VSONIC GR01, GR02 Bass Edition, GR06 and GR99 added.
Mid 13. VSONIC GR06 (
link)
Very warm and mid centric sound, GR06’s strength is in presenting texture and an upfront vocal. In a way, it shares a large portion of its sound signature with GR04, but much more upfront in the vocal and thus makes it less versatile when it comes to genre compatibility. Though a strong mid centric sound, the bass is by no mean weak in anyway. It still hits deep and impactful, but just not in the center of the whole presentation. Mid is where GR06 shines, with a lot sweetness and texture. Treble actually extends slightly further than GR04, but also feels slightly more busy as well. While it is crisp, it is not as clear as it can be as it can be slightly grainy at time. Soundstage is, as expected, sub-par when compared to other warm sounding IEM of the same caliber, like MEElec A151 and Creative In-Ear2. But in exchange, GR06 offers more texture and detail to the mid.
Pro: Accessories.
Con: Lack of chin slider.
Warm+Sweet 2. VSONIC GR01 (
link)
The other flagship from VSONIC. Warm and sweet sound, much like UE700. Treble extends just a hair better than UE700 and doesn’t feel lacking air. Very well behaved without any emphasis on brightness, aggressiveness or graininess while keeping a delicate balance between the warm+sweet house-sound and offering great amount of detail. However, analytical listener who are used to brightness probably won’t find it enough. Mid is clean and detail, slightly on the warm side but neither particularly upfront nor recessed. If anything, it has better texture and fullness than that of DBA-02 or B2, and even slightly ahead of UE700. Bass reaches down quite deep with decent quality but a little short on quantity. It comes slightly short in impact when compared to UE700 and needless to say, far less in amount and depth than that of GR07. Though the amount of bass isn’t much more than DBA-02/B2, it does have better texture and decay that gives it a more solid body. Soundstage is quite good. Not as wide as GR07 but has a better resolution and layer. Overall, the amounts of bass, mid and treble are in good balance and give GR01 a warm and slightly sweet sound signature that is tilting toward being neutral in presentation. It doesn’t quite have the kind of fun and dynamic sound that is found on lower end VSONIC. However, it is much refined – tight, detail, accurate, and very well controlled with a right mix of technicality and musicality, showing how careful tuning can push the limitation of the TWFK drivers. While GR01 does sound better than most TWFK based IEM, it doesn’t surpass GR07 by much – more polite and more balance technically, GR01 represents another highly tuned IEM that can be compared face to face to GR07 without coming short. Where GR07 excels in texture, bass and soundstage, GR01 excels in detail, control and linearity in frequency response.
Pro: Best sounding TWFK dual driver yet. Accessories.
Con: Slightly longish body. More expensive compared to other TWFK. Mcrophonics.
Warm+ Sweet 27. VSONIC GR02 Bass Edition (
link)
Somewhat misleading name that would trick a person to think that it is the old GR02 with more bass. While it is true that the IEM does have more bass than the regular GR02, the improvement in bass is in offering more body and texture. The overall depth and impact are rather similar between the two. Abundant in bass? Yes, but not bass monster just yet. The biggest improvement comes in a more upfront mid and a well extended treble, giving it the same GR99’s sound signature that is warm and fairly equal in all frequencies. The improvements from GR99 to GR02 Bass Edition are better dynamic, richer tone and overall better detail. Nothing night and day, but still noticeable in direct comparison. This makes it almost as good sounding as GR04 even though it lacks a single big wow factor. Soundstage is decent as well, just nothing special to write home about. Like GR99, the versatility of the sound and lack of any particular weakness are GR02 Bass Edition’s greatest strength.
Pro: Price. Accessories.
Con: None.
Warm+Sweet 30. VSONIC GR99 (
link)
In comparison to R02 Pro II, the new GR99 is almost just as good – less warm and tighter in bass, more balance in overall presentation and better extended in treble. In short, it has a good portion of everything but not excessive in any. It still has the VSONIC’s warm and sweet house-sound, just less colored while still maintains a smooth and easy-going nature. Soundstage is quite decent, neither particular wide nor feel the lack of. Less fun sounding than R02 Pro II while technically more accurate, the great strength of GR99 is perhaps its lack of real weakness. For under $30 and a performance that ties R02 Pro II and DUNU Trident, you can hardly ask for more.
Pro: Price. Accessories.
Con: Microphonics.