It is very likely that your experience with this IEM would be very different from mine. The most tricky thing about reading and writing reviews of IEMs is that they are personal audio devices. The “personal” aspect here goes beyond one’s preference for a a particular musical genres, a band, or a singer. No. It’s the shape of one’s ears, the place where they listen to music, the device from which they get the audio signal, and even the loudness at which they listen that paints a very different sonic picture for each listener. That has been the case...

Do MP3 players (sorry, Digital Audio Player - DAP) have a place in 2024? To me, the concept of DAP, especially in an age where smartphones are pervasive, has always been bourgeois and thus boasts a correspondingly high price tag. Nowhere is the poor price/performance ratio of DAP more prominent than in the high-end DAPs with wireless communication capabilities and full Android OS. With the newly released R4, can HiBy change the status quo? Let’s find out. Preambles In this review, I use the term “source” to denote a DAC+amp combo for brevity and...

Have you observed an interesting pattern in the audio hobby world in recent years? Any skilful IEM manufacturer would eventually develop electronics to accompany their IEMs. Moondrop was, perhaps, the pioneer of this trend with MOONRIVER2 and has continued with DSP-enabled products ever since. AFUL created Snowy Night to accompany their Magic One IEM. KiwiEars developed the “gamepad dongle” Allegro. Today, we look at Simgot’s dongle, the DEW4X. Preambles In this review, I use the term “source” to denote a DAC+amp combo for brevity and...

There is an inherent beauty, a classical beauty, in doing things right. To optimise. To be efficient. To get the most out of the least. Classically beautiful. That’s how I think about a new wave of IEM boutiques run by young teams with a strong engineering background and a good taste of aural experiences. A while ago, I have had the pleasure to test and write about Helios from Symphonium, a Singaporean IEM manufacturers whose pride is engineering excellence. In the following months, inspired by my experience with Helios, I added its budget-friendly...

Opinions. All of us in this hobby have them. Some are more popular, some are not. My unpopular opinion is this one: USB DACs (a.k.a., “dongles”) are the least fun gadgets in the audio hobby. They are unwieldy when using on the go. They consume a lot of battery from the source device. They can get quite hot. They tend to be too loud for IEMs. And most of the time, their sound quality is closer to the humble Apple’s USB-C to 3.5mm adapter (“Apple dongle”) than a proper digital audio player. As a result, they are quite difficult to review. Thus dongles...

Today, we a look at Carat, the debut IEM from the sister brand of NiceHck - Jialai. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around me, track individual instruments, and hear all of their textures and details. I’m not picky about tonality, as long as it is not make the orchestra, violin, cellos, and pianos sound wrong. However, when an IEM does tonality especially well, I will mention. I rate IEMs within with a consistent scale from 1 (Poor) to 3 (Good) to 5 (Outstanding). An overall ranking of 3/5 or above...

Today, we talk about Turbo, an IEM with 6 Balanced Armature (BA) drivers and 4 tuning switches from the audio retailer and manufacturer Penon. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around me, track individual instruments, and hear all of their textures and details. I’m not picky about tonality, as long as it does not get in the way of immersion. I rate IEMs within with a consistent scale from 1 (poor) to 3 (Adequate) to 5 (outstanding). Ratings are assigned by A/B tests against benchmark IEMs, regardless...

ZiiGaat is yet another newcomer to the increasingly competitive IEM market. So, who are they? According to their story: ”WHILE THE WORLD ENJOYED HIGH-END AUDIO QUALITY, THERE HAS BEEN A SILENT TEAM BEHIND MANY OF TODAY’S MOST POPULAR AND PRAISED AUDIO DEVICES. ZIIGAAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPING OEM AND ODM PRODUCTS FOR NUMEROUS GLOBAL AUDIO BRANDS FOR OVER A DECADE. … We aim to be more than just an audio brand; we seek to be a tech team that can work closely with the audio community to make better products for all of us. Each ZiiGaat member is passionate...

Planar magnetic drivers in IEMs. The driver configuration that I have been so desperately trying to love, yet I have been left wanting again and again. Can the new entry to the rank of planar magnetic, NiceHck F1 Pro, change this predicament? Let’s find out. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around me, track individual instruments, and hear all of their textures and details. I’m not picky about tonality, as long as it does not get in the way of immersion. I rate IEMs within with a consistent scale from...

Simgot is, without a doubt, one of the success stories in the ultra-competitive budget-friendly side of the IEM market. Thus, there is no better IEM to wrap up the year than a Simgot IEM. Today, we have a look at EM6L, a 5-driver hybrid IEM. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around me, track individual instruments, and hear all of their textures and details. I’m not picky about tonality, as long as it does not get in the way of immersion. I rate IEMs within with a consistent scale from 1 (poor) to 3...

