My first and only Rose product before this was the Mojito, one of the first new flagship earbuds from the Chinese earbud revival of 2015. I was only intending to buy the Rose Cappuccino MK2 when Rose offered to let me try the Aurora for free if I'd review it along with the Cappuccino MK2. I didn't expect anything good of it, if it was a pack in offer to review. Before I had even received the Cappuccino MK2, I had messaged a few fellow bassheads on Head-Fi to offer to let them try my Cappuccino.  As I was packing the Cappuccino to go to the first person I would lend it to, I looked at the Aurora box and wondered if I should send it to. I had not even removed the plastic wrap from the box. I decided it probably wasn't anything special, didn't want to risk sending a non-basshead IEM out, and didn't have much desire to try it right then. So I tossed it to the side and decided to evaluate it later. But I had only been about a day without the Cappuccino when I was missing it a ton and wanted to use it. I decided I might as well try out the Aurora to see if it would hold me over until the Cappuccino got back, and I ended up being very surprised.
 
To be honest, since it was offered to me for free along with the Cappuccino, I partly expected it to be not so great. However I was left shocked at I was listening to an IEM at the price it cost. I know that sounds ridiculous when said by someone who didn't pay to get this IEM, but I spend thousands per year on audio gear, and have a sense of value for the things I buy. Many, many times I have paid up to ten times that amount on IEMs to not be as happy with them as I am with these. It reminded me of the Aurisonics Kickers - some IEMs I remembered fondly, and had at the same time as my ASG 2.0 and ASG 2.5 - the sound signature was completely in line with the Cappuccino. The Kicker and Aurora are both single 9mm dynamic drivers in an IEM housing and MMCX detachable cable connectors, just as the Cappuccino MK2 and ASG 2.0/2.5 are DD/BA hybrids. It's been a little while since I've had the Kicker, but I remember its sound very clearly, as I really loved it but was always wishing it had just a little more bass extension and impact. In this field, Aurora completely delivers. It is truly and honestly what I wanted from the Kicker, and fixed what made me give the Kicker up. The Aurora is to the Kicker just as the Cappuccino is to the ASG 2 line in my opinion. I was not expecting this one bit when I put them in, and I was so thrilled when I heard it. ASG Kicker fans: get these!
 
Unboxing was a pleasant experience and everything people have come to expect from Rose. You get the nice looking black box complete with separate travel pouches and cases, a half dozen different kind of tips (4 sets silicone tips, 1 set large bi flanges, 1 set foams). Of all the accessories included, the only I didn't like was the foams - I found this very impressive. The case was to be found inside the travel case. The cables as well as the backs of the IEMs are marked with large letters so it is always to tell which side is which. I forgot to take a picture of the box before unboxing it, sadly, but the box presentation is identical to all other Rose offerings I've seen to date, this being my third (counting the Cappuccino MK2 as the second).
 
The first immediately obvious thing was the bass presence. To my surprise, I had been using my Bluetooth speaker which is too quiet with my bass EQ on, so I had my EQ shut off and wasn't aware at first because of the bass quantity. Its non-EQ'd bass quantity and quality was on par with what some lesser IEMs were able to push with my EQ maxed out. And, even better, it responded to bass boosting gloriously. Naturally, I had to take out the Sony XB90EX, time tested 16mm bass heavyweight champion for some A/B testing. For those familiar with the Sony XB90EX, I am talking equivalent levels of bass impact on the same amps, same sources, same settings as the XB90EX. This is not an easy feat for any IEM, and especially so for a 9mm driver to compete with the XB90EX's 16mm driver. The bass hits hard, clearly and very deep. Rose has gained a reputation for IEMs with very strong bass, and I was thrilled to hear this was taking that bass exactly in the direction I hoped they would. Unamped, you may think you have bass boost on if there's no EQ. With EQ and no amp, the give the unamped XB90EX a run for their money in the bass department - the 9mm driver needs less power to start producing good impact, and it has surprisingly deep extension as well as impact - but when you amp the Aurora is when the bass truly comes alive and is capable of hitting on the same level as the XB90EX. However, unlike the XB90EX, I was capable of getting great amounts of bass impact off my smart phone with a bass boost EQ activated. It didn't quite match up to what it could offer with an amp in the mix, but it got to both very pleasing levels of impact and depth without any amp. Since the cable is a detachable MMCX, anyone who wants a basshead set for a phone could get a cable with a mic (as Rose does not sell it with a mic cable).
 
The cable is pretty nice - soft, non microphonic, and ear hooks. Unlike the horrific ugly mess that is the Cappuccino's cable, the cable is comfortable, visually subdued and stays out of the way, as it should. The only thing that bugged me about it was the plastic tag with the Rose logo near the 3.5mm plug, which made it feel very cheap. After cutting that off, it both looked better and more professional. Still, I ended up ordering a red braided cable which I will prefer visually. But, it seems to be a very well built cable and offered superior dynamics and bass reach to a cheap MMCX cable with an Android mic and remote I had laying around, so I won't expect to hear any improvement on a cable swap compared to the Aurora's stock cable.
 
The Aurora has a beautifully clear sound. Despite being a single dynamic driver, I found it to be exceptional at details and clarity, even during very fast paced and complex music, which was impressive as it is not a particularly fast sounding IEM. While it couldn't (and shouldn't!) beat the $350 Cappuccino MK2, a DD/BA hybrid design, at detailing, it is very impressive at the price point, and demolishes any other sub $100 IEM I have heard, including many of popular low budget greats. Synergy with any source I tried it with was very nice, but it definitely likes sources with more output power, as it provides better headroom. Still, either the LG V10 or V20 with its ESS DAC seemed to provide one of the best sounds for this IEM, beating out my X-Fi Titanium HD into the bMac 3CH Mk2 surprisingly. Thus, this IEM might be well suited to those who use a smart phone as a DAP as well, and it definitely benefits from a better DAC. Still, fans of a brighter and less bass-heavy sound could certainly find it to be too warm for their tastes, as evidenced in Cinder's review. However, for my tastes, I found treble to be absolutely perfect, and the mids were wonderful and present as well. Still, I always bring out the mids extra in my own EQ, since I'm a fan of exceptionally forward mid-range.
 
For all the comparison this early on to the XB90EX, I'd like to clarify that they don't share a similar sound signature at all, even though they deliver on very similar levels on the sub bass quality and quantity. Nothing else is really directly comparable to the XB90EX - the sound signature takes a completely different approach on either IEM, the fit/form factor of the two couldn't be more different aside from the sideways facing dynamic driver, and the Aurora has detachable cables where the XB90EX doesn't. The XB90EX never lets you forget you're listening to an IEM - the sound feels somewhat distant, and while it is very accurate and revealing, it seems very distant compared to the sound of the Aurora.
 
If the XB90EX sounds like an IEM, the Aurora sounds like a car stereo. XB90EX bass impact is very precise and technical whereas the Aurora sounds more like a stereo really would. You get a truly out of head feeling seldom found in IEMs with the Aurora. IF you are listening to things like bass test tones, the XB90EX is the clear winner here. You get the exact frequency with maximum sound pressure - this is where the XB90EX shows it is the obvious choice with the full power of its 16mm driver. While the Aurora isn't as impressive on test tones below 30Hz, everywhere from about 30Hz on it is fully competitive with the XB90EX.
 
In terms of sound signature, I love the XB90EX's sound but it is not without flaws. First, as I already mentioned, it sounds like you are listening to an IEM. You will not forget you have headphones on ever with the XB90EX. The treble can also be sibilant and the overall sound is a little distant. The Aurora had me forgetting I not only had IEMs in, but that I wasn't listening to speakers several times. The sub bass impact & presence is absolutely and entirely spot on if you are to compare it to a full size stereo with bass boost activated. The sound is beautifully natural with no sense of roughness or sibilance in the treble, which allows for many hours of non-tiring listening, even though the overall presentation is very energetic and dynamic, not unlike the ASG 2.0 which has been out of production for so long. In fact, this IEM is one of the few you can keep turning up and it will make you give up before it does. I have given this Turbo mode levels of power, and haven't played music so dangerously loud for the sound pressure level since the Sony MDR-7550/EX800ST. These IEMs love power and EQ and will accept it beautifully.
 
In terms of the sound signature aside from the bass, I would prefer if the mids were a little more forward than they are, but they don't sound recessed either. Treble has great extension without being shrill or sibilant at any times, which is great. The treble is definitely relaxed without being warmed over, so you never are left wishing there was more treble extension or clarity (at least in my case, treble-heads and BA fans will probably think the treble is not extended enough). Vocals are extremely realistic and natural sounding which is wonderful. The overall sound is very cohesive and well defined.
 
I find the fit to be one of the best of any IEMs I have owned and tried. The thin profile body easily fits into your ear and is fully friendly for people like me who have trouble with wider IEM nozzles - one of the reasons the ASG 2.0/2.5 never worked for me for over an hour at a time, along with the extra fatigue brought on by the evil incarnate that is balanced armatures. As a treble sensitive listener, balanced armatures are some of my greatest enemies. Unless they are truly marvelously implemented, I always find they cause me to become tired faster and be rougher on my ears than dynamic drivers. I'm not a treble-head and have to roll off the high trebles on my EQ to keep from ear pain even with dynamics. The Aurora is comfortable to listen to all day long. 
 
While some who owned this IEM before I did consider it to be not an all-rounder IEM, I have certainly used it as such. This is possibly because I am a fan of its overall sound signature, or don't have a library with too much music that does not bode well with it. I have a fairly diverse library of music which certainly features a minority of rock music, a substantial amount of electronic, and very small amount of classical & jazz. I would not pick this IEM for classical listening (for that I would prefer earbuds with greater spatial positioning and soundstage) but that is not a problem for me since that occupies so little of my listening time, I rarely find it worth switching to different headphones for. I find the Aurora to excel at everything the JVC SZ series does. When I think about how the Aurora only brings a full size stereo sound to mind, I realized while writing the review that it falls exactly under the design the JVC SZ team went for. As both my music tastes and amping/aggressive EQ tactics suit the SZ series well, I was exceptionally pleased to find I could leave my most aggressive SZ settings intact and switch back and forth between the two. It is not often you find an IEM that can actually take both that amount of power (up to 4 watts with no distortion, muddiness or looseness to the sound) and EQ tweakability.
 
The sound of the Aurora is very direct and enveloping, much in the way a well tuned car audio system would be. The bass, even when boosted to extremes, maintains great impact. Accuracy on exact sub bass frequencies boosted to high SPL will sound boomier than on the XB90EX, this is simply a limitation of the 9mm driver. The boominess is not enough to drive clarity freaks away. It it only when boosted to very extreme levels that it takes on a slightly boomy character, and even then it delivers with very comparable sound pressure levels to other time-tested and proved basshead IEMS such as Sony's XB90EX. As I mentioned earlier, the XB90EX has a more distant sound but will give you a more precise sound. The Aurora when boosted to equivalent levels sounds more like a bass-heavy stereo setup without a sub. You can still get the deep reach and very heavy physical impact but the exceptional control is not there. But, we are talking about an IEM with a list price of $69.00 - which is $20 under the XB90EX's usual going price. It would be more of something to be picky about if it was a more expensive IEM going under a basshead's most thorough tests, but for maintaining great clarity in the non-sub bass frequencies, without any mid-bass focus, and providing truly slamming impact, as well as offer other luxuries such as a detachable MMCX cable and comfortable slim profile body, is truly impressive.
 
In a way very similar to when I had the Sony EX800ST, I kept turning this louder and louder because it sounded so good regardless of the volume. I eventually realized it would make me quit before it did on both volume and EQ boosting, so I settled on my most aggressive EQ and a volume that wouldn't make me lose my hearing, knowing it would take more of both than I could.
 
I used it with JVC Spiral Dots for a while, but then switched to the stock tips. I found the stock tips to have greater bass impact at the expense of a little clarity compared to the Spiral Dots (I only used the smallest ones, as even those barely fit me). I eventually settled on the stock tips as I preferred the greater impact to clarity on the sub bass.
 
Since I have my Cappuccinos out on tour right now, I can't directly compare to them right now, but I hadn't even been a whole day since listening to my Cappuccino MK2 last. The overall sound signature is the same. Even for someone who wants to get a feel for the Cappuccino it is not a hefty investment (I can't speak for Rose's other IEM offerings, as I haven't heard them). In a world of budget IEMs and earbuds boasting excellent sound quality at extremely low pricing, even a $70 IEM has to stay very competitive.
 
Luckily, this goes head to head with the best sub $200 dynamic driver offerings I've heard. As a fan of dynamic drivers, and preferring dynamic driver to DD+BA hybrids generally speaking, this is a truly excellent one. It is well worth the extra money over other 9mm DD offerings at lower prices, especially the KZ's, as this demolishes even the mighty Shozy Zero in every way I can think of. One of the biggest being, there is no claustrophobic in-head feeling with this. It has a truly out of head sound which I find to be extremely rare in IEMs, only really present in few models. I could possibly end up liking this more than I like the Cappuccino MK2, but I'll need to get that back first, and it'll have more hours on it when I do. But regardless, this model both earns my full respect and will keep its place in my collection, which I have to give extra credit to it for since I am fully spoiled by earbuds which can deliver far superior soundstage and open sound to IEMs, and have not been impressed enough by any other IEM to keep it around since my XB90EX. 
 
The Cappuccino and its little brother Aurora are keepers, and I'm glad to have both even if they share a similar (but not identical) sound signature. Despite their similarities, they complement each other beautifully, as do the Aurora and XB90EX. Even in the cut-throat and rapidly moving world of IEMs and low-price audio, the Aurora is competitive at its price point as well as above it. The quality is beyond what I expected of a $70 IEM, even taking my lack of having paid for it into consideration. If I heard this at a store or meet-up, I would have thought it was fully worth the asking price and probably paid it on the spot too. Non-bassheads should be interested to give it a shot as well - the Aurora is Basshead Certified, and not just a basshead IEM.
 

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3/9/2017 Update
 
I've purchased a $12 silver plated copper cable from Aliexpress. It looks badass and sounds great. I daresay it takes a step in the direction of the SZ2000's sound with the silver plated copper cable. Everything is tightened up, treble is opened up & far sweeter but still non fatiguing, and bass impact is not suffering more than maybe 5% subjectively at most. Since the extra 5% or so on the stock cable has considerably less definition than the silver plated wire, I will continue to use the silver plated copper. NOT pure silver, that will kill your bass impact, unless that's what you're after . The SZ2000 uses silver plated copper as well. I would not complain if the silver plated copper became standard... and stop putting those little white tags by the 3.5mm Rose! 
 

 
Tips used on my Aurora are Sony hybrid tips. Once I discovered Sony tips fit on perfectly I have used nothing else (they provide the impact of the stock tips with the clarity of the spiraldots.)

The original iDSD Micro stood out from the competition as an all-in-one replacement for the most discerning listeners' setups. The original iDSD Micro delivered - I had one, but as I started to not need a portable device anymore, I started comparing it to all the dedicated desktop gear I had. I had a glorious DAC and some very serious stereo power amps at the time - two Hafler DH500's running in mono. By the time I had re-configured my listening station to be all desktop again, my iDSD Micro didn't have much of a place since my desktop DAC - an E-MU 0404 with an AK4396 - could do the job. That was the end of my time with the original iDSD Micro. I sold it and moved on. However, after almost a year since then, I had completely dismantled my home stereo as a result of living in an apartment and getting too many noise complaints. That began my journey to find the setup the could replace that stereo with no compromises.
 
