I would like to Thank MEEaudio, formerly known MEElectronics, for the review sample in exchange for my honest opinion.
Manufacturer website: http://meeaudio.com/rx18-bk
With 2016 just around the corner, I was reflecting back on some of the best valued headphones I came across in 2015 while testing and reviewing new gear. There was a lot of fantastic IEMs I had a chance to test and to review in $500-$2k price range, but none of them came across as "giant killers" because they were the Giants, both in performance and the pricing. I did move up the headphone food chain, and realized that I actually miss some of the $25-$50 Chinese bargains or $10-$15 KZ surprises that punch in sound quality way above their price point. But wait, look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, nope... it's a new $6.49 (according to the current Amazon price) Super-bargain RX18 from MEEaudio. Ladies and gentlemen, the new budget giant-killer is here!
Unboxing and Accessories.
So how do you cut the corners to reach this super low price? You gotta start with a packaging, utilizing cost effective heat-sealed plastic blister packs, the one often causing a "package rage" when you try to open it
It looks neat when you pick it up from the shelf or the display rack, and you can see right through the cover to examine the product in details, but you will also be cursing it out while cutting around the edges to crack it open. Not the end of the world, if that what it takes to win the race to lower the price.
Just because you'll need to use scissors to carefully cut "the corners" of the packaging, doesn't mean MEEaudio cut any corners in their product presentation, and they still provided a full design description, list of accessories, and a detailed specification. They also included a set of premium quality S/M/L eartip pairs, something MEEaudio is well known for. Don't expect a storage case or even a pouch, remember - this is $6.49 product.
Design.
With packaging out of the way, careful examination of the design also reveals a cost reduction in a selection of product material. It is honestly hard to tell about the durability of the plastic shell and the cable, and I can only say that it's probably not of a high quality, BUT MEEaudio offers 1-year warranty which speaks confidence about the product. Here, I will give MEEaudio a benefit of a doubt because no company in their right mind will offer a full 1-year warranty if they anticipate a high rate of returns/replacements.
In terms of the design itself, I was actually impressed with the details. Starting with a right angled gold plated 3.5mm headphone plug, you have a nice rubber housing with a secure grip extended into a strain relief. I already mentioned, cable is not the highest quality, soft and flexible, more on a thinner side and with some memory effect. The y-splitter has the same design as headphone plug, and there is no chin-slider. There is some microphonics, but not too bad.
Wires after y-slitter are thin, but when they reach the shell's plastic boot, thing start to look a lot better. The shell design is very ergonomic and super comfortable to wear, especially thanks to an angled nozzle. The shell is small and has a boot extension like in earbuds which doubles as a strain relief and also provides a very comfortable handle to remove earpieces. Though design is not symmetrical, you can still get confused which side is L or R, and the marking at the bottom of the boot is just stamped and not as easy to see. But luckily you have an easy to feel ID bump on the left side - really all that you need to distinguish the sides.
My review units arrived in black, white and purple colors, while RX18 also available in pink and blue - multiple colors to match your smartphone cases! The inner part of the shell has a vent, common practice for dynamic driver design in order to control the bass as you move the air. Overall fitment was very comfortable, and with large pair of included eartips I was able to obtain a great passive noise isolation - yes, they block outside noise pretty good. Because of a long plastic boot, over-ear fitment wasn't comfortable in my case, but the default wire down worked quite well.
Fitment.
Sound analysis.
MEEaudio markets RX18 as Enhanced Bass in-ear headphones. It's one bold statement which can either surprise you with a quality bass performance or disappoint you with a bass that spills all over the lower mids, muddying the sound. Also, "enhanced bass" is a relative term because some might assume it's targeted for bassheads only. I found RX18 to have a perfectly executed V-shaped sound signature, done in a very tasteful way without sacrificing fidelity of the sound.
Starting with a low end, you get a deep textured extended sub-bass with a fast mid-bass slam, definitely an enhanced bass quantity, but still well controlled without spilling into lower mids or muddying the sound. This is definitely not a random coincidence, but a sign of a focused tuning. Lower mids are warm with a nice full body, they don't take away from clarity, and upper mids, though recessed, still have a nice organic quality with plenty of clarity and details. Treble has a nice extension, crisp, non-fatigue, not as airy but with a good definition. What surprised me the most was a wide holographic soundstage with an excellent width/depth/height, regardless of which source I tried it with.
I do have to note that due to lower sensitivity (~98dB) the volume has to be pushed a little higher, especially if you want to bring up mids/vocals to a more comfortable listening level, but surprisingly - with volume going up the bass doesn't become overwhelming/overpowering, it stays enhanced and still well controlled. As a matter of fact, I found bass to come out and play only when called upon.
I enjoyed their sound so much, that I didn't even bother going through my usual comparison to other headphones. Actually, I don't have too many "clean" v-shaped IEMs to begin with, and a few that came to my mind:
RX18 vs Pistons Hybrid ($30) - Pistons soundstage is narrower, mid-bass more overpowering, mids are a little more upfront and not as organic.
RX18 vs AD01 ($109) - AD01 soundstage a little narrower, mid-bass is more boomy, mids are brighter and a little harsher.
Conclusion.
I'm still scratching my head in disbelief how great these little RX18 gems sound, and how they can compete with some of the $50-$100 IEMs. You do have to be realistic, we are talking about a pair of IEM currently being sold on Amazon for $6.49, while MSRP price is $9.99 on manufacturers website, and to reach this low price MEEaudio had to simplify their packaging and to use cheaper quality material. But at the same time, I'm coming back to a conclusion that material can't be that "cheap" if they still offer 1-year warranty. Without a doubt, for $6.49 these are going to have one incredible price/performance ratio, and they do have one well tuned V-shaped sound signature to back it up. So, just look between the cushions of your couch for some loose change, and I'm sure you will find enough for a pair of RX18
The only suggestion I have for MEEaudio is to keep the design and the sound tuning as is, and maybe dress them up in all metal shell with a better quality cable - even if you double or triple their price, you still be looking at a giant killer!
http://meeaudio.com/rx18-bk
It does have a cheap look to it, especially the thin cord after it separate, and the grey part of the IEM. all black would have been better. i agree that they could have used thicker cord and made them look a bit better. A metal housing though would have likely increased the manufacturing cost by a large amount. I wonder how its sound compares to that of the Soundmagic ES18.