Besides ”audio boutique”, few keywords command as much respect and prestige as “Research and Development” and its closely related cousin, the four-letter abbreviations of cutting edge IEM technologies. But in a market where everyone from mom-and-pop shops to big players claim that they do cutting edge “R&D” in their new IEMs, it’s perhaps necessary to sit back and ask ourselves: what is IEM R&D, really? In this context, let’s talk about AFUL Magic One, a daring release carrying only one Balanced Armature (BA) driver. Forewords What I look for in...

Today, we look at a five driver hybrid IEM from Yanyin, the Canon 2. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around me, track individual instruments, and hear all of their textures and details. I’m not picky about tonality, as long as it does not get in the way of immersion. I rate IEMs within with a consistent scale from 1 (poor) to 3 (Adequate) to 5 (outstanding). Ratings are assigned by A/B tests against benchmark IEMs, regardless of the retail price. Ranking list and measurement database are on my IEM...

There is a fascination with small boutique shops in the audio hobby. After all, in a subjective hobby like ours, what could be more interesting than the idea of an audio geek working alone in a workshop to craft and share their vision of the ideal sound? Today, we look at the flagship IEM from an Indonesian boutique that that has captured the heart and mind of many of my fellow reviewers, the Supernova from 7th Acoustic. My review is also available on YouTube: Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra...

“Be yourself! Be unique! Dare to be different!” Our era seems to revolve around those ethos and reward those who live according to them. Yet, as participants in society, we distinctively know that being different does not guarantee a good outcome. Sometimes, it brings the opposite. Occasionally, we, ourselves, punish those who dare to be different. If that is not the case, why do our IEMs gradually converge to a few sound signatures? In this context, let’s discuss the latest IEM from Kinera and Celest, the Phoenixcall. One dynamic driver, two...

Few IEMs have been hyped up in my small audio circle than Elysian Acoustic Labs Diva. A friend predicted that I will fall head over heels for this IEM. Others firmly believed that this would “kill” my U12T. A fellow reviewer jumped through all sorts of hoops to get himself a CIEM of the Diva. Finally, the stars align (by @Damz87) and I have my hands on a sample of Diva 2023 revision. Does it live up to the immense expectation? It’s complicated. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around me, track...

One of my biggest disappointments when it comes to to IEM setup is the lacklustre sonic quality of smaller and more budget-friendly music players comparing to their full-sized counterparts, especially when it comes to staging, detail, and dynamic. Of course, we cannot expect tiny boxes with little battery and little space for cooling to match the larger and more sophisticated ones. But I don’t think it is unreasonable to expect more when driving IEMs, especially when even bluetooth earhooks are getting way better. Today, I take a look at HiBy R3 Gen...

Few IEM brands have developed a strong fanbase as quickly as AuR Audio, a Singaporean IEM brand founded by two friends, Nicholas Teo and Abel Hsu. Today, we take a look at one of the newer releases from the company, the 8-driver hybrid IEM Aurora. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around me, track individual instruments, and hear all of their textures and details. I’m not picky about tonality, as long as it does not get in the way of immersion. I rate IEMs within with a consistent scale from 1 (poor) to...

If you read this review, chances are you are passionate (and geeky) about IEM and personal audio in general. As a passionate enthusiast, at one time or another, it’s likely that you have the dream of making a great IEM that embodies your ideal sound so that the world can hear it. Whilst that dream remains a dream for many (including me), some of the geekiest and the most passionate members actually crossed the chasm and made their ideal sound a reality. Previously, we looked at tgx78’s Serratus and RikudouGoku’s Grand Alter Saber 2. Today, we look at...

There is inherent beauty in simplicity. In the world of In-ear Monitors (IEM), nothing is more simple and, arguably, more elegant than a single dynamic driver (DD) design. One driver, front vents, back vents, foams and filters. That’s all it takes for a master tuner to make something magical. At least, that’s the romantic vision. The reality is often disappointing. How does the latest single DD IEM from Dunu, equipped with the acclaimed ECLIPSE driver technology, translate the lofty vision of simplicity to the reality? Let’s find out. Forewords...

Today, we take a look at one of the “super dongles”, the W4 by Luxury and Precision. Costing nearly as much as an entry-level music player like Shanling M3 Ultra and HiBy R6 Gen 2, does W4 offer enough sound quality to justify the price tag? Let’s find out. Preambles: In this review, I use the term “source” to denote a DAC+amp combo for brevity and convenience. Sources do not make sounds. Therefore, when I say sources “sound” a certain way, I talk about the change they make to my IEMs and earphones. I want my music to be crisp, clear...