To me, there has always been something alluring about the idea of “tribrid” IEMs, the ones that use a combination of three different types of drivers. No, featuring a tribrid design does not guarantee that an IEM would be exceptional. I like to think of a tribrid design as the potential to be exceptional, but whether that potential is realised is another matter entirely. Thus, tribrid IEMs sometimes feel like pricy lottery tickets in the audio world. Previously, Simgot has been able to bring quadbrid design down to the $135 price tag. This time, they...

Can we tune an IEM so that it performs better with FPS games? More importantly, can we do that without compromising its tonal balance and tonality? Apparently, ZiiGaat and Fresh Reviews believe so. Today, let’s have a look at the result of their collaboration - Arete. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around my head, track individual instruments, and hear all of their textures and details. I’m not picky about tonality, as long as it is not make the orchestra, violin, cellos, and pianos sound wrong. I...

I’ve always considered “quadbrid” IEMs - those that combine four types of drivers - to be my personal “holy grail” IEMs. No, I’m not suggesting that an IEM automatically sounds phenomenal just because it has a quadbrid or tribrid configuration. What these IEMs possess is immense potential to be mind-blowing if manufacturers can overcome the seemingly insurmountable challenges of making various types of drivers perform at their full potential while working together cohesively to create a unified sound signature. Due, in part, to the complexity...

It’s easy to be stuck in a rut and feel cynical that nothing ever changes when you see the same old thing over and over again. The hyper-competitive “mid-fi” market of the IEM world can induce this feeling in its followers and fans alike, due to the rapid and frequent releases of mostly good but somewhat homogeneous IEMs. But every once in a while, something comes along to shake things up. Today, we’ll take a look at the Juzear 61T “Butterfly,” one of my recent surprises. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the...

Today, we look Splendor II, a single DD IEM from the Chi-Fi manufacturer Intuaura. It’s a fun one. Let’s talk about it. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around my head, track individual instruments, and hear all of their textures and details. I’m not picky about tonality, as long as it is not make the orchestra, violin, cellos, and pianos sound wrong. I rate IEMs within with a consistent scale from 1 (Poor) to 3 (Good) to 5 (Outstanding). An overall ranking of 3/5 or above is considered positive...

No matter how I look at it, the economy does not look bright when I write this review. This means audiophiles need to tighten their wallets, and manufacturers need to find a way to squeeze through this tightening, generally by releasing more budget-friendly entries. Today, we look at Pilgrim, the latest entry in this incredibly crowded market from the illustrious Eastern boutique Elysian Acoustic Labs. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around my head, track individual instruments, and hear all of their...

If you have ever talked about IEMs with me, you would likely notice two points: (1) I have a soft spot for the IEM manufacturer AFUL, and (2) I constantly refresh the news to wait for the release of the mythical AFUL flagship IEM - Cantor. So, needless to say, I was a bit disappointed when latest release from AFUL was not Cantor, but a 3-driver hybrid IEM named Explorer. Is it a distraction when the Cantor is getting ready for the limelight or another tour de force like the Magic One last year? Let’s read on to find out, my friends. Forewords...

Collaboration Once upon a time, the concept of a collaboration between a manufacturer and a reviewer to build an In-Ear Monitor (IEM) was a rare occurrence and a promising sign of a breakthrough in sonic performance and price-to-value ratio. However, collaborations have become much more common today, which may have diminished their initial excitement. Yet, there is a less common form of collaboration that I find more intriguing: partnerships between manufacturers themselves. Today, we’ll be examining the result of such a collaboration between HiBy...

Let’s cut to the chase. Simgot’s sub-flagship IEM, the EA1000, codename “Fermat”, is a huge surprise for me and has quickly become one of my favorite single dynamic driver (DD) IEMs. How come? Let’s talk about it. (Yes, the IEM is surprised too) Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around my head, track individual instruments, and hear all of their textures and details. I’m not picky about tonality, as long as it is not make the orchestra, violin, cellos, and pianos sound wrong. I rate IEMs within with a...

It is very likely that your experience with this IEM would be very different from mine. The most tricky thing about reading and writing reviews of IEMs is that they are personal audio devices. The “personal” aspect here goes beyond one’s preference for a a particular musical genres, a band, or a singer. No. It’s the shape of one’s ears, the place where they listen to music, the device from which they get the audio signal, and even the loudness at which they listen that paints a very different sonic picture for each listener. That has been the case...

Do MP3 players (sorry, Digital Audio Player - DAP) have a place in 2024? To me, the concept of DAP, especially in an age where smartphones are pervasive, has always been bourgeois and thus boasts a correspondingly high price tag. Nowhere is the poor price/performance ratio of DAP more prominent than in the high-end DAPs with wireless communication capabilities and full Android OS. With the newly released R4, can HiBy change the status quo? Let’s find out. Preambles In this review, I use the term “source” to denote a DAC+amp combo for brevity and...

