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I'd like to welcome the
Dark Horse G400 to the ever growing population of high-end earbuds.
~ All photos taken by me ~
**Disclaimer, I was provided a sample of the G400 from Dark Horse Audio in return for my honest review**
*Earbud Talk*
Earbuds are back in a big way. From the Budget minded VE Monk, to $200-$300 High End Versions like the Celsus Gramo One.
The Dark Horse G400 finds itself in the middle, priced currently at $136.90 (USD). The part that sets the G400 apart from many other earbuds is hidden in its name, it is 400Ω. So obviously it was designed to be pushed and pushed hard.
*Specifications*
- Wear Type: In-ear
- Brand: Dark Horse Audio
- Model: G400
- Impedance: 400Ω
- Drive unit: 15.4mm Dynamic Drive unit
- Speaker Sensitivity: 102dB
- Speaker Frequency Response: 18Hz - 23000Hz
- With Mic and remote : No
- Interface: 3.5mm
- Headphone Plug Type: Through Hole
- Cable Length: 1.2m±5cm
- Material: Ceramics
- Color: White
*Contents*
- G400 Earbud
- Art Woven Storage Box
- Carrying Pouch
- 3 Pairs of Foam Covers
Ok, now this is cool. Check out the interesting and quite fancy Art Woven Storage Box the G400 comes in! Mine actually was the old version and future orders with get an even better updated Box interior. The outside of the box is covered in a soft material that is padded. Feels quite nice in the hand and looks really nice as well.
The Carrying pouch is uniquely embroidered and made from a soft material. While it looks nice, it is not going to do much to protect your $100+ earbuds. SO for me, if they are not stored safely in their box, I will transport them in a small, aftermarket hard case instead.
For this price range, I wish Dark horse would have expanded a bit further than just 3 Full Foam Cover Pairs. For me, I found the best sound to come when using donut/middle hole foams instead.
*Build Design*
Enclosing the drivers are your typical SennheiserMX400/500 mass produced plastic housings. The white, almost coarse color unfortunately does seem to pick up blemishes easier than painted versions of this same design.
The cable, on the other hand is something special and yet I really am not sure what materials it is made out of. All I know, is the cable looks great, feels amazing and is solidly used with the G400. The cable is soft, pliable and shows only a trace of microphonics.
The 3.5mm jack is equal in its quality to match up well with the fancy cable. Strain reliefs seem sufficient for this type of earbud design.
I was able to test the Dark Horse claim of 400Ω with a co-workers multimeter. Results came back a perfectly even [405]. So yes, I can confirm the G400 is built to advertised specifications.
*Sound*
Lows - Within seconds of playing the G400, the darker signature is quite to show itself. Bass itself not extremely powerful, or exaggerated but does play a big part off its over all sound. The Dark Horse earbud seems to grab a lot of the lower frequencies without really controlling them. The bass can be a bit messy at times, though not quite muddy.
Mids - As a mids fanboy, I must say I was slightly disappointed when I heard the G400 only to find there was a bit of recession in the middle. Vocals are laded back with a drop in overall detail. It is because of this, I do not find the G400 to be particularly fun.
Highs - Rolled off quickly, the G400 will never be accused of being harsh or sibilant. Instead there is a more relaxed approach that does help for extended listening. These are by far, quite a non-fatiguing earbud.
Soundstage - Something seems to be holding back the width of the Dark Horse G400. I found the soundstage to be quite narrow compared to most other earbuds. This left for a much more intimate playback.
*Sources*
At 400 ohms, the G400 was purposely designed to be power hungry. Thus, amping it from lesser devices will hurt the overall sound quality at no fault of its own. That said, I still wanted to try a few less powerful sources, along with some much more powerful ones to get an idea of what the G400 could provide.
Samsung S4: When the nice
mailman mail-woman dropped off the G400 to me, I did not have immediate access to my other, better and highend sources. So I plugged them right in my phone for a quick test. Turns out, like Dark Horses warns on their product page:
"The Dark Horse Audio G400 Headset need very good amp+dac
If you only have mobile phone, Recommended to choose another Dark Horse Audio G150 Headset"
Well, they are 100% correct. It just does not pair well at all with the S4 and was never meant to.
FiiO M3: Surprised to find the little DAP actually does an ok job driving the G400. Bass is not bloated, but Mids and Treble still take a back seat. The limited soundstage is narrowed even further. Not the best quality combo with these two, but it works for on the go.
Head Box DS: This is about the best pairing I could find for the Dark Horse G400. As the Head Box DS is a bass reducing, clarity pushing DAC/Amp. It was able to bring on the most of the 400 Ohm earbud. While it could still use a bit more power, the filtered bass helps the G400 to sound more reasonable with less overwhelming bass. Mids are brought out a bit, but are still just a tad recessed. The Head Box DS, did however bring out the biggest soundstage, though it is still small compared to most other earbuds.
JADE Casa DSD System (DAC & Amp Combo): With enough power to easily drive the G400, I found the most true sound to be found here. The JADE Casa DSD combo quickly pushed the Dark Horse Earbud to reveal its true self. This is where the basis for most of my sound signature and sound quality come from. With the JADE DAC/Amp system being the least colored and neutral way to see what the G400 really can do. Unfortunately it seemed to bring out more of what it can not do. On a level playing field the G400 falls flat quite a bit. The bass is ever so bloated and not much fun. The Mids are slightly recessed and not that clear. The highs are rolled of quite early, leaving out a lot of detail.
*Comparison* [Will be updated shortly]
This is where you were supposed to find the section of the MusicMaker Ting vs Dark Horse G400. But unfortunately, this part of the review will have to be delayed, as my Ting packaged has wandered off to a different state, not sure why. I did not want to hold off on this review any longer as I have had it ready for a few days now.
I will update this section if the MusicMaker Ting ever does make it to me.
Missing from this Comparison, the Zen 1.0/2.0. I still have yet to hear these earbuds. [If anyone has either version they could loan to me, I would love to test them out for a few days].
*Overall Thoughts*
Despite of a few sound signature issues, I still like the Dark Horse G400. I like that it stands out among its fellow earbuds with a quite large 400Ω rating. The G400 pushes the boundaries of what we expect out of an earbud and I LOVE that. While it might not have the desired effect of producing a monitor quality sound, it does provide a glimpse into the future of what earbuds are becoming. Earbuds are no longer the cheap add-on they used to be. Not you have people like myself who are quite smitten with them and have a strong desire to use them in may different playback settings.
Highend earbuds are quickly becoming much more common and requested. If you've check the forums lately, you will see that there has been a lot more chatter about this form factor and it is making a huge comeback. If you have not used a pair of earbuds in a while, I implore you to do some research and find a set that will work for you. Then take some time to really see what an earbud can do. I really wish when I joined Head-Fi years ago that I had taken the earbud serous. Though the added time really made me appreciate just what they are all about.
I hope to check out more models of earbuds from Dark Horse and I look forward to seeing what products they produce in the future.
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