..after letting these little guys 'cook' for about 50 hours..
This is my first Vsonic earphone and I am impressed with the construction, packaging, and price. The phones appear to be excellent quality, good strain relief, cable with an L-plug, a decent storage bag, and I think 100 tips. I have paid much more for earphones that arrived in a Ziplock snack baggie with 4 tips. While generous, I am not a fan of any of the single flange tips supplied. I affixed a set of MEElec "balanced" bi-flanges that offer superior comfort and seal (thanks, |joker|).
My impression of these phones is mixed. First, tracks that are bass neutral, or even bass deficient.. The top end and mids have excellent presence. The mids are not forward, being quite neutral and surprisingly accurate for such a 'low cost' device. The highs/mids rival my reference IEM (RE-ZERO) and can render a true 3D experience with some recordings...very impressive. This earphone has the most 'energy' and 'fun' of any I have owned, and is unbelievably efficient.. you can literally blow your brains out without external amplification. The soundstage and accuracy will stay coherent up to and beyond the pain threshold (in case you were wondering).
As Magicman stated earlier in this post, some phones will make you tap your feet, while this earphone is so much fun it can quickly have you doing air-guitar [Jim Beam and I performed an incredible, impromptu concert last week with this earphone which the dogs seemed to enjoy]. The bass is strong and impactful with these types of tracks, and is a fatigue free, enjoyable experience. Bass and kettle drums will make you smile.. the attack and timbre are correct with the appropriate punch.
Second, bass enhanced recordings (recorded bass-heavy) is a mixed bag.... listening to Mannheim Steamroller "Fresh Aire" tracks is a treat. These phones will accurately go deep. It feels like a quality sub-woofer has been lodged in the hypothalamus. Even in a subsonic condition, the low-end never spills over to veil or distort the mids and highs, which I find remarkable for a single driver, dynamic device. However, midbass-centric recordings (but not in the sub-sonic range) can be unpleasant...like being in a small bathroom listening to a cheap 8" woofer mounted in a cardboard box. While the highs/mids always stay controlled, the mid-low end can get congested and muddy...but this is very recording dependent. In general, I do not 'equalize', as this is against my religious beliefs.
Overall this is an impressive earphone, and performs way beyond its price point. This model is fun and efficient, but some care (e.g. equalization..ugh!) with some recordings would be required to tame the low end.
*EDIT*
My impressions above were done with an HM-601 driving. I have since tried these with an ipod nano. Ok..now I get it...big difference. The ipod has less psi in the hose, and the balance is much better. I must say these are perfect for an ipod. Everything is pulled back just a bit and it works nicely. These will be my defacto phones for the nano... they are paired very well.
Edited by VolumusMaximus - 10/13/12 at 4:24am