Have you observed an interesting pattern in the audio hobby world in recent years? Any skilful IEM manufacturer would eventually develop electronics to accompany their IEMs. Moondrop was, perhaps, the pioneer of this trend with MOONRIVER2 and has continued with DSP-enabled products ever since. AFUL created Snowy Night to accompany their Magic One IEM. KiwiEars developed the “gamepad dongle” Allegro. Today, we look at Simgot’s dongle, the DEW4X. Preambles In this review, I use the term “source” to denote a DAC+amp combo for brevity and...

There is an inherent beauty, a classical beauty, in doing things right. To optimise. To be efficient. To get the most out of the least. Classically beautiful. That’s how I think about a new wave of IEM boutiques run by young teams with a strong engineering background and a good taste of aural experiences. A while ago, I have had the pleasure to test and write about Helios from Symphonium, a Singaporean IEM manufacturers whose pride is engineering excellence. In the following months, inspired by my experience with Helios, I added its budget-friendly...

Opinions. All of us in this hobby have them. Some are more popular, some are not. My unpopular opinion is this one: USB DACs (a.k.a., “dongles”) are the least fun gadgets in the audio hobby. They are unwieldy when using on the go. They consume a lot of battery from the source device. They can get quite hot. They tend to be too loud for IEMs. And most of the time, their sound quality is closer to the humble Apple’s USB-C to 3.5mm adapter (“Apple dongle”) than a proper digital audio player. As a result, they are quite difficult to review. Thus dongles...

Today, we a look at Carat, the debut IEM from the sister brand of NiceHck - Jialai. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around me, track individual instruments, and hear all of their textures and details. I’m not picky about tonality, as long as it is not make the orchestra, violin, cellos, and pianos sound wrong. However, when an IEM does tonality especially well, I will mention. I rate IEMs within with a consistent scale from 1 (Poor) to 3 (Good) to 5 (Outstanding). An overall ranking of 3/5 or above...

Today, we talk about Turbo, an IEM with 6 Balanced Armature (BA) drivers and 4 tuning switches from the audio retailer and manufacturer Penon. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around me, track individual instruments, and hear all of their textures and details. I’m not picky about tonality, as long as it does not get in the way of immersion. I rate IEMs within with a consistent scale from 1 (poor) to 3 (Adequate) to 5 (outstanding). Ratings are assigned by A/B tests against benchmark IEMs, regardless...

ZiiGaat is yet another newcomer to the increasingly competitive IEM market. So, who are they? According to their story: ”WHILE THE WORLD ENJOYED HIGH-END AUDIO QUALITY, THERE HAS BEEN A SILENT TEAM BEHIND MANY OF TODAY’S MOST POPULAR AND PRAISED AUDIO DEVICES. ZIIGAAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPING OEM AND ODM PRODUCTS FOR NUMEROUS GLOBAL AUDIO BRANDS FOR OVER A DECADE. … We aim to be more than just an audio brand; we seek to be a tech team that can work closely with the audio community to make better products for all of us. Each ZiiGaat member is passionate...

Planar magnetic drivers in IEMs. The driver configuration that I have been so desperately trying to love, yet I have been left wanting again and again. Can the new entry to the rank of planar magnetic, NiceHck F1 Pro, change this predicament? Let’s find out. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around me, track individual instruments, and hear all of their textures and details. I’m not picky about tonality, as long as it does not get in the way of immersion. I rate IEMs within with a consistent scale from...

Simgot is, without a doubt, one of the success stories in the ultra-competitive budget-friendly side of the IEM market. Thus, there is no better IEM to wrap up the year than a Simgot IEM. Today, we have a look at EM6L, a 5-driver hybrid IEM. Forewords What I look for in an IEM is immersion. I want to feel the orchestra around me, track individual instruments, and hear all of their textures and details. I’m not picky about tonality, as long as it does not get in the way of immersion. I rate IEMs within with a consistent scale from 1 (poor) to 3...

Besides ”audio boutique”, few keywords command as much respect and prestige as “Research and Development” and its closely related cousin, the four-letter abbreviations of cutting edge IEM technologies. But in a market where everyone from mom-and-pop shops to big players claim that they do cutting edge “R&D” in their new IEMs, it’s perhaps necessary to sit back and ask ourselves: what is IEM R&D, really? In this context, let’s talk about AFUL Magic One, a daring release carrying only one Balanced Armature (BA) driver. Forewords What I look for in...