The new iDSD Micro Black Label is iFi's first major upgrade to the iDSD Micro. The very day I heard there would be a tour for it, I signed up and was ecstatic to find I had been one of the chosen reviewers for it. My hopes were that the Black Label wouldn't just match my crazy desktop setup - which could double my power bill just by being plugged in - but make it all seem lame in comparison.
 
I have gone thru tons and tons of gear in the decade or so I've been on Head-Fi. One of the few things that's been consistent in almost that whole time is one of my first big audio purchases - an E-MU 0404 USB I got shortly after it came out. So it's been in my hands for close to 15 years. It featured a beautifully implemented AK4396, and for a long time (up until maybe 2012 or 2013) I used it as my headphone amp too. It was the DAC that survived not only the original iDSD Micro but even the mighty Mojo.
 
 
Another one of my favorite DACs, although not a super expensive one - the Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD, like both the original and Black Label iDSD Micro, uses a Burr Brown DAC. I always found the SBX effects to be high quality on it. Since getting rid of my original iDSD Micro, I would switch between these two DACs. I ended up being a huge fan of the bMac, an Indonesian made & designed portable amp, which has kept its place on my desk for close to a year now. I had also gained a very strong affinity for the Parasound Zamp, with the gobs of power it could push to any headphone, and sound amazing doing so. After the tour was announced, but well before I received my unit, the Walnut V2 made its appearance on the Head-Fi map and became well respected as a very high quality but budget unit. Having a power output comparable to the iDSD Micro, I decided to settle with it as I liked its sound even as a desktop headphone amp.
 
Fast forward from the ending of 2016 to early February 2017. After a couple months of hearing nothing, and watching iDSD Micro Black Label reviews slowly pop up on the site - which I kept myself from reading to keep from having preconceived notions about its sound - I finally got the email. It was my turn at last to try the Black Label. Little did I know it would make me feel like the first day I got the E-MU instead of listening with my PC's built-in sound chipset, or the first time I heard $1,700 IEMs - you get the point.
 
 
The day it arrived, I got both my most recent favorite setup and the setup that beat the iDSD Micro many months ago, and got them ready and re-familiarized myself with them before switching to the Black Label. I don't even remember what headphone I tried first on the Black Label. The thing is, it doesn't matter. No matter what I tried, it was on a whole different level than any of my gear. My setup that had been my favorite up until that moment was dishearteningly muddy and flat in comparison to what I was hearing. The setup that nearly matched the original iDSD Micro in sound was lifeless and lacked dynamics compared to the Black Edition. And so, that marked the last day I was able to enjoy the setup I had until that point.
 
I knew the Black Label was all business. Custom-designed op-amps, a stunning capacitor selection, and some awfully bold claims about how much better it would be over the original. While I can't rip the op-amps out of this tour unit to try in other gear, and I doubt iFi would sell me some of their iFi/AMR op-amps, I've messed with enough op-amps in my life to know what to expect from a lot of them, and I know from my time with the Black Edition I like what I am hearing an awful lot.
 
A while back, I published a review on the Parasound Zamp, a 45 watt zone power amp that happened to have a headphone jack on the front of it. I praised it for its ability to breathe crazy amounts of life into any headphone you plug it. People got excited about it, and it was one of my most popular reviews. I've tried other amps that boast a high wattage output, but none are capable of being quite as dynamic and effortless as that Zamp did. Even if the original iDSD Micro couldn't do this job, the Black Edition definitely can and does. I think I spent at least 3/4 of my time with it in Turbo mode. I'm a bass head, a SPL freak and I love my headphones to sound like they're going to explode with energy. I could not find a headphone pairing that did not sound good on this amp, much like with the Zamp. And for how alive, crisp, and clear everything sounds, I probably would have been impressed if I was just hearing the amp section and didn't use the DAC at all. Using the original iDSD Micro I never wanted to use as an amp by itself, but the Black Edition has me enjoying the device as an amp thoroughly.
 
 
Speaking of bass - one of my bigger complaints about the original iDSD Micro was the bass boost switch hardly did anything. It made a very subtle difference which I felt was only really noticeable when you were listening at very high volumes. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the bass boost was certainly more present on this unit. On any headphones I used, it added a great amount of weight to the bass with any headphone I used. The background is silent and the detailing and clarity is top notch. When I was listening with more demanding headphones like the JVC SZ's, the difference was huge with the switch flipped.
 
The 3D option does roughly the same thing as the Sound Blaster's Crystallizer function. It essentially makes the sound a little more "V" shaped. I kept the 3D switch off for the majority of my listening, but never thought it sounded bad with it on. I don't tend to use the Crystallizer very often at all when I'm using my X-Fi anyway. What is clear is that the Black Label goes so much farther past the all-in-one replacement for your listening setup. For discerning and picky listeners who are not willing to accept any compromise, true music lovers who listen all day and can't tolerate a minute of downtime, this is the all-in-one unit for you.
 
The price and its similarity to the Mojo's price can not be ignored. The original iDSD Micro used to be compared to the Mojo, but I never felt that was a balanced comparison, even if they did the same jobs. Interface differences aside, the Mojo has a more unique sound. For me, that unique sound did not always work out. It made my MP3's and other lossy audio sound like garbage. Lossless sounded wonderful on the Mojo, but I don't have the kind of library that can be easily replaced with lossless copies. The Mojo failed to work out for me for this reason, regardless of the fact the volume control balls drove me insane and the charging mechanism was too flaky to work for someone who listens all day long and gets furious at any downtime. My Mojo only lasted a couple months before the aspects of it that bothered me outweighed my ability to enjoy it.
 
 
The Mojo is more easily compared to the Black Label, I think. Lossy audio still sounds great on the Black Label, but the Black Label - even on bit-perfect mode - offers such a fast and detailed yet slightly warm sound. I always felt the iDSD was the more honest of the two, and the Black Label is the best choice for me as it's honest, neutral, and balanced but offers the lush, refined sound the Mojo was capable of whereas the original iDSD Micro was not as capable. Before the Black Label, I think it would have been a much harder choice between the Mojo and the iDSD Micro. With the Black Label in the mix, the gap is so much smaller. The improvements iFi brought to the table with the Black Label really shows. No longer do you have to pick between two desktop stack replacements which approached the problem in completely different ways for a great all-in-one portable device. I noticed right away the overall sound character has tried to catch up to the competition, and it is my opinion that iFi did an excellent job of this. Anyone who thought the original iDSD Micro could stand to be brighter would probably not be the biggest fans of the changes iFi made. To anyone else, I would feel pretty confident it is only an upgrade. It's a move slightly more in the direction of how the Mojo sounds, and personally I like it a ton.
 
To be sure I get my point across by how impressed I am of the sound coming out of this device - all-in-one unit or not - my DAC and amp setup I had been using before this, I had replaced op-amps, capacitors, all manners of things to improve the sound quality to my liking. And while it all had approached and come fairly close to the Black Label's sound, it just simply can't catch up in any way. My setup had too much background noise and not a dynamic, crisp and quick enough sound to it. It was even a tiny bit like I was back in electrostatic territory listening to the Black Edition at times. I wasn't even happy with my setup's bass levels when I was switching back from the Black Label which took me by surprise. The bass power of the Black Label is not to be underestimated. 
 
On the day I got the tour unit, I was doing recording work in my studio and had it sitting on top of a tube compressor I was using. Of course, it made perfect sense that once I was done recording and going to listen back on headphones, I should first listen with the setup I had deemed best, and then listen straight out of the Black Edition.
 
 
Listening to the Black Label has made me so uninterested in all the other DACs and amps I have lying around. They all are so inferior to the Black Label in my mind now. Every headphone I have tried it with, it's a gorgeous, lively pairing. There is no such thing as bad synergy with the Black Label. Everything works so amazingly with it, and the Black Label is able to make anything I throw at it - source material or headphones - sound the best I've heard most of it ever be.
 
While it did not provide a whole new world of clarity I hadn't heard through my DAC before, it did give me something I hadn't heard since that dual mono Hafler setup with the 0404 sitting on top. That dead silent background, perfect extension across the full frequency spectrum, no BS. All you got was the music, honest as possible, but sounding beautiful doing so. It is a gorgeous thing when there is truly no need for any tricks to make the source sound better than it really is. All you need is the perfect presentation of it. My years and thousands of dollars per year spent chasing this level of sound proves this was no easy feat. 
 
One of the other things I wanted to test out of the Black Label right away was its performance as a DAC if substituted for either my 0404 or modded X-Fi Titanium HD with the same amps afterward. The dual mono DAC design had me very interested in this model. It had lower noise and better detailing, speed and dynamics compared to the X-Fi Ti HD. Compared to the 0404 with the AK4396, the 0404 was a leaner and brighter sound. It did not have the slight warmness the dual Burr Brown setup in the X-Fi, but the 0404 also had a thinner and flatter sound in comparison.
 
The last time I've had this hard of a time giving up some review gear was when I was touring the Kumitate Labs IEMs. I never ended up getting one of those were too far out of my price range combined with my unwillingness to buy a custom IEM, with the KL-REF being close to $2000. Still, to this day it remains one of the most beautiful and well balanced sounds I've heard from any headphone. Going back to my gear after sending the Black Label back to iFi I know will feel like sending those Kumitates back. I just wanted to keep begging to spend another day with them. I had to force myself to keep listening when I was comparing my other gear to the Black Label because none of it was as good. None of it. I knew it was a winner when I couldn't stop trying different headphones through it, not because any of them weren't giving me the sound I wanted, but because they all sounded so ridiculously good out of the Black Label. I had been using headphones I hadn't tried in ages just to rock out because they all sounded so much better than I had remembered them. This isn't something I had done or really experienced since I was doing my Parasound Zamp review.
 
I had been struggling to find out how I was going to describe this device adequately in a review. I wanted to do it proper justice, not just say over and over "it was great! i loved it! everything was great!" and after several drafts I still have the feeling my whole review just reads like that. What I can't seem to emphasize properly is how to put my experience having the iDSD Black Label into the proper context.
 
 
Finally, the answer came to me on the weekend at 4AM. I was standing in my living room in my pajamas, JVC SZ2000 on my head, the iDSD Black Label in my hand, running off a super long USB extension cable into my PC. I had been tweaking my five-band parametric EQ and blasting crappy Italian Discomagic compilation CD's from the early and mid 1990's. I remember because I had Turbo mode on the Black Label and was pushing every last decibel of sub and mid bass out of my JVC SZ2000 as I could. As I was listening to the cheesy Italo disco mixes, I went back through all the Head-Fi meets I'd been to in my life and came to a realization. The most active meet I'd ever attended, which was in 2006, I listened to all the top of the line setups that existed eleven years ago. Nothing I was hearing was possible back then. Forget the bass power of the SZ2000 which just wasn't possible before JVC invented that - what about the Black Label itself? As a perfect stand-in replacement but not more than that, the original iDSD Micro was still a feat of technology that wouldn't have been possible in 2006, but I never got the impression with the original iDSD Micro that really took me by awe. The Black Edition was something that truly was not possible as long as a decade ago or even half a decade. Here was a box I could hold in my hand and not only could it match the sound of stacks of gear amounting to nearly $1,000 on their own - it was surpassing all of it in any possible way. Going back to any of my old setup results in one form of disappointment or another. And anything I heard that long ago, giant stacks of specialized gear isolated from one another and linked up with top of the line cables, to my own personal setup I've obsessively perfected over time, all crushed by the sound of the Black Label. This was truly the sound of audio perfection as far as I've heard. Maybe it won't be 5 years or a decade from now, that's fine because it's good enough to have turned the tables. I can shamelessly say this is what I hoped the Mojo would be. Not only having enough power to challenge the most power hungry headphones but sounding so glorious doing it, there is nothing else I could ask for.
 
The Sound Blaster seemed so worthless in comparison. No DSP can come close to matching the sound of bit-perfect music played so honestly, with so much perfectly controlled power. The E-MU could only compete when it was running thru the Zamp V3 - still one of the most amazing and perfect combinations I've ever heard in my life - but this offers so much more flexibility and doesn't require two AC outlets. That is what truly made this device so good to me. The sound quality and energy I could only get my running my all-time favorite DAC into a 45 watt desktop power amp, designed to drive speakers, with a gigantic toroidal transformer. The DAC also requires its own power supply. Two pieces of gear I had never been able to beat with anything bus or battery powered. And here it was! Worst of all, it wasn't even mine - I was last in line for my leg of the tour. I would go in between dancing and singing to these bargain bucket Italo house mixes and complete despair that I had to give it back to iFi. I just couldn't stop listening to it, day or night. Every minute I spent with the sub and mid bass boosted as high as 34dB and Turbo mode activated with my JVC's was to die for. And, yes, it's suitable for non bass heads too. More often than I could understand, I found myself with Turbo mode on but running no EQ and just having the XBass switch on with all my power-hungriest ear buds. But again I have to emphasize, it doesn't really matter what gear you use on this. No matter what it is, it's going to sound as good as it can possibly sound in the year 2017 as far as I am convinced. I spend thousands of dollars on gear per year chasing after this exact sound. I have no doubts that the Black Label is a turning point, as it would be remarkable even for a desktop only device in my opinion. To be in a battery powered, compact format is nothing short of mind-blowing, and the components that are upgrades over the original iDSD Micro enough to make any audio loving engineer shed a tear of delight.
 
 
Is it worth your hard earned money? I would feel better about getting this than I ever did about buying a Mojo. I could just have this and my PC running foobar2000 and I'd be set. There is nothing I could find lacking in this device compared to anything else I like to use to listen. In fact, the Black Label really brought out what was wrong with the rest of my system. I was worried if I liked this a lot I wouldn't be able to budget for it even if I stretched it, but my experience using this has completely and honestly made the rest of my DACs and amps seem useless. At this point, they are all inferior to the Black Label in my eyes. When I send it back to iFi, I'll be counting the days until I have one in my hands again. Really, after about 2 weeks spent with this unit, I haven't been able to bring myself to use anything else for more than a couple minutes. It's the new standard by which I will measure anything else, truthfully and honestly. I can only hope I don't have to go too long without it in my life. I've had iFi gear before but I'm fully convinced now they're entirely deserving of all my respect. I can't thank iFi enough for the opportunity to try this out, even if it did make me hate all my other DACs and amps. For a single device to be able to replace what I missed most about my 500 watt dual mono-block home stereo is truly remarkable. For it to be battery powered and pocketable is truly ridiculous. I do honestly think this is a new milestone in portable sound. Anybody else making combo DAC/amp units needs to take a serious lesson from this. iFi is not messing around and it is so obvious when you are listening to it. I can't help but recommend any lovers of that lively, energetic sound prioritize investing in this unit.
 
(edit: I realized I never mentioned my settings used. For nearly the entire time I had this, as with my original iDSD Micro, I had IEMatch disabled and the filter set to bit-perfect. Also, I failed to mention the IEMatch switches are more recessed than on the original iDSD Micro, which I appreciated.)

 
I was offered this item free of charge by PureSounds in exchange for a review. I have no connection to PureSounds aside from receiving this item. I paid for shipping costs to me and nothing else. Check the price paid.... zero. Free as free can be.
 

