these cost SGD $68 from jaben. the body is metal and resembles the crossroads quattros without the changeable plates.
have listened to it for around 10 hours. initial impressions so far it is very smooth sounding, no hint of sibilance at all, quite impressive for a tiny dynamic driver. details are fantastic. at the start of Million Dollar Bill by Whitney Houston, there is this very faint rhythm in the background which sounds like some kind of polyphonic ringtone from a cellphone, the Shroom managed to pick it up, which i did not notice on other phones before this. impressive.
treble is crisp, almost balanced armature (BA) like. sounds very fast.
mids are forward and solid. no sibilance at all with Ss and Ts sounds, like good BA drivers.
bass extends quite deep. there is an average amount of mid bass which can sometimes cover the low bass. bass is layered, not mashed up like poorer offerings. the bass quantity/impact is not very big, but its present. extreme bassheads need not apply.
soundstage is pretty good. it doesn't sound compressed and belies the fact that the drivers are placed at the tip of the canal opening.
compared to the Hippo VB, the Shroom is more analytical and intimate, while the VB has a more airy and relaxed nature. both are very good for the target consumers they are aimed at, especially at the price they are sold.
it seems like this new Hippo company is producing some pretty impressive earphones for a low price.
