HiSoundAudio Wooduo 2

INTRO:-



With the HA2 I received another earphone, HA2 has a BA, this one has a Dynamic driver and is nowhere close to HA2 when it comes to Sound signature.

Before everything let me make it clear that Wooduo 2 is not a new earphone by an means, its been in the market for a long time and has pleased toughest of reviewers with its bass prowess and all-round ability. For some, it doesn’t have a MIC version sadly.

Wooduo 2 is a bass monster in short. Bass head's delight and is a must have for a bass head.

This earphone comes in red only sadly, if you don’t like red.. tough luck. Priced $99 it's not exactly expensive but let's see how it stacks up against newer earphones like Rockjaw Alfa genus, IM-70 and Shozy Zero.

I will call it duo 2 onwards.

You can get one for yourself from these sites :-
http://www.ebay.com/itm/380545230996?rmvSB=true
http://penonaudio.com/Hisoundaudio-WOODUO-2
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hisoundaudio-WOODUO-2-HW2-IEMs-Audiophile-HiFi-Grade-In-ear-Earphones/32597200663.html

Before we start I would like to thank Jack Fu and Hisoundaudio for this sample unit.

ACCESSORIES ERGONOMICS AND MISCELLANEOUS:-






Duo 2 comes with plenty of accessories which includes 3 pairs of single flange rubber tips, 3 pairs of bi flange tips, a pair of triple flange tips, a cable clip and a hard sided carry case. It feels complete but a pair of foam tips could have made this an awesome package, still, its plenty. Now the earphone lacks cable slider, not a big deal though.

Duo 2 has wooden back and metal nozzle, it looks awesome and feels strong too, Y splitter and 3.5 mm jack are if minimal size. The flat cable is strong but its bouncy and induces Microphonics which is bothering at times. There are stress relievers at the earphone end but no stress relievers at the 3.5 mm jack or y splitter. the only air vent is placed at the bottom of the driver dome.

Ergonomically, being a straight barrel, it's nothing much you can ask for.

Isolation too is really nice with silicone tips.

SOUND QUALITY:-

Now first thing first, Duo 2 is seriously bass, one of the best bassy earphone I have ever came across. It has a warm and neutral signature.

Just to clear the air, I have burned these for more than 100 hrs and I am using single flange tips and after market foam tips for this review as the single flange tips tend to fall off my ears.
WooDuo 2 doesn’t need any type of amping to sound at its best.

Bass:-

As I said earlier Duo 2 is bass heavy, takes the center stage of the whole signature, it has oozing amount of bass with awesome body to it., goes as deep as things can get, there is plenty of rumble with awesome amount of air and the impact is excellent, it’s a word I rarely use but the thing is that this impact donest bring any mid bass with it and doesn’t lack in depth. Its just pure amount of sub bass and some lower mid bass. Even the most demanding bass lover will find this earphone satisfying.

IM-70 or even the hisound crystals are not bass lite but they bow out to Wooduo's visceral bass. It's just beautiful and awesome. Nothing like anything that I has experienced. most of the time earphones with heavy bass tend to bring mid bass with them but this doesn’t. It's just clean and thumping amount of bass. You are not going to miss even a single lower end note, it's just won't miss any and is awesomely detailed too.

Being one of the bassiest earphone in the market, its surprisingly controlled and clean when compared to Alfa genus or AD2 or even IM-70. Yes it lacks the decay of a BA or say Re-400 but it's better than many in this price.

Each and every music lover will enjoy this piece of beauty.

Mid range:-

When we talk about bassy earphones, we come up with a thought that they might have some problems with mid range, it will be either drowned or it will be lacking details but this is not the case here. Its not as V shaped as one would expect it to be. It is more up with the spectrum than most bassy earphones and thanks to the controlled mid bass, its sounds cleaner. Over all clarity is very good and has good amount of details too.

Vocals on this earphone is really nice, sounds organic and lively with plenty of substance and texture.

You cannot expect exceptional refinement with this much of bass, but duo 2 handles complex tracks well for an earphone with the sound signature.

Let it be imaging, layering, presentation, separation or instrument placing, everything is good, just not as good as something like Re-400. Its sonic abilities too are really close to RE4-00.

Sound stage is big for a small dynamic earphone, it's one of the biggest I have come across. It does lacks some height but makes up with awesome width and depth.

All in all, you will enjoy these mids.

Highs:-

Highs on Duo2 is slightly more emphasized than mids which makes these sound more detailed, unlike other bass heavy earphone, has good amount of spark. It has nice bite and sharpness, its more like crispy and slightly edgy.

Has some spikes but not big enough to induce sibilance, extension too is good.