 
I have to be honest, I was not interested in PureSounds, a very new brand, and I was feeling pretty set with my earbud collection. One day, with no warning, PureSounds contacted me letting me know they wanted to send out a couple review samples. @BloodyPenguin and I had the honor of reviewing the PS100-600. They were also offering some PS100-500, but the PS100-600 was described as more of a studio tuned sound, so I went for that. High impedance earbud drivers, which are getting more popular but are more difficult to make, seem to be their specialty. Their new earbuds were promoted with extremely bold claims and equally bold pricing. With the flagship model PS100-600 commanding a price equal to that of the venerable VE Zen 2, I knew they must have had some kind of trick up their sleeve. A couple weeks later, I got to begin my experience with the PS100-600.
 
 
 
 
 
They come in great packaging often unseen in the high end earbud world. As far as I know, VE only just started including a branded case with the Asura 2.0 and Zen 2.0. With the PureSounds, you get a great looking box with a nice presentation. Inside the box, you get some pads, silicone rings and a 1/4" adapter. I opted to use VE Monk+ foams on mine. The shells are extremely similar to the Blox design and the 3.5mm plug is engraved with "600 Ω" which looks very professional. 
 
 
One of the first sources I tested them on was the Walnut. The synergy was spot on. They ate up all the power the Walnut was capable of putting out happily and, without any burn in, definitely gave my other buds a formidable challenge to go up against. The bass is strong and present, the overall presentation is very accurate and there is a good sense of spatial positioning. On top of that, it is excellent on detailing and very fast sounding to allow this. In fact, I think it might be the best earbud I have ever tried for detailing and speed that can compare with the Rose Mojito. But this does not have the cold, quasi-digital sound of the Mojito. The sound is very musical and immersive in an almost full-size headphone manner. 
 
I was thrilled by the high quality of the sound I was hearing. But, I was not as impressed when I plugged it into my computer rig which has a very heavy EQ applied. The bass that used to be strong was now loose and distorted extremely easily. These buds are not meant for EQ. It really does not like much more than a couple dB in either direction of extremely basic three-band EQ.
 
The good thing is the non EQ'd sound is phenomenal. When I consider the asking price I have to truly ask myself if they are worth the asking price. The good news is I think they are up there with other flagships. While the Zen 2 is a great bud, it is also kind of a one trick pony. It's great at the mids only thing, but like this, it does not take to complex EQ very nicely at all. I am biased against the K's sound signature so I will never be able to provide an objective comparison of those. I prefer it vastly to the Mojito as it is not as tiring as the Mojito and has far better bass strength.
 
 
The problem is even when considering its superior speed and detailing, the lack of heavy EQ-ability puts me off a little. Also, even though the bass has great depth and presence, I can not say it's much over the non-EQ'd VE Asura 2.0. The Asura 2.0 has a thicker but slower sound. However, is this difference really worth double the price of the Asura 2.0? Honestly, the Asura 2.0 has a fuller seeming sound on account of its thicker midrange. It opts for a little more midrange aggression where the PS100-600 is a more balanced and neutral. PS100-600 definitely wins, not by a whole lot but definitely has a deeper bass response than the Asura 2.0. Nothing for bassheads to go wild for, since it can't take the EQ plenty of other buds can handle.
 
For those who know the Asura 2.0 sound, the choice is much easier. However I can't help but wonder how the PureSounds will sound in comparison to a black edition Asura 2.0. I think that could be a much closer competition. These are the two closest buds I have. A/Bing them, the PS100-600 is an easy winner on treble extension and speed. But it sounds overly emphasized on the upper mids and lacking in the lower mids as well as mid bass punch compared to Asura 2.0. It also sounds thinner than the Asura 2.0. Even though the PS100-600 has a clear upper hand in several technical ways, the Asura 2.0 has a warmer, fuller, and more musical sound. 
 
The question ultimately becomes, is this truly a monitor-style bud? I am not prepared to say yes, even though they do a remarkable job of expressing the full frequency range of the music. In a way reminiscent of the  MX985, you get the music as it is and nothing else. I can't deny it was great to get for free. I also can't easily recommend anyone drop $140 on this right away. Anyone who spent $140 on a Zen 2 and was happy with it would probably be happy with this. I won't lie though, several times where I was enjoying the presentation of a track on my A/B listening after realizing its similarity to the Asura 2.0, I was enjoying the Asura more, despite its slower sound. Asura's specialty is vocals, and I find them to be comparable in quality there.
 
 
 
 
I spent a lot of time gaming with these earbuds as I got roped back into competitive CS:GO about the time I got these. They offered great channel separation but average directional positioning. I probably would still take my Cygnus for gaming still as the benchmark for gaming and directional positioning.
 
The PS100-600 versus the Asura 2.0 made me realize it is kind of studio tuned, but no more than anything else. The difference between Asura 2.0 and PS100-600 is kind of like KRK vs Yamaha or something. Both well suited for the job and minorly different from one another. It is still a great bud by itself. Whether it is worth the asking price is up to the ear of the beholder, truly. If I paid full price I might be tempted to lower the rating a bit but this is my honest score of how I feel it stacks up to the rest of the buds I own. Before I started the A/B with Asura 2.0, I had been comparing it to an old Sony I re-cabled and my re-cabled Qian39. So, it is not far and away in a world of its own IMO. I think it can hang with other flagships, but maybe that just kind of goes to show how close behind earbud mods and almost-flagships such as VE's Asura or even budget greats like the Qian25.   
 
I am extremely grateful to PureSounds for tracking me down and offering me the review sample. I wanted to give it a better review but I would feel worse not sharing my completely honest opinion on it. Still, if detail is your thing and the Mojito was too digital or unnatural for you, this might be the ticket.  For those wondering if it is a bud that is right for you or not, I would easily rated it 4.5 stars if it was under $100. I think the price of $140 is a bit too much of a stretch.
 

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2/11/2017 update

I have decided my previous rating was too harsh. It also should be noted that these are far superior to the asura 2.0 - no competition - when using directly which pro audio equipment which was designed to be used with vintage design headphones with very high impedances, These are fully clear and honest on far too powerful sources like these. Still, in direct comparison with the Cygnus, this bud has many faults.

 
Its introduction brought with it a storm of attention. Seemingly too-good-to-be-true, impressive specs regardless of price, ugly and attractive at the same time, completely and truly minimalistic - but hitting far, far above its price point. Even sporting some features high end DAPs can not even claim. I loved the design from the first time I saw it and was impressed from my first moment using it. It is no secret that I love the Walnut and am biased towards preferring it. After all, for those who are not already aware, I started the thread for the Walnut V2 on Head-Fi. I've put together an intro for new users and a fairly substantial FAQ, so I'll be able to keep this review free of too much technical talk or how-to-use instructions. 
 
I never owned a Walnut V1. They were an odd design - dual volume knobs for each channel separate from the other and onboard flash memory. It was no surprise that it was clunky, lacked expandability, and was not yet an adequate device. However, the second version has shown the designer has learned much since the V1 and has made this a much more polished and enjoyable device. I've always been interested in devices like the Shozy Alien, but could never bring myself to spend their high price points relative to the features you get. Same with the Tera Player, which I knew I would never own or be able to afford in my life.
 
 
So what does $18 USD get you? WAV and MP3 playback, 16-24 bit, up to 48khz; a headphone amp, a 16 volt power supply, microSD storage, socketed opamp, digital and analog volume control, and only high-end caps such as ELNA and Nichicon Gold... So now you know why it seemed, to me, to be too good to be true. And, one thing which I was truly shocked by - the eBay/Aliexpress descriptions had led me to believe it had a battery time of 15 hours, so I figured it would only be less than that. I have, and other members in the Walnut thread have reported, getting over 40 hours on a charge. In fact, an exact number is not really known because anyone who has tried has forgotten to keep track of how much longer it runs after around 2 full days...
 
I paid $26.06 for mine on the CKLewis Audio Store on Aliexpress. It arrived to me in a small box sent via Singapore Post about a week and a half after ordering it. One of the main selling points for me, I'm not afraid to admit, was the rumor that some sellers included a microSD card loaded up with WAVs of eclectic Chinese music (I later learned that if you order from the official Taobao store, you get an option of the player without any memory card for about $17 USD, or with a 8GB microSD with the music on it for $21). This was right up my alley, and to be honest even if I didn't like the player, I wanted the music. I also had a microSD full of WAVs I had gotten prepared already in all my anticipation for it to arrive. I put it on the charger and went to go do some errands. By the time I got back home, less than two hours later, it was full according to the battery LED, so I unplugged it, popped in my SD card, and threw on my Red De'mun earbuds. 
 
 
I was blown away immediately. The clarity, the energy of the sound - balanced, neutral, slightly warm, but very engaging. And stunningly transparent. It was a sound I only knew from my very best E-MU gear which was too clunky to use for listening, and as such only really saw use when I was recording in the studio. The sound is beautiful and truly transparent. Some of the first songs on my testing microSD were some tracks I had recorded and mastered myself, and as such I knew how they sounded on all kinds of equipment better than anyone else. The Walnut always could hang with the best of them. On a few tracks I heard an unpleasant burst of white noise at the very end - I learned this was because I had left IDv3 tags and album art on many of my WAVs. The Walnut is extremely simplistic and only expects to see PCM (waveform) data, and tries to interpret it as PCM data. Putting the microSD back in my computer and using foobar2000 to quickly remove all tags from the file solved this issue. I was a little annoyed by it at first, but then learned expensive screenless players such as Tera and Alien also suffer from this. So I did not feel as bad after knowing that even the "big boys" can't deal with tags properly either. Not that you need them without a screen...
 
While MP3 sounds great on this device, WAV is truly stunning. You hear only the music. No background noise, no distractions, just nonstop music. There is a sublime sweetness and clarity to any lossless recordings you listen to on this. And all this for under $30? Anyone who would hear this without knowing what it was would probably guess it is in the $300 or up range. During this review, I listened to Death In June - DISCriminate, Mad on Acid Vol.1, Philosophers Propeller by Susumu Hirasawa, No Human Rights For Arabs In Israel by Muslimgauze, and the music from the C64 game "The Last Ninja" on the TY Hi-Z 650, JVC SZ1000 (this combo has unreal bass) and my recabled Koss KTXPRO1. Never once did I hear a sound I considered unpleasant or notably better on other gear. Nor have I heard a headphone that sounds like a bad match with this player.
 
 
What I can not express enough is how natural, clean, clear everything sounds through this player. Even when I owned the Chord Mojo, I could not bring myself to rip my CD's or buy new ones to rip lossless copies of, even though lossless sounded infinitely better than MP3 on the Mojo. I now find myself trying to scrounge up real copies of everything I like to make rips of the disc just to hear it on my Walnut. But you do not have to have one or the other. This player is capable of making MP3's sound as sweet as the most forgiving MP3 players I have heard. It's just that WAV is that much nicer on it. Not only am I hearing as much detail as I only know I can expect from my top end gear - once again, reminder that this was $26.06 shipped for me - but I'm finding it to be perfectly suitable for crucial reference listening. As a professional recording musician, this is a huge thing for me.
 
And what about the amp mode? It's not just a side gimmick implemented just because. The 16 volt power supply possibly proves its worth best here. Using it side by side with any portable amp I've known or tried under $350 simply does not have much more going for it than this does. Some have greater output power or built in bass boost switches, but if that's the worst I can say about it, how could this be a bad choice at its price point? The sound, with the stock TI NE5532 opamp, is beautiful with exceptional soundstage and channel separation. Strangely enough, I found it to have superior channel separation to a number of my other amps: Bengkel Macro bMac (Burson V5i opamp), Parasound Zamp v3. I have a second Walnut on the way and will not be surprised if it lives at my desk as an amp.
 
 
Of course, when using it as a DAP, you get the same huge output power. However, in DAP mode, you also get the benefit of digital volume control as well as the analog volume control. I like to turn the volume up or down by holding the previous/next buttons to adjust to a comfortable level so that I can use the full range of the volume knob to get to a more precise volume. My headphones are never too loud or too quiet or plagued by having the whole usable volume range within the touch of a feather on sensitive headphones. Be it 16 ohm JVC SZ2000, or 650 ohm TY Hi-Z (which are not at all sensitive), all can be driven to seriously uncomfortable levels while still retaining full clarity and quality.
 
Use during playback is extremely simple, as would be expected from such a minimalistic DAP. As one who spent many years before DAPs using cassette and CD players, I have no issue with the lack of a screen. In fact, I prefer to have no screen because I am forced to focus on the music. I have a terrible habit of browsing the artists list endlessly trying to figure out what to put on next. Having a screenless DAP helps with this a bit. I have several microSD cards full of FLAC albums converted to WAV, one album per file, and am perfectly happy listening to it all day. It is slightly digital sounding, but it is very musical, energetic and engaging. It is not tiring, either. I've happily been able to listen to this player all day long with no complaints about sound. During playback, you know music is playing when the "Instruction" light is blinking. By hitting the "stop" button, you will pause it, and notice the light goes solid. Aside from the battery light, which is only illumuinated while plugged in, this is the only status indicator on the whole player. The bottom side features the battery light, a microUSB port for charging or flashing firmware updates, a hold switch, and the microSD card slot.
I have not played with the opamps yet because I already knew the NE5532 was one of my favorite opamps for its superior neutral and natural sound. When my second gets here I will start rolling opamps, but I both wanted to review it and get to know it with its stock opamp, as there are many other suitable choices the designer could have made.
 
 
 
Do I recommend it for its price? Even if all you want is an amp... yes, it's absolutely and entirely worth it. Maybe you'll realize you like to use it as a player after using it as an amp. The designer said himself on the official store's page that his dream has been to have a truly hi-fi player with nothing but the most necessary features, done as well as possible, for a truly affordable price. And that is what this is. The Walnut did for the DAP market what KZ's did for the IEM market and arguably what Koss did for the headphone market back when the KSC75 were new. I know this is a weighty statement. I would not make it if I did not truly believe it. 
 
The only thing I would change about it if I could is add an equalizer. But that is not a huge complaint of mine. I can amp it or EQ after the fact in other ways, not that I've really needed to. The high treble is never sharp or sibilant, the bass is present and energetic, and all frequency ranges are beautifully clear and articulate.
 
 
I can't help but feel like this player deserves to have more spoken about it. But is there really that much to say about it? It does everything it should do nearly perfectly. And it sounds beautiful doing it, and will drive whatever you have. If it can treat my 650 ohm, low sensitivity headphones like they're nothing - which no other DAP I know of could have said about it - then it'll drive whatever you have with easy. Cons? Doesn't play FLAC, I guess. A complaint I often see, but the processor does everything in real-time, including reading from the microSD card. I can't help but feel that adding FLAC decoding would only slow down the real-time play.
 
Its rock solid reliablity and gorgeous, natural, and organic sound will mean that all my Walnuts will be probably the new most prized audio possessions I can call my own. I have no issue with that, especially if they are dirt cheap. This is THE player I have been longing for.
 

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Added 1/6/2017
 
Self explanatory. (Walnut V2 in amp mode pushing PURE SUB BASS air)
 

The Parasound Zamp V3 is not the kind of product you might expect to see on a Head-Fi review. I already know some people are going to see this in the Reviews sidebar and start muttering under their breath for me to take it to a forum for stereo discussion. However, despite the lack of volume knob, this power amp does have a headphone jack. So, of course I had to give it a try as a headphone amp. I am here to report it doesn't disappoint one bit.
 
I was sick of chip amps with puny caps, no transformer anywhere except the AC adapter, and single digit wattage ratings being rare and seldom seen. I'm a basshead. I run a negative 17 decibel EQ gain so I can turn up the volume louder and push more power to my headphones, and I would gladly burn out a driver if it meant I rocked it hard as it could go. This is going to be one of my shorter reviews because there is just not that much to say. There aren't as many caveats or problems to consider as usual. In fact, I think the worst thing I can say about this is it doesn't have a volume knob. That's really the worst I can think of.
 
