO now wants to make you forget the shortcomings of the TAPE with the same technology, at the same price tag. Well, in my opinion, the engineers at SHUOER should have slept another night over their result before releasing the TAPE PRO for sale...

Rating: 8.1 Sound: 8 Intro MOONDROP does exactly what I would like to see other companies do. Even though the SSP is not fundamentally different from the SSR, as it is basically just blessed with more bass impact, the buyer has a choice between the two models. Other companies would perhaps quietly launch a revised version without the buyer having the slightest idea. MOONDROP is also taking the economically smart route by remarketing an existing product with a fairly mundane adaptation, which provides transparency and also diversity, as the price...

Rating: 7.2 Sound: 7 Intro TIN HIFI remains a bit of a grab bag when it comes to the sound quality or rather sound characteristics of their products. The reputation through their T2, they have slowly used up and one no longer has the feeling that every new release from the company must be a world hit. However, it should also be mentioned that TIN HIFI tries to cover a wide range with their products and that therefore not every IEM can meet your own taste, should also be clear. From this point of view, you can not blame them (as long as you do not...

Rating: 7.7 Sound: 7.7 Intro A lot of attention was paid in advance to LARK, the new budget model from KBEAR. This is not so much due to the marketing, but rather to a kind of hype within the community, as the tuner(s) have also expressed themselves more often. So everything waited anxiously for the release date until it became known that LARK deviated from the actual intention and the final beta model due to a production error (wrong filter). Unfortunately, many buyers had already pulled the trigger and the "wrong" LARK was shipped before the...

Rating: 7.5 Sound: 7.7 Intro >> The AKG K141 MKII is a semi-open studio headphone with supra-aural earpads. So it says in the German advertising text and here first of all no discrepancies between marketing claim and reality are to be recognized. The K141 MKII is the successor of the K141 with detachable cables and slight design adjustments, which should increase the benefit. A workhorse that performs well in terms of sound, but cannot and does not necessarily have to serve hi-fi demands. It's a good tool for monitoring vocals and instruments...

Rating: 8.9 Sound: 8.9 Intro The SRH1840 is in the end an open SRH1540, even though I can't tell if the hen or the egg was first. But in the end it doesn't matter, because SHURE manages the transformation in both directions. For me, the SRH1840 is a very harmonic and coherent headphone that is convincing over the whole frequency band. Musical, always unobtrusive, detailed, authentic and balanced. Handling The SRH1840 shares the design with the SRH1540. Accordingly, it is one of the most comfortable headphones I have been...