Compliments the whole signature nicely.

Comparison:-

Vs Shozy Zero:- Duo 2 has more more bass, more impact and rumble and better top end extension with spark, has slightly better body and organic sound. Has bigger stage too.
Zero has better balance and sounds more detailed with better transparency.

VS RE-400:- Duo 2 has huge bass in comparison, everything about its bass is more more than RE-400. Doesn’t have graininess in the mids, has slightly more spark up top.
RE-400 has serious amount of balance, details and clarity, has Super fast decay and sonically its exceptional. Has better top end extension, and doesn’t sound edgy.

VS Alfa Genus:- Duo 2 has more bass, similar sub bass, doesn’t have mid bass hump, mids are more meaty, slightly better details, better top end extension and clarity.
Alfa has better cable, less microphonics and has an optional MIC version.

Conclusion:-
Wooduo 2 is a bass heads dream come true. It can take any type of music and make it enjoyable. I love this earphone, my only problem with this is that it has some microphonics, which is bothering a bit.
All I have to say is that, if you love bass, You got to have this.
Cheers guys!! Enjoy.

Credit goes to: MR. DSD
picture c/o: MR. DSD








The Hisound HA2 & Wooduo HW2

Things at my disposal:
Creative Soundblaster ZXR (dedicated PC sound card / DAC)
Roland SRA-5050 (Professional Grade Integrated Amplifier)
Lake People Phone Amp G109-A, 30th Anniv. Edition (Dedicated Heaphone Amp)
Audioquest - Golden Gate Mini-to-RCA (0.6m)
Sansa Fuze (Portable DAP)
Dita 3.5mm jack to 6.3mm jack adapter (accessory included by DITA)
Foobar2000 (Dedicated Music App)
New SpeakerHeadphone Burn In Track. Pink Noise, Brown Noise and White Noise. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3CiZxstvEA

Keeping in mind that the iem's are special in their own terms and make, each came fresh thus needing some stretching in order to be appreciated. The HA2, which boasts its second generation Balance Armature and the Wooduo HW2 has a strong Dynamic Driver built in. Before one can realize the full potential of both the iem's, I have dedicated a conservative 4 hours "burn in" time. I have also painstakingly chose the right ear tips to match the opening without flooding the other audible frequencies, at least on what I can sense and perceive.

The Roland SRA-5050 gave a hell of a workout to both of the iem's. The integrated amp receives its unbalanced audio output from the RCA of my soundcard. I have laid in a pair of QED Reference Audio 40 as my interconnects. I set the volume pot at 12 o'clock, 50% volume on the Creative Soundblaster ZXR and let Foobar2000 make a lot of noise while playing "New SpeakerHeadphone Burn In Track. Pink Noise, Brown Noise and White Noise" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3CiZxstvEA). Expect it to be annoying, just them leave isolated for a while.

I used a pair of silicon tips for the HA2, and a matching couple of foam tips for the Wooduo HW2, kindly refer to the pictures provided.

As I said earlier, the diameter of the canal should not be mired by opening of the ear tips. I believe that the sound resonating from the drivers should flow in liberty. It would beat the purpose of and the design of each of the iem's if I would be hearing from the funnel like response at the other end of the tip. In short, I want to lessen any elements for me to take benefit from the experience.



Both iem's are POWER HUNGRY! I adamantly believe that both iem's were built to synergize with the Hisoundaudio Studio S6. I was lucky enough to have a Lake People Phone Amp G109-A, 30th Anniv. Edition, which is known for its neutrality, by simply not adding coloration to your listening pleasure. The headphone amp can drive a majority of professional grade cans. The Amp produces an impressive transparency and the frequency range is believable. As I a plug in the iem's alternately, I've notice that the right headphone-in is suitable than that of the left. I am not quite sure why, however I found the right hole to be less "agressive" and is less piercing to the ear drums. I love it when everything is silent, meaning no hisses when my Sansa Fuze is playing no songs. Plus, Lake People Phone Amp G109-A is made in Germany.

After a conservative 4 hrs., the stiff HA2 is now agreeable. The HA2 having BA driver(s) is expected to be fast and timely. It offers considerable amount of transparency, picks up minute details and the rhythm of the majority of the music, regardless of the genre, I throw in it. It is clean sounding without sacrificing the mids. I prefer the term "crisp" to politely describe the totality of its tone. I found myself turning the pot to nearly to 12 o'clock, it is the same degree when I listening to my full size can mid-fi Grado PS500. You can check the specification below.