The first (and only dedicated) thread about the Zamp was started in 2001. A fifteen year old thread. We some users younger than that now, I bet. This is not new technology or anything hot and trendy. The Zamp has been around for a while and has seen three revisions since its introduction. In fact the oldest threads I can find about the Zamp v3, the one I have and the newest, are just over a decade old. But why would I be choosing to use a big (comparatively) desktop amp with no volume knob for my headphones? One reason is I love headroom and the sound of effortless power. As a high power stereo junkie and convicted SPL freak, these are things I truly love in the sound of my headphones and speakers. I have always been one to refuse to stop thinking about headphones with the loudspeaker part of my brain. But, we are on a headphone site, and it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume you're reading this for headphone purposes. I will, however, let you know these sound amazing with any speakers I try... from 37-year-old B&W's to modern Logitech PC speakers with the PCBs ripped out and recabled with speaker wire.
 
 
For volume control, I've done just about everything possible, from DJ mixers to preamps to my DAP/phone's built in volume control. And that volume control is something you want, because this half-rack beast pushes 45W into 8 ohms, or 60W into 4 ohms. I have speakers hooked up to it, and thankfully, it mutes those when the speakers are plugged in. Makes it easy for late night use.
The amp itself is beautifully designed. I love the giant transformer. And, since we were talking about power earlier, this has no problem providing plenty of juice to any of my headphones. Even my most demanding ones, such as the JVC SZ2000, which can take several watts without any issue, are powerful sounding as I've got from vintage receivers with the clarity of modern amps. It's truly a treat.
One problem I'm familiar with when it comes to headphone amps that are known to be higher gain is noise on high sensitivity IEMs and earbuds. Why does this have to be? I'm listening to 16 ohm earbuds as I type this, ones that any high gain amp causes there to be a faint hum on. God forbid I plug an IEM into a vintage receiver, not only that I'll blow my eardrums out because of the power curve on the volume knobs on those old units, but the headphone output, like certain desktop headphone amps I can think of in the Zamp's price range, are a noisy mess. Maybe because all the power that can be squeezed directly out of the basic components is? The effortless sound of the Zamp is something so few dedicated headphone amps can match. If you use very power hungry headphones, or just like a lot of sound-stage and effortless sound, something like this kind of amp is great.
 
The amp itself does not generate too much heat either, given the amount of power the compact package can generate. After a day of almost constant use it's comfortable to touch and doesn't radiate too much heat. There are gain knobs on the back but the headphone output is unaffected by these. I have used them only to get my loudspeakers to a comfortable level.
 
The sound is one I have come to know well and expect from professional audio gear. It is more or less the same sound signature as my more modern Crown amps, but seems to have more body in the deep bass. Natural, uncolored, flat amplification. If you have efficient speakers around too, it'll blow your mind. I've even gone a little crazy finding all the old PC style speakers I can find and wiring them up to this to see what they can do. But, back to headphones - and sensitive ones like earbuds and IEMs specifically, it's shockingly good with a perfect black background and no noise to speak of. So why do we put up with it in dedicated headphone amps, it makes me wonder as I listen to a set of 12 ohm earbuds out of it, with my DJ mixer bass cranked up? With some on ears like the Koss KTXPRO1 or PortaPro, it's some of the best performance I've ever heard. I'm not listening at exceptionally loud levels or anything, but the sheer amount of energy going into the drivers is unbelievable. Going back to portable amps after this makes it sound like I'm listening straight out of my laptop. Why is everything so noisy? Why is everything so congested and strained sounding? I just go plug it back into the Zamp and enjoy every headphone I try be so ridiculously much more energetic than I remembered them being. And it's not just that I'm cranking tons of power into it.
 
For the whole time I spent writing this review, I had a DAP with no EQ at all running into my mixer. I did boost the bass on the mixer, but what else can you expect from my reviews? The point is, I'm not pulling any tricks to get this much energy going to my headphones like I was so used to with my other headphone amps. I can leave the EQ gain untouched and not go nuts killing the treble as it's not too bright for me. It's very clear and crisp, but there is no sibilance to speak of. It's got just a slight bit of aggression to the sound, enough to make it fun but not unnatural or unbalanced sounding. It's not an amp you get "wow"-ed by right away and like it less as time goes on. In fact, the complete opposite. It's the one that does just too darn good a job of doing everything it should right, so it gets forgotten and overlooked, but when it's put back on the spot you are left wondering why you ever put it away in the first place.
 
One thing I remember about using any stereo receiver I ever tried is having great energy but none had the clarity, quick transient response, or transparency of dedicated headphone amps. I was getting too sick of picking between energy or clarity. And the whole time the Zamp was already there, waiting for me to discover it for myself, and realize it was where all my amp desires converged. For less than 200 dollars I had the best of all worlds and was ecstatic about it. The clarity mixed with transparency and lively presentation is combined with an incredibly natural and balanced sound. In fact, it is so natural sounding that you may be unimpressed right away if you like sounds that wow you. I'm not saying that was my impression at all when I first hooked it up. I knew I loved it right away. It didn't take more than a few seconds with some gear and songs I knew perfectly well to recognize it really ticked off all my mental check-boxes for things I want in an amp. And how good is it, exactly? The Cayin C5 and bMac amps are taking a nice long rest. My Technics I could never detach myself from is finally also taking a rest and I'm looking forward to being able to take it apart and do all the upgrading I want to. I even started collecting all the small speakers I could find to try out with this thing. It's just too good at everything I throw at it. I hear details I've never heard on gear I've owned for years and listened to hundreds of times on all kinds of different setups. The sound of my AK4396 DAC or preferred DAPs going directly into it has the energy and musicality of the Mojo. It doesn't have the Mojo's magic ability to be completely warm, relaxed and detailed at the same time. This is definitely a more excited sound than the Mojo but otherwise is almost unfair how much it stacks up. I would even argue that combo maintains the edge over the Mojo in neutrality.
 
 
I've also spent a lot of time listening to it just running my LG V10 with the ESS DAC activated run straight into it. I usually would never do such a thing, without a proper line out, but it just sounds so good. There is nothing to complain about. Even when I run a setup like this I can't possibly find anything to complain about, even if I try. Because of its uncolored, unaltered sound some might find it to be too boring, I suppose, but those people would want coloring more than great amounts of power most likely. But I know what I love in my headphones and amps, and the glorious gigantic Class AB toroid transformer that takes up the majority of the case's real estate to give me the power I love. No longer am I limited to using my old favorites that sounded nice and energetic with almost any gear, I'm pulling out headphones I haven't used in months, loving the sound more than ever because the drivers are taking all the power they can, and spending a lot more time dancing and singing along while carrying my extension cable around than I ever did before. Headphone amping is no longer a constant struggle of switching headphones out to find which has the sound I want for what I'm listening to. I don't need to think about anything differently than I do when I listen my loudspeakers. This amp can give any of my headphones the pure dynamic energy of real loudspeakers. The musicality is just so good. I really think it's only second to the Mojo, from every headphone amp I've ever used in my life, electrostatics included. And I even prefer it to all my other pro-grade power amps because it has a sweetness in its neutrality not much else can offer, especially at sub watt power ratings, as well as the crazy amount of detailing it can provide, even down super low. I have never made my SZ2000 rumble so hard on the sub bass, and with such clear detailing, since I was doing the exceptionally risky practice of running them directly off speaker taps of stereo receivers.  
 
Sure the lack of volume knob is a little annoying, but consider the used prices on these. I paid $140 for mine on eBay, and saw sold listings go for anywhere from 100 to 200. They can still be bought for 300 new. If you have a preamp to use or your DAC/DAP has a volume control, you can get away with just that, this and the cables you need. Then you could go get any speakers that don't need hundreds of watts to work and have your mind blown. In my opinion it's fully worth getting some kind of preamp or other kind of volume control and trying this out if you really love energetic, natural presentation. If you miss the energy of loudspeakers when you put on headphones and aren't fascinated with the weak power capabilities of dedicated headphone amps, the Zamp is one to consider.
 

Is the Qian39 the new budget king? So far, it is still a total sleeper. It is not often a sub-$10 earbud comes around that makes me question my love of the Monk so much. I'm a huge earbud junkie with a completely unreasonable collection of earbuds, and have more sets of Monk than anything, but this $7 bud which I threw in an Aliexpress order - more to pad the cart than anything else! - at the last second turned out to be one of my favorite budget buds. I was hooked on my first listen and knew these were something special. As time has gone on I have come to be truly shocked by the value of these earbuds.
 
I am not familiar with the story of QianYun as a company. I never heard of their buds until I saw someone in the Earbuds Round-Up thread order the cheaper Qian25, but I never saw comments on it (as far as memory serves). Only about 4 or 5 retailers on Aliexpress carry the Qian39, and information on them is very scarce.
 
 
The first few times listening to them, I went from the Monk Plus or Cygnus - or more recently, TY Hi-Z 650 - to these, and was quite impressed. It was not until doing this review, when I sat down with some DAPs and a handful of other budget buds (Monk Plus, non-Candy and TY Hi-Z 32, 200+ hours on each) and one not-so-budget bud (Shozy Cygnus, 400+ hours). Since I am mentioning hours on each of these, the Qian39 has around 200 as well. The Qian39 is able to make both the Hi-Z 32 and Monk Plus sound thin and lifeless - something I was completely surprised by. Almost all my use of the Qian39 to date had been a preferred headphone for walking around outside, as they sounded great at nearly-silent volumes and still had a very nice full sounding bass response.
 
Let's rewind a bit and go back to when I got these - I had placed an order for 4 different items from an Aliexpress seller (one IEM and three earbuds, all $15 to $40). I decided, since I'd be waiting for a while to see the package get to my door, I'd throw in something else for fun so I had more to unbox. I decided upon the Qian39 as it was new and about $7. I figured "what the heck, can't go wrong for $7". In retrospect I'm very glad I close this! It ended up being my favorite of all 5 items bought. Even the other earbuds I got which were more expensive I didn't like nearly as much as these.
 
 
They came in a simple metal tin with a logo stamped into the box. Upon opening, there was a not even a baggie, just the two foams already put on the earbuds, and the earbuds secured in a piece of foam. I took out the foam to find the wire was quite thin, definitely less sturdy feeling than the Monk wire, however you do get a choice of L or straight plug with the Qian39. The housing is a unique design I haven't seen on any other earbuds, however it is most similar to the Edifier style, if it has to be compared to anything. Because of the thin wire, I am looking forward to re cabling this most and seeing what potential it holds for re-tuning.
 
For the sake of simplicity and greatest understand-ability, I chose to pit this directly against the Monk Plus and TY Hi-Z 32 with the Cygnus as a side comparison. Reasons I chose these over my other budget buds: Just about every Earbud fan owns a set of Monks. As for the TY Hi-Z 32, I am not a huge fan of them admittedly, but they are very popular as of late and plenty of people are finding they prefer the Hi-Z 32 to the Monk Plus. The Cygnus is included as it is arguably one of the more popular "expensive" earbuds, aside from the fact it was within arms reach when I commenced this review.
(Another reason I did this review is I felt the Qian39 was not getting the attention it deserved.)
 
 
My listening tools for this review were my usual lineup: iPod Mini (4GB MicroDrive replaced with 128GB SD Card), Kenwood Mediakeg G608, LG V10, USB AK4396 DAC into Bengkel Macro bMac 3CH MK2.
 
My listening was also almost exactly the same as what I used for my review of the TY Hi-Z 650, but will list the albums used here for reference: Susumu Hirasawa - Switched On Lotus; New Beat - Take 1; Dancemania Enka Speed; Triple 6 Mafia - Mystic Stylez; E-40 - The Hall of Game; Sade - Love Deluxe; Ayumi Hamasaki - A Song For XX; Bass Mekanik - Max Killa Hertz (and some others).
 
 
Now, back to the sound of the Qian39, as that is what everyone wants to hear about!
 
First off, as it is a low impedance earbud, I find it to be slightly more efficient than even the Monk Plus or TY Hi-Z 32 or Cygnus. I had to turn my DAPs or amps up slightly when going back to any of the others, but not by very much. More importantly to me is how far superior it truly is when compared to the Monk Plus, TY 32, or even the Shozy Cygnus. In fact, its similarity to the Cygnus is almost unfair, given the Qian39 is under 1/10 the price of the Cygnus, dare I say...
 
The TY 32 has great treble extension, but has a veiled/recessed sounding mid-range and unimpressive bass power as well as thin sounding vocals as well as a thin mid-range and higher frequency range. To me the TY 32 is more an all-rounder on account of being an agreeable tuning than well balanced like the Monk Plus. However, it seems like the TY and Monk Plus both deserve to be grouped in a class below the Qian39 in my honest opinion. They both sound less than stellar back to back against the Qian39. While the TY 32 sounds a little thin and veiled as well as lacking detail compared to the Qian39, the Monk Plus remains a balanced tuning, but the bass is nowhere to be heard when comparing the Qian39 to either Monk or TY 32. The Monk Plus still has a balanced, accurate sound, but still sounds thin throughout the full frequency spectrum in comparison, as well as having inadequate bass.
 
The Qian39, strangely enough, excels over those two buds (Monk Plus and TY 32) in the same way. First off, the full frequency range has a very full sound to it. No part of the frequency range is lacking any sort of weight. The high treble frequencies are not as pronounced as on the TY 32, but are comparable to the Monk Plus. However, it is absolutely worth noting that to me, the upper mids/treble of the Qian39 can be a little tiring after a long listen, as the full frequency range is fairly aggressive in presentation. While it maintains a great soundstage (equivalent to Monk, comparable to Cygnus), the mid range is full and lacking veil, and is not too forward to sound natural. The bass is nice and full, from the mid bass down to the sub bass. Luckily the mid bass does not bleed into the mid range, allowing for a powerful sound free of bloat.
 
 
Vocals on the Qian39 are simply beautiful. Who needs a mid centric bud for vocals when you can get amazingly lush male and female vocals mixed with a nice mid range and amazingly full bass. The bass on these is nearly comparable to a Seahf 400, I might add. Not quite as good as a bass booted TY Hi-Z 650, but easily some of the best I've heard from an earbud. Soundstage is - and I knew this would be a controversial comment so I was sure to go back and forth a half dozen times on my DAP before finishing this sentence - slightly superior to a burned in Cygnus.
 
As the Cygnus comparison is now inevitable: where the Cygnus excels, both on its own and over the Qian/Monk/TY 32, is being more neutral but detailed. While its detailing and transparency is great, its treble can be rolled off for some. The treble is slightly more extended on the Qian39, but not by much. As far as treble extension goes, the TY 32 is the winner, with the Monk Plus coming in second. The Cygnus doesn't have great bass impact, but has decent depth. Going back to the Qian39 vs Cygnus, soundstage I really have to admit Qian39 gets the victory, if by just a hair, but it is noticeable. I would not call it artificial by any means, as the mid range is still plenty forward, as it sounds not at all recessed when compared to the Cygnus. On the bass, both mid bass and sub bass, there is really no contest: the bass on the Qian39 is full and amazing. Real bass haters can just write this bud off, and go get a TY 32 or Seahf 32. Vocals I would admit are comparable - where Cygnus gets the edge for detailing, the Qian39 gets the edge on smoothness. Almost a Blox-like smoothness, those who know the signature. The Qian39's upper treble has a slight roughness to it, which I suppose contributes to the slightly tiring sound these can have.
 
