Introduction
I would like to start the review by saying thanks to the Padear PR team because they reached out to me in order to do this review.
This review is of the Padear Bullet, a budget IEM that possesses metal housings and a sturdy build in a really affordable packaging. This is the first IEM of the brand, which means expectations are surely high. The IEM is suitable for both androids and iphones due to a clever switch that grants compatibility between both.
Video Review
Technical Data
Padear Bullet
Impedance 32 Ohm
Cable Length 1.3 m
Sensitivity 105dB
Accessories S/M/L eartips, Carrying Pouch (made of leather)
Frequency Range 15 - 20000 Hz
Packaging
The packaging is quite simple. We have a cardboard box which reveals a QR code to the padear website. Inside we find the Bullet in-ear monitor alongside the provided eartips and carrying leather pouch. On the back of the cardboard case we find the usual specifications of the IEM. All in all, for under 10$, this is quite a good packaging.
Accessories
Like said before, the accessories are little but useful. The leather pouch is made of a thick letter and displays just a tiny bit of padear branding on the lower right part. The eartips are alright, but a set of Hybrid or Hybrid clones will do wonders for a better fit.
Build Quality
If there is one thing that deserves recognition in the Padear Bullets is the build quality. The IEM housing is made out of a nice metal which gives them an excellent weight, making you think these are quality, just by holding them. Once you go onto the stress relief, you will surely be asking yourself where are the left right indicators but I’ll save you the search: there aren’t any! It is a minor gripe, but I’d hope they would’ve included just a tiny dot that would let the user determine which side is which.
As you go down the cable you feel the good quality cable with a rubbery feel to it, which, at the Y-split, goes into a controller where you can control your volume and choose the Bullets’ compatibility mode, either Normal(for Androids) or Iphone. This is so you can use the answer call button on the back side of the controller alongside the microphone. Now you go down the cable until you find the 3.5mm 4 connector jack that is gold plated in order to last longer.
All in all, this is a nice IEM that you would think, based on build quality alone would cost at least 30$ in a normal retail store.
Comfort/Isolation
One would think that the Padear Bullet being made out of metal would make for an uncomfortable IEM, which totally isn’t the case. These IEM excel with a shallow insertion because every time you try to insert them deeper you are greeted by some driver flex which, while it isn’t extreme, I’d rather avoid. After this shallow insertion they stay pretty nice on your ear, even while wearing the cable down. Obviously with over ear use they stay in even better with reduced microphonics.
Talking about isolation, the shallow insertion doesn’t make these the most isolating pair of IEM, but with some music on at a moderate volume you will be able to attenuate most outside noise, and having them without music attenuates the outside noise by about 70%.
Sound
Source – BQ Aquaris X5 , HifymeDIY Sabre DAC
Files Used – 256 to 320 kbps and FLAC
The burn in was definitively needed with these, since they opened up after about 50 hours of reproduction.
An amp doesn’t make that much of a difference with the Padear Bullet which is absolutely normal because these are meant to be an IEM for mobile use, specially with smartphones, therefore they must be efficient.
The sound signature of these headphones is a moderate bass and mid emphasis with a attenuation on the treble (which means they aren’t bright).
Starting with the lower end, these are clearly produced towards the common user, therefore we have an emphasis in range of bass which is more clearly perceived to most people, which is the midbass. The extension of the bass is also nice, but the texture isn’t the best, but when you put the price of these IEM into consideration it makes sense that one of the most difficult parts to get right in an IEM isn’t quite on point. I suppose the most important part of their sound is that the mid bass doesn’t bleed into the mids.
The mids are alright once again and are capable to reproduce voices with a nice amount of detail, not being overly warm which lets every kind of voice to shine, even the ones with autotune found in common pop.
The highs are the part that I find lacking on the Padear Bullet because while good, they look some oomph (but since I am a DT990 owner, I might be biased towards brighter headphones). Nevertheless cymbals sound good and every part of the sound spectrum comes together to paint a nice picture.
The soundstage is very 2 dimensional with appropriate width but nothing to write home about.
Conclusion
The Padear Bullet surely are a great buy for anyone mostly for their build quality over their sound quality because, while the sound doesn’t disappoint, they lack any special sound signature. They sound good with everything, the old problem of jack of all trades, master of none. Nevertheless this means they will also appeal to a larger audience, mostly with the fact that they made the Bullet compatible with both Android and Iphone smartphones at the same time. The volume control embedded in the cable feels a bit like a gimmick and I would have liked to see Play/pause and skip buttons instead. But the build quality is certainly the best perk, if you use the included carrying pouch I’m sure they will withstand the abuse of a daily commute and that’s what makes them great: for 10$ you can buy them to give to your kids,wife and pretty much anyone you think needs an upgrade from the usually bad smartphone headphones. Because the Padear Bullet will sound better while lasting longer!
References
Padear Bullet
Price: 10$
Site: You can find them on aliexpress