Do not expect to dig deep on the lower frequencies. It may tap or stump (lightly) and expect nothing lower. People who are into acoustic will love these micro speakers. Any decay or reverberation will depend on your preferred AMPs and DACs, however I am pretty confident that the energetic and lively presentation won't disappoint. Depending on how a song was Mastered, the HA2 might sound sibilant at some point. Rock Music such as the Queen's "Princes of the Universe" sound sharp on the parts of the Electric Guitar. But hey, I can distinguish the separation of instruments the band is playing. It is satisfying. Nothing is there to hide, again, separation is good close to excellent, not quite though. If it is not for the packaging, I'll be fooled what I am listening into is a BA driven iem. Most BA iem's I have auditioned lacks that "natural" tone. The HA2 does not masked nor compensate for the bad recording of your music, it is honest, oftentimes. It neither sound clinical nor bland, it gives this impression for me to be excited, yes, that builds up as the music plays by. Bass, where is the bass? It is there, again it is light, I don't yearn to hear more. It is rather substantially there.

For atleast $99.00, it is basically made out of plastic. I am not sure how durable the wires are or how they are made for the unit to last long. Nothing too fancy, I guess. However, BA drivers are cost more to produce than the dynamic counterpart. Perhaps, the cost of making the second gen. may justify the price. Or the R&D Hisound has invested. Unless the Hisound openly brings out what makes it extra special, I'll just keep on guessing. I learned a lot by not judging a book by its cover.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Wooduo HW2 is a Bass prodigy. It has its own set of skills that a number connoisseur would find irresistible. As I mentioned above, the iem was also given same treatment as the HA2. My first impression, before the minimal 4 hr. "burn in", of the iem was piercing in some Audiophile Voices tracks and the bass tends to be out of control. The bass was heavily bloated and somewhat hard to distinguished the "layers" of the lower spectrum of the frequency.





The Wooduo HW2 having dynamic drivers is expected to have a mid to low range impact. What makes the HW2 bashing on the lower spectrum, of what is considered audible, is its wooden body construction analogous to great vintage speakers. Popular iem's with similar, at least basing on what I have personally auditioned, like Japanese JVC fx700 and fx850 are of parallel sound signature. They are sibilant to my ears and can satisfy one's craving for impactful layered bass, not to mention pleasurable dynamics. Okay, how can I compare the $200 to $300 + iem's to the Chinese counterpart? At a measly $65, the wooden construction, flat red chords (eyecatching), a hard shell case, a "cablemanger" and pairs of ear tips are enough for the price to material ratio. Soundwise, the JVC's has more texture and authority for your music and are more energetic. The JVC's present a better sense of soundstage than the Wooduo. The HW2 is smaller in size, BUT, one won't expect a "BIG" sound for its size. To achieve that sound, I prefer the foam tips as the perfect match for the Wooduo's potential to shine. The iem is neither a detail freak, nor some diva vocalist. It is intended to be fun, non - fatiguing, and therefore fit for long hours of listening. The Bass prodigy digs deep but not tight. I care less of what certain frequency is in favor of because I lack tools and expertise to present an empirical data. I just trust my ears and my emotions I attached to familiar music pieces I often thirst for a deep bass. Subjective, I am.

Jazz enthusiast who are yearning to hear jazz string percussions won't run short of. It is not the most accurate, however it is utterly satisfying. Bass is plenty, and heck after that 4 hour burn in, quantity shifts to quality. The bass prodigy is learning additional "skills" and its "talent" refined to "a certain extent." Highs are smoother and I am still hoping it be velvety as I use it over time. To the less challenged when it comes to bass, this iem is definitely for you! I found myself turning the volume knob to 10 o'clock to push the Wooduo HW2 to sing. Deep Bass is pumping and rolling in the track like "Satisfaction", the dynamics is so awesome. I won't say that the bass is ear shattering, don't mind it. You just feel it whenever it is present. You tap with mid-bass to the point that one internalizes the subtle sub frequencies. I like it. I am not a Basshead to start with. Sheesh!




I therefore conclude that Hisound is doing its best to cater audiophiles by not being too fancy. HA2 & Wooduo HW2 are siblings positioned on the opposite ends of the pole. Both have their followers that would satisfy on what they intended to, considering the vast genres available from your music source. However, one must not forget that Hisound has a Digital Audio Player and is bound to synergize with both the iem's in order for them to show their full potential. I am lucky enough to have an Amp, which I believe to have a sound signature close to the S6. Lake People G109-A is neutral and frequency range is fantastic. This the closest I can get to the Hisound S6 though the Studio - V is what I can resource from the back of my mind. Lastly, Hisound made it simple and direct for audiophiles to appreciate. I would recommend both the iem's for starters and for those who needs a breather from their proud and luxurious toys. Thank you.

Removed.