 
I have to be honest, I have found almost no reason to use my TY Hi-Z 32 or Monk Plus after getting this. While not being as refined as nicer buds like the TY Hi-Z 650 or having quite the level of detail the Cygnus - or even better buds - offer, not that it should for under $10. I have a feeling this model could become a popular one for modding, as it has a very thin wire and has a very low price allowing it to be not a cost-prohibitive item to work with. As of this review, the most trusted Aliexpress retailer who sells it charges $6.66 with ePacket shipping, so it is solidly in the sub-$10 budget earbud group. As far as budget earbuds goes, I find most to have a not excellently balanced tuning, with the Monk Plus and Qian39 being notable exceptions. Most fail when it comes to the test of songs I know incredibly well on many, many different headphones and stereo systems. Arguably the ultimate test is music I've recorded and mastered myself, and I can say that the Qian39 does a damn good job - the Monk Plus also does great at it, but lacks on bass energy.
 
I do strongly believe budget earbud enthusiasts should give it more attention, as it offers so much at such a low price. I also find it to be personally preferable to certain buds in the $30-40 range, mainly because of its balanced and natural sound while also maintaining a strong and powerful bass which is not at all boomy or veiled. Easily recommended at the sub-$10 price point, and without a doubt one of the best earbuds period for hip-hop and electronic genres. Even for rock/J-Pop it turned out to be awesome because vocals were so smooth and natural sounding, while the bass had an amazing but not overwhelming presence, and seems to take EQ great. For instance, some of the rock-ish tracks from Hamasaki's "A Song for XX" sounded pretty good on songs and truly showed its strengths once both drums and vocals came in. The frequency separation is phenomenal for the price point.
 
Is it worth $6 or so if you aren't an earbud fan? Probably, yes. I could easily recommend them over the Monk Plus to people who want a more lively sound and never complain about a complete lack of bass. These are also a great shape, slightly easier to fit than the tradition MX500 style shell, so even though they don't seem to be picky about positioning at all, (which is great, especially if I get a De'Mun style cable on some of these...) getting a good fit was completely effortless regardless of foams used in my experience. For those who love their bass but still want a good natural sounding bud with nice stage and a low price, check these out. No mic option, but for the price, they are an ideal candidate for recabling, or even practicing your DIY skills
 
 
 

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11/11 Update

About a week ago, I modded my Qian39 for fun, as I had a couple others on the way. I had recabled my Koss KTXPRO1  - the volume control cable annoyed me on the headphone form factor, but seemed like it might be nice for the earbuds. Also, I had measured the cable to have a resistance of ~60 ohms, and was curious what this impedance shift would do for the buds. So, I popped them open, and grabbed a bit of cotton (really just a tiny bit) to put behind the drivers for damping. The resulting sound is even more balanced and sweet, but the strong ever-present bass was not there anymore. It still went very deep and resonated great, but was not as powerful as it was before the mod. For those who are not as interested in a bassy sound, or wish to bring out further sweetness in the mids, try putting a resistor inline and add cotton/blutac to see how it changes the sound for you. I firmly believe these modded 39's are top tier earbud sound quality level. I'm truly impressed. The KTXPRO1 are under $13 new on Amazon and are an extremely easy modding platform. Even swapping the cables of the two headphones makes the others sound & feel better in my opinion.
 

 

 

The TY Hi-Z line of earbuds certainly is a strange one. With a murky but undeniable connection to the SeaHf line, and such a mysterious and sudden rise to popularity as they flooded the market with a huge variety of new models - especially high impedance ones (in fact, their 32 ohm Hi-Z did not come out until after at least 4 iterations of all the high impedance Hi-Z's).
 
 
 
 
While information of SeaHf and TY has not been centralized yet, it is all readily available online and the naming/version scheme is very easy to follow. For the sake of easy understanding, the TY Hi-Z 650 was introduced around the same time as the 2nd version of the Hi-Z 32 ohm, and after the 4.0 version of the 150/320/400 ohm series. As such, this review will not cover any of the other Hi-Z models, except in direct comparisons.
 
Likewise, there is a great abundance of information and reviews on the current, vast world of earbuds; as such I will focus on the TY Hi-Z 650 in this review assuming you have some familiarity with other higher-end earbuds (at least knowledge of them and their generally agreed on sound signatures and characteristics if you haven't heard them). I am doing this for the purpose of focusing on the Hi-Z 650 as closely as possible.
 
 
 
 
The Hi-Z 650, like all other TY productions to date, appeared suddenly in the inventories of retailers without any prior notice. Of particular interest was that this was the first TY I had ever seen to not come in a plain black or white shell - red this time! In fact, just like the Massdrop red versions of the Monk Plus, even to the touch. This indicated to me there was something special about the 650. The other indicator was the steep price tag of $119 - almost Zen 2 money! And lastly, it came in a fancy box as opposed to the small white cardboard box all other TY and SeaHf models shipped in (I later learned this box is limited to the first 50 orders.)
 
With the knowledge Earbud thread cultivator ClieOS had ordered one, and the sharing of a review of the 650 on Baidu from a helpful fellow poster on Head-Fi (which I read a broken Google translation of) decided I should take the plunge. The factors that pushed me to do it were a couple things on the Baidu review: first, the reviewer stated it had a more neutral tone than all other TY Hi-Z models. Second, he said the treble had great extension but was not sibilant. Third, he said something to the effect of the low end had "great power". Bingo - the basshead in me only wanted to see this. And if you have seen my older review of the SeaHf version 3.0 400 ohm, you'd know I was waiting for a high impedance bud with even greater bass than the 3.0 400 ohm.  (By the way - I got a chance to hear the 4.0 400 ohm and 4.0 400 "S" model, hated both of them.)
 
To be up front about one thing - I have learned one thing about TY earbuds, and it seems to be nearly universally agreed upon - burn in is a must for these. For whatever reason, all TY Hi-Z models tend to sound strangely congested and sharp out of the box, and change significantly in the first 2 or 3 days of burn in, so even though I have been anti-burn in for many years, I have definitely found that these do actually require it - to prove this I compared a brand new version 2.0 TY Hi-Z 32 with one I had let burn in for almost a week, the sound was very different, and on the new one sounded exactly as I remembered my first one out of the box.
 
 
For this reason I will be commenting on the sound after about 3 days of 24/7 burn in. For those who are curious: out of the box is was very nice and still very reminiscent of the sound described below, but far more "congested" and with a much narrower soundstage and less impressive imaging.
 
 
I have bought many SeaHf and TY earbuds before this, and this is the first I have ever seen to come in a premium-style box. When I opened the box, underneath a large foam cube was a set of rubber rings and black foams in a plastic bag, with the earbuds coiled up and held in place by a pair of snaps. The cable is typical for higher end TY/SeaHf buds - looks and sounds nice, but is a somewhat rough to the touch, especially when considering how soft some other premium earbuds cables are. The housing seems to be nearly identical to the red VE Monk Plus earbuds, and have a similar feel. The 3.5mm plug is a very nice one I'm not sure the brand of, but it is the same model used on my Bengkel Macro iPod LOD.
 
 
 
 
One thing of importance to note - while the Hi-Z 320 and 400 models are notably difficult to drive, the 650 is actually fairly easy to drive. Despite its very high impedance, the driver is very sensitive, so you will have no problem driving it with whatever you want. I saw on the Baidu review the reviewer used several DAPs as well as amped setups.
I myself have used the following sources on the Hi-Z 650: USB AK4392 DAC into Bengkel Macro bMac 3CH MK2, iPod Mini 2nd generation, LG V10, Blackberry Z10, Kenwood Mediakeg G608, Thinkpad T61 laptop built in headphones. My recommendation is to amp it, but it's by no means mandatory.
 
Those who know me from my Head-Fi posting know I am a serious basshead. For those who don't know this already, my EQ screenshots will give some idea of my listening preferences. I like to listen to earbuds at extremely quiet levels - basically as quiet as possible to hear all the details. I also like to listen at normal volumes sometimes, and when I do, I love when I can hear great powerful sub bass response.
 
 
 
Also, I used to use IEMs a lot. After almost moving away from headphones after finding myself not enjoying electrostatics as much as I had thought, I moved to IEMs and became very involved in basshead IEMs. For a while I was only using IEMs, but the feeling of something in my ear always bothered me. However, I liked the focused sound of IEMs more than any full sized headphones, so beginning with the VE Monk, I started getting back into earbuds (I had originally started with the Yuin PK series about 10-11 years ago) and realizing there was a lot of very high quality to be found there. However, one of the greatest things I missed when going from IEMs to earbuds was bass power and impact. (non-bassheads, don't stop here! If you keep reading you'll learn the 650 has a nice bass light sound if not EQ'd...)
 
 
The Hi-Z 32 has been gaining strong acclaim lately but it has too many aspects that bother me personally for me to love it. As such my Hi-Z 32's rarely get used. My problem with the other high impedance models is that each was great at something, but none were great at everything. For instance, the 320 had wonderful smooth midrange and extension, but weak bass and grainy treble. The 400 had nice bass but hollow mids and rough treble. The 400S sounded like a thin 320. The 32 is a great value for a budget bud but does not have anywhere near the balance or natural tone of the VE Monk.
 
The greatest surprise to me was that the 650 is a true all-rounder. Without EQ, it is incredibly similar to the 320, but with much better (deeper and more accurate) bass and smoother treble and mids, as well as far wider soundstage. With my aggressive sub bass EQ, when I listen at low volumes I still get an awesome amount of sub bass power and detail in my sound, which almost entirely makes the price of it worth it to me. The only complaint some had with the older 400 ohm is that the huge sub bass could not be removed, it was always present. The 650 needs to be EQ'd up in the sub bass to have that kind of slam, but you better believe it can take more EQ than the 400 could and is capable of so much more. As true bassheads will tell you - it's about bass-ability, not how it sounds without EQ
 
The 650 is also certainly sensitive to the foams you use. I tried it for a bit with just EX Pack rubber rings and Monk Plus style foams, but found I wanted even more bass quantity, so I switched to Hiegi foams, eventually settling on Hiegi donuts. Hiegis maximized the soundstage and bass quantity, but the full foams muffled the high frequency treble a bit much for my taste, which is not a problem with the donuts. I also found the soundstage was a little flat with just the Monk Plus foams.
 
I find it to be an exceptional earbud for my tastes - industrial, all forms of electronic mainly from the 80's and 90's, ambient, J-Pop, older hip-hop primarily. It does truly have a neutral tone. Listening without EQ will give neutral-heads a very positive experience, almost something like a Hifiman ES100 with a bit more energy and life, better detailing and giant deep bass extension! When EQ'd, it turns into an almost full size headphone-esque experience. Detailing and imaging throughout the frequency spectrum is spot-on, with no frequency bleeds, and an amount of detailing easily surpassing buds like the Cygnus and going head to head with buds like the Zen 2.
 
However, I must admit I prefer it to other high end ($100+) buds. For one thing, I do not really compare it to things like the Edimun/Red De'Mun as those are retunings of cheaper earbud drivers, whereas the 650 is both a high impedance and original driver design. At the same time, the Edimun/De'Mun are under $70 each, whereas the 650 will run you over $100 with plain non-express shipping. In comparison to the Mojito (which I no longer own), it has the greater bass impact I wished it had, and is a normal shell design which is easy to fit. Compared to the Zen 2 - which has practically no bass compared to this - the Zen 2 is a highly detailed but also highly midrange centric bud, with a definite preference for the midrange, leaving treble slightly rolled off and bass lacking for sub bass fans. Compared to the Sennheiser MX985, it is far more dynamic, offers a less sibilant treble, and far greater bass quantity and quality.
 
One of the parts of the 650 that surprises me most is how amazingly natural it sounds while also having an effortless, unrestricted sound. Even other high-grade buds I have such as Zen and MX985 can not offer this effortless sort of sound. It offers for a truly transparent sound with a deep black and silent background. Even on extremely fast paced and intricate music, it does not miss a beat, and no details go missed. The treble extension is great for me - I'm very treble sensitive, but even I, at times, find buds like the Cygnus to be lacking in treble extension. The Hi-Z 650 offers me a perfect amount of treble extension and clarity without being sibilant or unnatural sounding - both very huge deterrents for me. As an active touring and recording musician I find headphones with unnatural tone to be simply unacceptable.
 
The question of amping is a tricky one, of course. While I find it to sound great off all my DAPs and other devices, I like it most when amped. Partially because it sounds most effortless with a decent amount of power. However, it doesn't need to be tons - even the normal Hifi DAC mode on my LG V10 is enough power to make it sing well. On some lower power sources like the iPod Mini or a more plain smartphone, it maintains its same sound signature, but sacrifices a bit of the effortless sound and in return sounds slightly more congested. I want to stress it is still a great sounding bud without an amp, but if you plan to never use or never buy an amp, you could save a little money and go with a nice low impedance bud, as some of this bud's strongest points are definitely brought out farther with decent amping. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to share of the Hi-Z 650 with the V10 as the V10 is my main/only camera...
 
The soundstage of the 650 is another one of its strong points. It is capable of having a great, wide, very airy sound. It is not artificially wide, but certainly can beat a Zen 2 or burned-in Cygnus without much contest (unless the 650 is still in its first 50-60 hours). It also does not have very much of a synergy issue with any sources; I find it matches very nicely with anything I've tried it on. It is not like some other high impedance buds I have used which can be very picky about source and can sound gross on some.
 
Vocals on the 650 are truly excellent. I thought they were average quality before the burn in, but afterwards they are incredibly realistic and well portrayed. They are lush enough it makes it not really worth wanting to break out a midrange bud whose only specialty is vocals, when the 650 can do vocals so well and do everything else excellently. Channel separation is also spot on, which is a problem with certain other buds, even some higher end ones.
 
 
The Hi-Z is something I would recommend without much hesitation to most high end earbud fans. It is an incredibly adaptable earbud which I can find no serious faults in. Honestly, my biggest gripes with it are that the cable isn't softer and that it isn't cheaper, and that it doesn't come with more accessories (or any thick donuts like the Hiegis). I have no regrets having spent my own hard earned money on it.
 
I think, having spent around a week using this as my main buds, I would recommend it to most people looking for a higher end bud. Of course, the Shozy BK is not released yet, but I don't expect it to be able to replace this bud even if it ends up being something I enjoy. Prior to this, I'd never heard a bud with bass power anywhere close since the older 400 ohm SeaHf. However, this bud really strikes me as a "greatest of" model - it takes all the best qualities of all other TY Hi-Z models and combines them into one bud. The soundstage, lush mids and smoothness of the 320 - and made even better, the bass of the old 400, the energy of the 150, and everything else is made "just right" - I really have no complaints about the natural tuning, honestly could be called studio tuned.
 
ClieOS ranks it not as high on his list as I might on mine - nothing in the slightest wrong with that, but do note he ranks it higher than any other TY model he has reviewed! However, I'm not sure if he gave it the same amount of burn in time I did, and I must admit out of the box, while I liked it, I was not nearly as in love with it as I currently am. I made sure to own it for a decent amount of time and pit it against many other buds before reviewing it to shake any new toy syndrome, but after comparing it to the rest of my earbud collection, I find it has the qualities that made me love the older 400 ohm more than any others, even when it had weak mids and rough treble - and 650 fixes all of that into an all-around perfect - for me - earbud.
 
I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who is a fan of neutral signatures or great bass alike - but EQ will be needed to turn it into a bassy bud if desired! And the 3+ days of burn in can not be overlooked at all. While low impedance buds will be driven easier by low power sources, this still does a great job of sounding excellent and like a high end bud on those sources. I just want to recommend that anyone interested in these also consider, or already be using, a setup which involves an amp. While they are great off my iPod Mini alone, the iPod/LOD/bMac combo is so much better and the extra power makes the details flow easier, sound less restricted, and the bass really comes out to play. But, I don't want to make it sound like it's only mediocre at best on lower power sources – it really is very good. It just gets a little better with amping
 
Hopefully TY slows down for a bit after this as I'd be a little upset if my 650 was rendered an outdated model as fast as they have been putting out some of their older models, but I also can see that the experience they've picked up by making all their other models has really shown itself as something special in the 650. I definitely see myself slimming down my earbud collection somewhat significantly after getting to know these earbuds, as they really do so many jobs so ideally for me. For low volume and loud volume listeners alike, ampers and non ampers, bassheads and bass despisers, this is a bud to be seriously considered by all who take their earbuds seriously. The Hi-Z 650 is no joke, and is the model which by itself made me consider TY to be a truly advanced company deserving of praise in this time of new earbud models coming out seemingly constantly.
 

---

 
 
2/12/2017 update
Reduced from 5 stars to 4.5 stars. Reason being, it doesn't have anywhere close to the greatest bass in earbuds anymore, and I have not used it much recently as it is a little too laid back for me. In combination with its hyper neutral sound sig, could be boring for some. But, i still think it is one of the best choices for pure critical listening. And with an adequately powerful source, like the iDSD Micro, they come alive in a way few others do.

1/25/17 Update

I have had this receiver for a little over a quarter of a year now. While it got regular use on my stereo in the past, it became a staple item after I set up an Android TV box. After getting used to using my PS4 controller built in 3.5mm jack with my earbuds, I wanted something similar for my TV box.... and then realized I had the inateck! It's had no problem powering any of my headphones directly out of it, with the exception of high impedance ones, which is to be expected. It does not get ear bleedingly loud, but louder than you'd want with anything 150 ohms or lower. Highly recommended. Great to use with Kodi/etc media centers as a quick and painless way to listen with your headphones wirelessly.
 
 
 
Inateck BR1004 Bluetooth 4.1 Receiver
 
This item was offered to me, free of charge, by Inateck in exchange for my honest review. I have previously reviewed some of their hard drive enclosures on Amazon and have previously received a free drive enclosure for a review of that. When they emailed me asking if I would be interested to write a review of the BR1004 Bluetooth Receiver, I accepted. The item has been in my possession for about 3-4 days now. It is available on Amazon for $26.99 at the time of writing this review. https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Receiver-Inateck-Wireless-Streaming/dp/B01J1D3OH2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474057891&sr=8-1&keywords=inateck+br1004
 
Normally I would put a preamble here about the kinds of music I listen to, blah blah blah, but this is a Bluetooth receiver, not a set of headphones, and as you will read later on I try it with a large variety of music styles and with different gear setups.
 
When Inateck emailed me offering to let me try the BR1004 for free, I gladly accepted for 2 reasons: I had only known Inateck from buying their USB hard drive interfaces and never knew them to be involved in audio as well. Second, I have bought two Bluetooth receivers in the past with my own hard earned cash, and been very disappointed in both. (one was AmazonBasics branded, forget about the other one)
 
A little Googling revealed the BR1004 uses the BlueCore® CSR8635 Bluetooth audio module. It is extremely small in size - about as large as a small flash drive, and comes neatly packed in a cute tiny box with a tiny manual in English, German and Japanese. I noticed when Googling that there are already many positive impressions of the BR1004 on Amazon Japan. I am happy to say I have favorable impressions of this receiver after putting it through some tests.
 
The unboxing & setup.
 
 
Even the box is small next to a computer mouse, as you can see. On the right side of the box under the cardboard is a microUSB cable and a small 3.5mm stereo cable. I plugged it into a USB wall charger and about 3-4 hours later it was full, so I got to testing.
 
 
The manual is very concise, which is not a problem as setup was a breeze, especially compared to some other Bluetooth receivers I have owned in the past. Simply switch it on, wait for the light to start blinking alternating red & blue, and set your Bluetooth enabled device to find the BR1004. Pairing took no effort or entering any PINs, it connected itself and was ready to go.
 
 
 
The listening.
 
My first test was with whatever was in arm's reach, just to see if nothing else that it worked. I plugged it into my Bengkel Macro bMac 3CH MK2 amp, plugged my Shozy Cygnus into the amp, and slowly turned the volume up. It was quieter of a signal than my FiiO E18, so I had to turn it up a bit more, but it was there and sounded just fine! I listened to a few songs I had just played through my E18 and could not immediately notice a difference in quality. So far so good.
 
I grabbed my Bluetooth enabled devices (LG V10, Kenwood DAP, ThinkPad laptop) and got ready to get to work.
 
 
One problem I have had in the past with Bluetooth receivers is interference and bad range. The manual says you get best results in a 1 meter radius. I was hoping it would be at least as good for that range. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that no matter what device I used, I did not get dropouts even when slamming the devices playing music with heavy wifi or walking anywhere around my apartment. My apartment is not gigantic but it's not tiny either. At certain points I had the device and receiver about 15 meters apart from each other and could not get it to cut out no matter what I did. Very pleased with this! I eventually gave up on trying to get it to cut out, since it was not only staying connected but not even dropping out. Eventually I noticed on the Amazon page it boasts up to 2 devices connected simultaneously with a 10 meter radius.
 
 
 
After a couple days of using it and A/B'ing each source with a DAC wired in with a cable to the amp and over Bluetooth with this receiver, I have to admit I can not distinguish between my FiiO E18 and this Bluetooth receiver.  I can tell when I am using my AK4396 DAC instead because it provides a much stronger output signal, so I only need to turn up the volume a fraction of the way I need to with the E18 or FiiO. Plus, the AK4396 sounds a bit more revealing of details with better gear, but considering how well the Inateck holds up even with very nice gear, I am pretty impressed.
 
 
 
The BR1004 has some other features I did not test out. For one thing, it has Siri support, but I don't have a working iPhone to test that with. It also has a microphone so you can make calls with it, but I like making calls with microphone earbuds the best. I did however shortly try to record my own voice with Audacity, and found it was comparable in quality to a cheap inline mic. No big surprise there. It also advertises you can use it with headphones directly, but having other amps around, elected to instead use it as a line device.
 
So, the question everybody wants to know, would I spend $27 on my own hard earned dollars on this? The answer is yes. However, from my experiences with past Bluetooth receivers, I would have never even thought to consider one again, as all others I had tried in the past were plagued with either bad audio quality, interference issues, range issues or some mixture of all of them. This is the first I have ever used I can honestly say did not anger me in any way and has proven not to suffer from the afflictions many other Bluetooth receivers suffer from. In fact, it is good enough that I am keeping mine next to my Technics stereo and taking down the long cable that ran up and back down my wall from where my DAC is, and the long cable from my laptop to the DAC. If I ever break it by accident I would not hesitate to buy another one, because it has found a permanent home plugged into my stereo receiver. Because of the BR1004's reliability, good sound quality, and frustration free operation and setup, I am happy to recommend this, and can honestly say that if I had not been offered it as a review sample I would still find it very much worthy of the asking price. I am very happy considering I don't expect a $9 DAC to blow me away but is is certainly good enough to fit in a hifi system. Thank you for reading and thank you again to Inateck for offering this to me!

I decided to give these a shot after having read about the older Qingyin hybrid model, the QY-20. It was described as a cold but detailed sound with decent bass extension and the tendency to change sound signatures fairly heavily depending on the source, and it's not too common to see a DIY offering these days that's only a single DD and a single BA - very basic design for a hybrid.
 
Well actually, I was buying myself the Musicmaker TK13/TO12 (same thing, both names) again when the store owner talked me into trying the QY-30 as well, so I did, cause why not?
 
Well, there are a few reasons why not to get the Qingyin, probably more than the reasons I can think of that you -should- get a Qingyin, unless the Qingyin's sound signature is the sound you've been after, in which case this is probably an awesome set for you. And while some of the things that make the Qingyin unique I did not know beforehand, some surprises were more welcome than others.
First, upon unboxing the QY-30, I noticed (of course) the very large box with fancy silver printing. I have become spoiled by earbud/IEM packaging since I started buying DIY IEMs from Asia, as lower price points often get you much fancier packaging than usual. The QY-30 was no exception: a really beautiful box that opens up to reveal specs, history & information of the QY-30 (all in Chinese), a cutaway diagram of how the drivers are positioned, and of course the IEMs waiting for you on the other side.
 
The first thing you will notice, probably, is that the QY-30's are CRAZY heavy. I can't imagine a single DD and a single BA per IEM weigh that much, so I blame the all-metal housings for the weight. However, it's never caused me discomfort while listening. The L/R markings are a little hard to see, but People who have used Sony IEMs in the past will notice the 3 included tips are exactly like the IEM tips Sony offers. They mimic the "Small Long", "Medium Long" and "Large Long" sizes, usually sizes offered with IEMs at purchase, but not nearly as easy to find by themselves... anyway...
The nozzles are also huge. It even took a little work to get Spiral Dots on, and those are known to be super easy to put on large nozzle IEMs. It took me a couple minutes to get the stock tips on and then basically left them on forever since then.
 
Surely you want to know about the sound by now, right?
 
Let's take a quick look at my listening gear: for the review I will be using it directly from my XDuoo X3 DAP, or my ODAC -> Bengkel Macro bMac 3CH MK2 amp combo. The X3 runs stock firmware, so no EQ on the X3, but huge EQ on my computer with the ODAC:
 
<EQ screenshot>
 
One thing to keep in mind about these IEMs I have found is that they are VERY sensitive to output impedance. The normal output on my bMac or my vintage stereo receiver is almost piercingly sharp even with EQ, so I was prepared for the worst when using my XDuoo X3, but was surprised to find, even though the X3's EQ was flat (no EQ settings at all) the treble wasn't too harsh at all. It was actually a pretty nice sound overall. When I am using it with the ODAC/bMac now, I use the 75 ohm output - if I didn't own one I would have gotten or made a 75 ohm adapter - as is expected from balanced armatures, the impedance has a large affect on the sound. So you'll notice when using these with a 75 ohm output that the bass is more or less unchanged (as it's the dynamic driver doing almost all of the bass work) yet the high frequencies are significantly recessed and there is a significantly warmer sound overall.
 
To emphasize that: if you like your treble hot & very present, you'll love these. If you don't, you're going to want a higher impedance adapter for these to keep them from being razor blades of upper mid and treble detail (sounds like FiiO sound signature fans would love these?)
 
These aren't basshead IEMs and never will be. Bass extension and presence are not these IEM's specialies. The bass presence is decent for a non EQ'd IEM but I can't hear almost any bass improvement between this and the ODAC, so while it might have been able to take my aggressive sub bass EQ when I was using it with the ODAC, it was not able to push much more bass. Also, while bass presence isn't that bad at all, it kind of rolls off after the mid-bass: there is no sub-bass at all really. But you have to consider this is a 10mm dynamic driver with a single balanced armature in front of it, so considering how much midrange/treble force the IEM has it's not terrible on bass performance. I just wouldn't recommend this at all to anyone who cares about their sub bass.
 
The QY-30 does have a fairly cold sound overall, this I probably would chalk up to the single BA in front of the dynamic driver, and it is nice to have a simple configuration like this in a world where Asian DIY IEM makers are seemingly in a rush to cram more drivers in every IEM. The sound isn't detailed or analytical enough for me to call this a detailing IEM, absolutely not in the same league as an Etymotic, but it's more detailed by far than you would consider a "fun" IEM to be. So maybe if you love the Etymotic sound but wish there was more bass/liveliness to it - but not too much of either! - this is probably a good pick for you.
 
The cable is exactly like the Musicmaker IEMs/earbuds if you are familiar with those. I had two different Musicmaker products (tomahawk and TK13/TO12) both have the same cable as this. The cable is fine to me but some people are bothered by it's slight stiffness. The Y split in the cable has a metal tube to keep it in place with "QY-30" engraved on it. Looks great overall.
 
Unfortunately I don't think these will be staying in my collection for good. First off, I'm a raving basshead, so total lack of sub-bass is simply unacceptable for me. That said I have had a lot of fun listening to these IEMs despite not being as detailed as Etys or as powerful on bass as my other IEMs and being a little bright with some sources. It occupies a space none of my other IEMs (or any IEM I have heard in a long time, really) have occupied. I am still enjoying listening to female vocal songs which don't have too much in the way of bass with my XDuoo. For recordings that don't rely on your ability to hear/feel the sub bass, it's a ton of fun to listen to. When listening to Kwon BoA - Listen To My Heart with my XDuoo X3, I was surprised at how close to the Etymotic it was able to get on detailing while still maintaining a very fun & enjoyable sound. The 10mm DD + single BA combination is not that bad at all, in the end.
 
So why 3 stars? Well, no sub bass is a big detractor for me, and they can be razor blades of treble with some sources whereas they are more balanced and predictable with others. I would say if you don't know what your sources do for output impedance, maybe pick up or build yourself a 75 ohm adapter. And while it sounds awesome on bass light female vocal tracks, I found out after a few days of listening that it really is vocal music without too much bass that it's specialty. Listening to 80's industrial and 90's techno made it really clear that its lack of ability to push bass made songs which depend on it sound incredibly thin and incomplete. Because of this unpredictability, and its profound weakness with certain genres (hip hop is straight up awful with these, for reasons I'm sure you can imagine) I couldn't give it as high of a score as I would have liked to. Given that it's more or less restricted to bass light genres, it's a really great sound.
 
If it was under $70 new I would probably have given it 4 stars and made sure to make it very clear it's good on certain genres and bad on others. However at $95 I really can not rec this unless you know already that bass isn't your thing, you're not a basshead, and you're probably happy using Etymotics for your music collection. If that sounds like you, then yeah grab a pair of these and try to get them for less than $95. If the listed asking price for these on Aliexpress changes to $60-70 I'd have an easier time rating these higher. Because of the price point and the amount of possible limitations you may experience, I would hold off on recommending everyone and anyone drop their hard earned money on these. I would not recommend buying these unless you already know what sound signature you're after or if my description of the sound signature is appealing to you. If it sounds vaguely appealing to you, chances are you'll enjoy these, but I don't know if you'll enjoy them enough to be happy having spend $95 on them. If people were buying these new without any idea of what they sounded like, they would be incredibly polarizing. Honestly I wish these were more like $50-60 and then I would have a much easier time recommending them.

There are only two reviews of the godly SZ2000. Probably one of, if not the, most misunderstood headphones of the last decade. They sound strange and veiled out of the box, have some of the worst pads I've ever felt, need a ridiculous amount of power and EQ to sound their best. But I still gave it 5 stars and stand by that 100%.
 
You can drive them from any phone or DAP. They're pretty sensitive given their size and quad-driver setup. However they can deal with being fed way more power than most headphones can handle, and that's why they can and will make you quit before they do. Even if you're a car audio old-head who is used to making other people sick when they stay in your ride for too long, these headphones will make the most hopelessly afflicted bassheads call a time out. I can, with pretty good confidence, assure you that you'll either feel yourself going deaf or getting seriously nauseous before these damn things will show any signs of not being able to keep going. I've tried a couple times to keep pushing them to see if I could get them to quit before I had to and it just wasn't happening. And I will put my head right next to a 500w driven dual 15" subwoofer.
 
The first time I got these, I have to admit i was let down. I ignored advice to switch on pads from the $25 JVC HAM55X and suffered with the stock pads for months. Let me tell you right here and now that the stock pads are so bad, they make me want to cry, honest to god. How did JVC nail everything on this headphone so perfectly and then combine it with the worst pads known to mankind? Who allowed this?
 
Let's get one thing clear before moving on: these aren't everyone's ideal headphones. Not everyone's priorities for headphones include +30dB headroom @45Hz or the ability to rattle themselves off your head with 50Hz and lower. Also some people are going to be put off by the requirement of a strong amp and alternate pads to get the most out of these cans (keep in mind you don't actually need a strong amp to use these - they're actually fairly sensitive headphones. If you want to get to crazy bass boosting at high volumes there's no avoiding EQ. but more on that later). And yes they are fairly veiled - I'd argue mine have opened up a lot after all the use I've put in. But I've never loved a set of over-ears like these.
 
 
 
Before I gave them another shot with the 55X pads, I dismissed them as unlistenable garbage. I can't stress enough how important the pad swap is. Just don't buy these without the 55X at the same time. Throw the SZ2000 pads away and give the 55x sans pads to a friend and tell them to buy HM5 pads on amazon and enjoy their headphones. If you don't believe me the stock pads are an affront to the good name of headphones everywhere, look at this picture where I swapped the pads of a SZ2000 and HAM55X. In this picture you see a 55X with the SZ2000 pads and the SZ2000 with the 55X pads. Notice how the 55X pads look nice, plush and comfy, and aren't deformed in an awkward manner. If you still don't believe me... your ears will touch the cloth protecting the driver on the stock pads. You don't want that, do you? I knew you didn't. Nobody does.
 
Okay, so by now you want to know how they sound. Because of the crazy and bizarre driver structure, where you have actually 4 drivers total in your headphones. Two 55mm's in back providing all that sub bass punch while 33mm driver in front takes care of the detail. And the result is the closest experience I've heard to putting your head right in front of quad speakers plus a sub driven by two 400w power amps in mono in any headphone ever. Because of the unique design, I've found they're more sensitive to pad change than any other headphones I've heard, including planars. Which makes it even more of a shame that they come with such terrible pads. Anyway, I'll describe the sound as it is with two different pads: the 55X pads and Brainwavz HM5 pads.
 
 
One of the most impressive parts of the SZ2000's design is without question this quad driver design. Naturally it should follow that four drivers, two of which are 55mm, are going to want a lot of power to work at their best. Part of the design is the ridiculous amount of headroom at low frequencies - it's more or less assuming you're never going to listen to these without some amount of EQ. For that reason, until you get to some serious bass boosting (see my EQ screenshot at the end of this review) do you get a truly balanced sound that makes you feel like you're really holding your ears right up against a high grade stereo setup turned to max volume. I can't express how amazing it is to have headphones brutally rumble actual notes that hard. Many times, more often than I'd like to admit, I caught myself looping bass test tones to feel nothing but the sine waves causing the headphones to rumble off my head. I could feel all the air the driver was pushing. Again, no other headphone I've ever used that could replicate this feeling. It doesn't matter what music you listen to. You're going to get floored with sub bass. It really is like cranking your stereo so loud your neighbors submit a noise complaint nearly immediately. Actually, I got three different noise complaints in one week when having fun with a new subwoofer I built, so finding something to satisfy my bass fix while keeping my stereo offline for a while was part of why I fell back in love with these headphones so much.
 
Below is a quick comparison of the SZ2k's sound with both the HAM55X pads and a particular set of HM5 memory foam pads I used to own (I since gave them away since I prefer the sound signature of the 2k's with the 55X pads). Other reviewers have covered the sound quality aspect better and more in depth. I'm aiming for a more technical audience here, which is why this review consists of a lot of rambling compared to sound impressions.
 
Music used for testing
This review is a culmination of my experiences with the SZ2k from Xmas '15 until now (5/22/2016). There's been a lot of stuff I listened to in that time. This list is not strict at all, it's more of what I listened to most of these headphones in this time period, and to give you a sense of what I listen to.

1. Bass Mekanik - Quad Maximus
2. Dancemania Bass #0-#5
3. Gas - Nah Und Fern
4. Too $hort - Gettin It
5. Sharpnelsound - SPRX-0002 Ver2.0
6. Terrordrome IV
7. Beatmania IIDX 9th Style OST
8. Sade - Love Deluxe
9. 2pac - All Eyez On Me
10. Healing Music From USA - Loess Gangue Ventifact
11. E-40 - The Mail Man
12. TM Revolution - The Force
13. P-MODEL - Big Body
14. DJ Haus - Burnin' Up
15. En Esch - Cheesy
16. Front 242 - Official Version
17. OFF - Ask Yourself

55X pads
 
Bass: Maximum bass impact pads. These will rattle off your head effortlessly! Bass refinement is great with these, impact is at their maximum, I would argue if you want refinement over impact then get the HM5 pads instead. These are the pads you want if you want to feel the bass. Yes I have to put it in bold. You may have though you've heard bassy headphones. Even if you've heard other basshead greats like the Fostex or Sony, you don't know what you're in for here.
 
Mids: Not as veiled as the stock pads, but slightly veiled. Some may consider it to be fairly to significantly veiled depending on your opinion. I think it's noticeable but not too bad. Certainly not a strong point, but I honestly don't have many complaints here. I wish it was more detailed and smooth, but at the price these go for, I have negative complaints. Would I like a SZ3000 for double the price that was the same with a lot more detail? I totally would, but I'm getting off topic now.
 
Highs: Can be just slightly sharp, EQ rolloff helps with this, but isn't necessary. Not sibilant or anything without rolloff, but not as smooth as with HM5 pads.
 
Soundstage: Not these pads' strong point. You should be picking 55X pads if you are a chronic basshead in need of maximum power to stay alive.
 
HM5 pads (tried memory foam angled pads)
 
Bass: Unbelievably refined. Some of the best bass I've heard of any headphone, period. The pads absorb a good deal of the impact but the payoff is so much extra refinement and detail in the bass. Takes on a slightly airy quality without sacrificing on power, like a well amped HD650, but with tons more impact.
 
Mids: Where'd the veil go! It's gone! The mids are ridiculously clear on these with the right pads. I found them to be very balanced and able to compete with headphones 2.5x their price. Sure a slight bit of veil was still noticeable, but it's hardly anything.
 
Highs: Very smooth, yet subdued. Definitely far back in the mix with these pads.
 
Soundstage: Not good enough you'd dump your other cans for these if you're all about soundstage - they're closed, after all - but it begins to rival the best soundstage I've heard in most any closed back headphone. I usually really don't like closed back headphones for sounding too stuffy and closed but I could listen to the SZ2k with the HM5 pads all day and not feel too cramped in head.
 
I'll be honest, I can't really tell if they've opened up a lot or if I've gotten used to the SZ2000's veil. But, having said that, I go between headphones like these and the Aurisonics ASG 2.5 or my Yamaha HS8 monitors seamlessly, and have no complaints. Yes you can still tell there's a bit of a veil but it's nothing that's so bad it's going to get in the way of your enjoyment, at least if you have the same priorities as me in your headphone enjoyment However I listened directly out of my Xduoo X3 without any EQ just to see how they fared, and I had to say I was pretty impressed. It was way more open & balanced sounding than I ever remembered it. Maybe it did break in after all that use, I dunno. I wish I could say for sure but I'll update this review if I ever get to measure my set against a fresh, unused set.
 
I am undecided on the burn in aspect. I usually don't buy it or believe in it, but larger speakers have a spider (also known as a damper) which physically changes over time and there is measurable difference in these drivers after some burn in. I haven't butchered a set of SZ2000's yet and I'll update when I do, but I have a feeling that at least the larger driver breaks in with time. It's a really big and power hungry driver so I wouldn't be surprised. If it's true it may explain why I thought some of the veil went away and the bass/soundstage opened up a bit. No proof on that though. I don't have a controlled test environment I can trust. Hopefully I can my broken in SZ2k's to a fresh set one day in a controlled environment, or maybe one day I'll mod them and look at the driver for myself and find out.
 
I haven't taken my SZ2000 apart, I love it way too much. I thought about modding mine but will shortly have a second set. They're good enough I want a backup. I don't know how I can make it through the day without these anymore. Until I live in the middle of nowhere and can blast my stereo at full power 24/7, these will forever be in my care until something better comes along, and even then I'd be awful hesitant to let these go.
 
These, aside from the 55X, are my only JVC headphone. I've only owned JVC Flats and JVC Mushrooms, both worth about $10 new at the time they were on the market. I can't say I know the JVC "house sound" too well but I've enjoyed the sound signature of all those headphones and the SZ2000 is no exception. In fact these have more headtime recently than anything else. I have no complaints about the sound at all. All I could ask for, honestly, is another step up from this. I really don't think I can ask for much more expect more headroom at super low frequencies so I can go deaf faster and more detail in the mids and refinement in mids and bass. I would totally buy a SZ3000 for almost double what these go for if the price warranted the improvements. I love these things so much I want to own two and recable one and go insane comparing the two.
 
Another thing that's great about these is the price. When I got them, it was hard to get them for much less than about $215-225 shipped to the USA. They've surged in popularity a lot due to the Basshead IEM and headphone threads. We know this because the XB90EX and SZ2000's, both chart toppers, have become both cheaper and way easier to get outside Japan in the last 6 months or so. We've seen the average price of SZ2000 go from about $225 to $175 new on Amazon Prime. I thought they were worth every penny at 225 and at 175 they're simply a steal. You can get these and the 55x's for barely over 200. That's a killer deal. It's almost such a good deal, because it can hold its own against $500-600 over ears, that I kinda wish there was a SZ3000 to fill that gap.
 
I'll leave you with my current EQ settings at the time of writing this. Keep in mind it's not necessary to do this to get good sound - I am more than happy bass bombing running an Xduoo X3 into my Cayin C5, turning on high gain and bass boost, and letting 'em rumble.
 
 
 
Lastly, if you're like me and told your girlfriend these are what you want when she asks what you want for Christmas, these are a good suggestion because she won't be upset when you don't want to stop listening to them. Happy sub-bassing.
 

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1/20/2017 Update
These along with the SZ1000 are still the only full size headphones I own. There is no need for anything else. Thank you Takuji Miura and Yuji Yanagi****a, the greatest bassheads of this century.

9/27/2016 edit: This review was of the Seahf 400ohm LD 3.0 which was at the time the newest model. I understand nearly identical earbuds as well as several new versions by Seahf since this came out. I have had a chance to hear the newer 4.0's of these and the sound signature is nothing like the 3.0. Please be advised anything even of the same name, by the same company, will have a differing sound signature from what I review here, unless you know it is the LD 3.0 version. The other version 400ohms as i have come to find out have very little to almost nothing in common with this model sonically.
 
 
 
I've been using these with both a Garage 1217 Project Starlight with a 6n6p tube and a Cayin C5 driven either by a Xduoo X3 (review coming soon) or ODAC/foobar2000. I am a basshead, let's get that out of the way if you didn't already know. My C5's bass switch is always on and on Foobar I have an EQ that makes people mad, sick and confused.
 
Full disclosure - I have been told my SeaHf 400 is one of the "Earphone Association" ones, and that 4 or 5 variants exist (including one by TY?), but I can't confirm or deny any of this. I purchased mine on AliExpress from Easy Earphone on the 6th of this month.
 

 
 
These are my #2 earbuds, right after my VE Zen 2.0's. Both are high impedance and require an amp that can push some decent power for them to sound their best at acceptable volume levels.
 
After you take them out of the box with the hilarious catchphrase "Life is like a box of earphone...", where you find them neatly sorted into 2 smaller boxes, you may be a bit underwhelmed because they share the same housing VE and many other earbud makers have used, and has a reputation that began with the Sennheiser MX series over 15 years ago. To some this will be an issue, because fit is always a point of contention with these style shells. (please read on though, I do address this)
 

 
 
At first I was a bit unimpressed because there is so little midrange after coming from the Zen 2.0, it seemed kind of scooped out. I left it to burn in for a day and came back to it later after I had become a bit more accustomed to the sound signature and found I really was enjoying it. I'll quote my own post from the Earbuds thread as I still agree with everything I wrote:
 

vapman said:

  SeaHf 400ohm sounds kind of similar to in between Cygnus and OG Monks. if I have to compare to any other earbud I know. I am very much reminded of the Aurisonics 2.0 while using these actually.
 
much more V shaped than Zen 2.0... actually kind of similar to the Mojito but I don't have it any more so I have to go on memory.
 
When amped, it has slightly better bass than Zen. Just slightly. i think it can hit just a bit lower than the Zen can. On bass heavy tracks it has a bit more sub bass. However Zen has a much stronger mid bass, whereas the midrange sound scooped out on the SeaHf by comparison.
 
SeaHf 400ohm has great sub bass response, probably the best I've heard in an earbud, but I still prefer the Zen 2.0's sound personally. These are good but they are a bit too "V" shaped for me, at least too much for me to prefer them to the Zen. The overall sound is not as smooth as the Cygnus, the SeaHf is more raw sounding. Some may find it to have a slightly aggressive sound signature. the treble is not sibilant for how "V" shaped the signature is.
 
The cable is nowhere near as nice as the Cygnus cable.. actually I probably would have said this cable was pretty good if I never knew the Cygnus cable
 
The housing isn't too impressive, same as the Monk, but white. They aren't too exciting looking.
 
I will probably keep them. They won't be my main earbud and I definitely don't consider it to be even in the same league as the Zen 2.0 personally but I think it's a very worthy competitor to other sub-$100 earbuds. Of course an amp is highly recommended even though my Xduoo X3 was able to drive them, I had to turn volume to 80 where I usually use 50-55.
 
IF you use an amp I might recommend them over a Cygnus unless you don't like the idea of a "V" signature or you prefer smoothness to the extra bass punch. Also if you listen to a lot of vocal stuff you'll prefer a different earbud, vocals aren't the SeaHf's specialty at all.

Click to expand...

 
If you don't already know the gear I compare it to in this post, allow me to break it down for you. The Aurisonics 2.0 is renowned for being a super energetic IEM with a crazy amount of bass slam, and a vrey energetic & raw presentation regardless of the intensity of the source material. The Cygnus and OG Monk (the first version of the VE Monk, also review coming soon for both the Monk and Monk+) are both held in very high esteem, despite one being about $70, like this earbud, and the Monk being $5.  The cable has softened up with more use, but it's still not as soft as the Cygnus' cable.
 
One of this earbud's weaknesses is also one of its defining characteristics. In a world of high end earbuds focused so heavily on vocal & midrange quality, the SeaHf 400 stands out in putting the focus more on bass and treble refinement, focusing less on the midrange, and it shows in the lack of transparency in vocals compared to other more mid-centric earbuds. I'm not saying the vocals are bad, it's just nice that for once it seems like an earbud isn't focused on vocals and midrange as its specialty.
 
I've been using the JVC SZ2000 a lot lately because I've been missing the full head slam and impact of over ear headphones, and gone between those and these earbuds pretty frequently. It's become fairly clear to me the SeaHf 400ohm has a veil because the SZ2000 sounds more open in comparison. However it also makes it clear how good the SeaHf 400ohm is at sub bass in both impact and refinement. It truly excels in sub bass detail. I found a page in Mandarin which stated they had a frequency range of 18hz-23kHz, which I believe, it definitely does 60hz and under with great authority. The bass does not bleed into or affect the midrange at all - not that these have a ton of midrange, and that's why they've earned a permanent spot in my lineup - and the treble is effortless and clear. A basshead's dream, truly. Those who carry a portable amp and always wished you could have truly slamming bass from an earbud - this is what you want! (of course don't expect IEM level impact, these earbuds will never end up on the Top 10 Bass IEM list as contenders, but they have way more and way better sub bass than many IEMs I've heard, I would say these leave the Shozy Zero in the dust even!)
 
I've been using double foams on the SeaHf 400ohm because I love the bass rumble so much I don't mind the slight loss in high end detail I lose. (and I know some of you guys are losing your minds because of my EQ high shelf - I'm sensitive to treble!) also this way I can still use the red foams I love without the color staining the white shells. If you don't like the extra veiling this creates, I suggest using the VE Monk+ red/blue foams in conjunction over rubber rings - that's how I use my Zen 2.0.
 

 
They aren't the earbuds for everyone, but they're the earbuds some people will want and need in their lineup. I don't keep much gear as I like to rotate it, but I honestly think these are keepers along with the Zen 2.0. I have moved on from a lot of earbuds but these are something special, not only because of their great bass response, but because of their energetic and fun sound, incredibly similar to the JVC SZ2000 in fact. These aren't earbuds to be used if you are focused on refinement places other than sub bass or lots of detail - they simply aren't the most detailed earbuds. The Asura 2.0 is the same price and excels on mids and vocals and detailing. Same with the Shozy Cygnus. There are a bunch of earbuds I can recommend if you want mids and detail. There aren't many I can recommend if you want serious bass slam and a raw, aggressive sound that isn't fatiguing. I won't use these for reference, like the Rose Mojito, but I can't stop having fun listening to everything through these. They're just so much damn fun.
 
If you don't have an amp you will really need one. Trying to drive these with my laptop's headphone jack was a total joke. I did manage to drive it with the surprisingly powerful Xduoo X3 but that has a much stronger amp than many DAPs, and I had to crank the volume very high (between 80 and 90). These are the only earbuds I have where I can be using high gain headphones like the SZ2000 and then plug in these without worrying about blowing out the volume. In fact, I usually have to turn it up a bit, and remember to turn down when going back to the SZ2000!
 
If you're not a basshead these are still killer earbuds to have. They probably aren't the only ones you'll want to own, as honestly, the Monk is more refined overall, has more present mids, and has better detail overall, but again, these earbuds are in a territory not many other earbuds have tackled. For $70 I'm very happy with them, and I wouldn't be one bit upset if I was stuck with these and the Zen 2.0 for the rest of my life.
 

 
9/27/2016 edit (repeated): This review was of the Seahf 400ohm LD 3.0 which was at the time the newest model. I understand nearly identical earbuds as well as several new versions by Seahf since this came out. I have had a chance to hear the newer 4.0's of these and the sound signature is nothing like the 3.0. Please be advised anything even of the same name, by the same company, will have a differing sound signature from what I review here, unless you know it is the LD 3.0 version. The other version 400ohms as i have come to find out have very little to almost nothing in common with this model sonically.

The E5 is so close to being a giant killer but it has a few major flaws in my opinion. This is a technically oriented review.
 
I like neutral sound signatures and bit perfect playback. I don't like to EQ. Is this for me?
 
Heck no get away fast. This is a device for people who always like to EQ and are more concerned with good/fun sound than bit perfect or accurate playback. In fact, even if you're an EQ head who loves to boost your bass, you're going to want to turn off your EQ and let the E5 handle it, because it doesn't expect an EQ'd input and things get really messy really fast when you do.
 
How is it as a headphone amp by itself?
 
Not too great. I measured with a multimeter and couldn't get it to push more than 190mW @ 32 ohms. It gets worse when you plug in a second pair of headphones: the two outputs are linked to the same power starved amp, so with both headphone outs in use, it can't push much over 120 to each. Imagine you take one of those headphone splitters and plugged it into your amp - that's what's going on here.
 
My Xduoo X3 supposedly puts out more power than this and I can verify that because with certain high gain headphones, I had the volume turned up all the way to the max on low gain, and was still too quiet. When I switched to high gain, everything sounded too distorted, and I knew it wasn't actually boosting the power.
 
The gain switch simply boosts the output signal. It does not have any effect on the amount of current the amp is actually capable of putting out. The configurable output levels, which are stock at 40%, don't affect this power output either.
 
It doubles as a Bluetooth aptX source, so I could do fun things like take my non-Bluetooth enabled DAP and still stream to my friends' Bluetooth stereos.
 
While I had issues with the stability of the 3.5mm combo output jack switching between digital and analog, I had no problems with the 3.5mm combo input jack when using it as an amp by itself. It never lost the signal. I'm not sure why the output was so fussy.
 
You'll have to keep in mind whatever settings you set with the configuration app will stay active even when using it as an amp by itself and won't turn off until you do it yourself with the configuration app again.
 
How is it as a DAC by itself?
 
Almost good enough to warrant the price... at least if you could actually turn off the DSP when you wanted to, and if the ASIO drivers worked. When SBX is activated, your audio is resampled to 48khz 24bit. There is a lot going on "behind the scenes", and you will almost certainly need to change the stock SBX settings, as if you have halfway decent headphones, you will realize you're hearing some weird distortion. This goes mostly away when you fix the bass boost's crossover frequency (unfortunately it doesn't go below 10hz) and shut off the "Surround" effect.
 
You will notice the DSP is always on when you start messing with the EQ. The EQ is always on or off and there is no way to control it from the unit. The only way to control it is with the PC or mobile phone app. I didn't save any of my test spectrogram results and have since sold the device but if I ever get my hands on it again, will post them. You will notice this if you use it only as a DAC. Even with SBX off and the EQ turned off, there is still a notable effect on the audio the DSP adds, and while it usually sounds good, it sometimes introduces unwanted distortion. This is more noticable when you use it via line out paired into an amp with more power.
 
Are its recording features any good?
 
Yes. The stereo mics were impressive, to be honest. I liked what I heard when I recorded with it briefly. I would use it to record a concert if my only other option was my phone's voice memos, but I wouldn't use it to record in the studio. However the broken ASIO drivers are pretty disappointing. Luckily OS X takes care of it with its CoreAudio support and Windows has ASIO4ALL which you should install instead of Creative's drivers.
 
Using ASIO4ALL and REAPER on a Windows 7 PC I had no problems recording with it.
 
I have a Windows PC.
 
I hope you weren't intending on using the ASIO drivers or Windows configuration utility. If you want to use ASIO, ASIO4ALL is your only hope. Also the Creative driver is unsigned and broken, so your E5 will stop working from the moment you install Creative's drivers until you uninstall it and force Windows to forget about it so it can re-recognize it with the generic USB audio driver. You have been warned. Once you get past that, the app to control the settings is fine though. Pretty ironic that Creative's own drivers can brick the device on your machine until you do this fix.
 
I have a Mac.
 
There are no audio drivers to screw* up your E5, so just plug it in and go. Didn't see or try the configuration software, just plugged it into a MacBook and it worked.
 
I have an iPhone or Android.
 
Great! It works fine and the app to control it isn't as horrible as its PC counterpart. You'll be a lot happier with your E5 if you only or mainly use it with your phone.
 
Battery life
 
I got about 9-10 hours on a charge. I charged my E5 for 12 hours before using it for the first time or even turning it on to properly condition the battery.
 
I would like to hear you complain in detail. Please do so.
 
First, the DAC itself is great and very enjoyable. In fact, I had a great time using it as a DAC into a different headphone amp. SBX is Creative's DSP which they claim you can turn on or off, but it actually is always on to some degree. The combination 3.5mm optical and line out jack is great in practice, but in theory does not work too well. I tried many of my 3.5mm to RCA cables and with the slightest bump of the E5 or the cable, the E5 would get confused if it was optical or not, and blare digital static at maximum volume. Luckily, the optical connection is much more stable. You can shake it around with the optical line out connected and it will work fine. If the analog line out connection was more stable, I would be much happier using it as a DAC, but this is one of the reasons I eventually stopped using it.
 
Second, the dual headphone output is a trap. Only use one at a time, don't use both at once to A/B headphones. It is more noticeable when using power hungry headphone than IEMs, but you can hear a very distinct change in volume. I tested with a multimeter and found both outputs are shared to one power starved amp. I noticed even with bass turned off, with power hungry headphones like 600ohm DT990 there was some distortion on lower bass.
 
In my opinion, if this cost $50 more and had power output specs to compete against cheaper non all-in-one units like the Fiio E12 or Cayin C5, I would recommend it even over the Mojo. I honestly can't imagine why Creative would bottleneck such a good DAC with such a disappointing & power starved amp section. On top of that, I would like it if it gave you an option to bypass the DSP completely, because sometimes I want bit perfect output, but it's simply not possible with this unit.
 
With these complaints, I can not give it more than 3 stars in all honesty. I wish I could, because I honestly really liked using it as a DAC, but switching between this and my other DACs made it very obvious there's an always-on DSP, and that's not for everyone. If the headphone amp didn't split such an embarrasingly low amount of power, if it didn't screw up my Windows audio drivers, and if the DSP was a little more flexible and honest I would rate this 5 stars.
 
Enough words, let me see some dang pictures
 
Below are a couple different EQ settings I used with different headphones. I am very treble sensitive so I enjoyed the sound of cutting it at 16k a lot to be honest.

 

 
Here's a video picture of the bass paper test with the JVC SZ2000. I was really disappointed using the E5 with full size headphones. No bass impact, just lots of muddy distortion.

 
Here is a size comparison to a plain iPhone 6 (non plus)

 
Here's my E5 with my Aurisonics ASG 2.0, 2.5 and ASG-B. Since taking this picture I've sold the black 2.5's and the 2.0's.

 
A shot of the ports. Notice it has a full size USB host port so you can easily use it with a phone without an OTG cable. This was really really good in my opinion. I liked this feature a lot.

 
Here's another shot of my Xduoo X3 driving the E5 as an amp.

 
Here's my settings how I liked them. I eventually turned off bass boost completely because I needed the crossover to go lower than 10hz and it wouldn't let me.

 
Here's ASIO4ALL proving that when SBX is turned on, the DSP resamples.

 
Is it worth my $199?
 
That's up to you. If you like to EQ, only intend to use it for its DAC purposes or only use IEMs/don't mind the low power output of the headphone amp, it's got a lot of features for the price. Unfortunately, it would be able to pair better with higher end gear if the DSP was less restrictive and gave you a bit more control over the DSP. If you were hoping to use it just as a headphone amp and not a DAC, or don't care about the Bluetooth or stereo microphones, you'll probably be disappointed.
 
This is good for a budget all in one device, and musicians on a very tight budget might find it be very useful. Just keep its quirks and problems in mind before buying. This is not for people who just want an amp. It does everything but it doesn't do any one thing great. But it might suit your needs, and if it does you'll be very happy with it.
 
If Creative announced a new model that addressed my complaints (mainly DSP being too restrictive and the weak headphone amp and split power between the two outputs) I would get one again and pretty much guarantee a 5 star review from me. I can't give more than 3 stars considering the problems mentioned. That said, even though I sold it, it was a good piece of gear and was very convenient. I am just really let down by how lacking the headphone amp was.

Shozy reached out to me and offered me a free set (just paid shipping+handling) in exchange for my review, and I gladly accepted. Many thanks to Shozy for this opportunity.
 
Even though Shozy recommends at least 40 hours burn in before usage, I started listening right away just for a few minutes, to get a sense of the "fresh" sound signature.  After about 15 minutes of listening, I put it away to burn in and did not touch it until about 60 hours had passed. I can confidently say it has improved after the burn in period. I am usually a burn in skeptic but there is a notable difference. The bass and soundstage opens up a bit.
 
First off, if you are considering a $50-150 IEM but don't have an amp and don't intend to ever get one, considering ending your search here. These are a godsend for people who use their DAP/laptop/phone's headphone jack. They sound great with any source. Unfortunately, the other side of this is that when matched up with nice headphone amps, the sound signature isn't really improved. There is minimal difference, so I don't recommend these to people who amp.
 
I found myself comparing these to the $299 Aurisonics Kickers often while using these. They have a very similar sound signature, a similarly pleasant bass presence, and an overall smooth sound signature. The soundstage and imaging is about equal on both the Zero and Kicker from my experience. I remember remarking I was unimpressed with the Kickers when amped, and that they were just as good with an un-amped source. However since both the Zero and Kicker use a single small dynamic driver, this makes sense.
 
You can listen for hours easily. They're very comfortable, and despite their tiny size, isolate very well.
 
The Zero has a bass oriented sound and does a pretty decent job at mid bass impact for unamped headphones. My main problem was that it couldn't hit real sub bass notes and certain mid bass notes were a bit muddy, but again I must emphasize these are truly all-arounder headphones and have no real weak points, so if my worst complaint is that I wish there was more sub bass, that's not terrible. You'll have to keep in mind I'm a raving basshead though. Normal non-bassheads will think this IEM is Bass City USA. When I use over ear headphones, they rattle off my head.
 

Click "like" if this much EQ makes you sick just looking at it.
 
The rosewood housings and cable are all very nice. The microphonics on the cable are quite low. I did not have any complaints. The mids are very pleasing and natural and the highs are very smooth and non-fatiguing. I did not experience any sibilance with these.
 
My review set came in a plain plastic baggie with a few sets of black IEM tips. I am using JVC spiral dots for my testing. For anyone on a budget, or who does not have an amp, I would gladly recommend these. I honestly think they are on par with several $300 single dynamic driver IEMs. The only reason these get a 3.5 and not 4 star rating from me is that they arguably sound worse with an amp (if you are not a fan of the "V" sound signature") so I only use them directly out of my laptop or DAP's headphone output.
 
I would love to hear what Shozy could pull off with a bigger dynamic driver. The Zero has faint hints of being able to handle sub bass, and I'm confident they could do it if they made an IEM with a bigger driver
 
In conclusion, if your budget is under $80, I would say these are what you should invest in. If the fact it doesn't really respond to amping concerns you, you could spend $70-80 on an IEM with a similar sound signature that will respond better to amping, but the Zero has a very sweet and alluring sound on its own. I keep mine in my travel bag for any occasions where I don't have an amp around.
 
----------------
Additional thoughts after a couple weeks of owning
I have owned these for about 2-3 weeks at this point. I rarely use them primarily because they aren't as bass capable as other IEMs I have, but also because they don't play nicely with amps. I always have and like to use amps, so I think these will appeal much more to people who don't own an amp and aren't interested in getting one. However, if I had to recommend any IEM under $100, I can't say I would recommend these to everybody, mainly because they can't scale with amping well and the cable is fairly microphonic. There is also a fair amount of mid bass bloat and the treble feels a bit sharp while stuffy at the same time. They are very sharply V shaped and I can only recommend them to people who don't and won't use a headphone amplifier. For that crowd, this is a fairly good value, but I think there are similar sounding IEMs in the $25-40 range which are as good as with low-power sources like smartphones or DAPs and are able to scale with amping better. It is still a good value at $50 and can compete with IEMs and isolates surprisingly well for its light & small form factor. They are good but I don't think they are $500 good or even $100 good to be honest. I will be giving my set away. I think the fit was great and strongly encourage Shozy to try and make a more bass oriented IEM with a larger driver. The rosewood is great but unfortunately it matters less than the sound when it's in your ears.