So I saw these for 15 bucks at Winners and I said why not pick these up as it's from a well-known brand and I've heard many things about them, and so I did....... but after a quick 10 minute listening session on the bus I regretted my decision.
Build Quality:
As you would expect with an all-plastic build, they feel very cheap and the design is unappealing in my opinion. Although despite feeling cheaply made the build seems fairly robust and the 90° angled plug looks pretty sturdy.
Isolation:
They are not good noise isolating IEMs that's for sure, but maybe some foam tips would help.
Sound Quality:
I bought these mainly because they advertised it as "Extreme Bass", and being a basshead I thought it would satisfy me, however they aren't nearly as bassy as my $5 Plextone 41M CIEMs which let me down a little. Also note that the bass doesn't bleed into the mids, which I guess is a good thing. Overall bass is very powerful and should impress most people, but what won't impress people is the DREADED peaks in the lowers highs (approx 3-4Khz) that makes everything I listen to sound extremely shrill and harsh as if someone's screaming in your ear. It's the same kind of shrill I've experienced with on the Rock Zircons, but far more worse. On a brighter note the soundstage and imaging are okay and decent, but doesn't do justice towards its bad sound signature.
Verdict:
After spoiling myself with some Chi-fi IEMs, I can say that this is definitely NOT worth your money, and that's mainly due to the harsh peaks in the lower treble which ruins the entire bass-orientated sound signature. Build quality and comfort is also nothing to write home about. I think if you just spend a little more money you can find an even better sounding pair of IEMs. Or just don't spend more and buy a stellar sounding Chi-fi IEM instead for the same price or lower (eg. KZ ED9). Seriously, these garbage mainstream IEMs are just further increasing my admiration to my CIEMs.
TLDR:
Cheap plastic build + unappealing design + awful sound quality = garbage
P.S. After reading some "good" reviews on this, I can say that the average person who hasn't really invested their money in earphones and doesn't really care about great sound quality won't mind the harshness in the sound. I mean, for example if we're talking about a little kid who received these as their first earphones, then obviously they're gonna think it sounds normal because they have nothing else to compare it to. But I mean, these kinds of cases are rare and I think my review should do some justice on people who are more critical about how their music sounds (aka audiophiles and music enthusiasts) which takes years of audio listening experience to craft out.
P.P.S Argh what am I saying, it doesn't take anyone to NOT notice the harshness in the treble as it's just way too obvious, they simply just don't care I guess. Better than their earbuds that come with their phone I would assume.
Build Quality:
As you would expect with an all-plastic build, they feel very cheap and the design is unappealing in my opinion. Although despite feeling cheaply made the build seems fairly robust and the 90° angled plug looks pretty sturdy.
Isolation:
They are not good noise isolating IEMs that's for sure, but maybe some foam tips would help.
Sound Quality:
I bought these mainly because they advertised it as "Extreme Bass", and being a basshead I thought it would satisfy me, however they aren't nearly as bassy as my $5 Plextone 41M CIEMs which let me down a little. Also note that the bass doesn't bleed into the mids, which I guess is a good thing. Overall bass is very powerful and should impress most people, but what won't impress people is the DREADED peaks in the lowers highs (approx 3-4Khz) that makes everything I listen to sound extremely shrill and harsh as if someone's screaming in your ear. It's the same kind of shrill I've experienced with on the Rock Zircons, but far more worse. On a brighter note the soundstage and imaging are okay and decent, but doesn't do justice towards its bad sound signature.
Verdict:
After spoiling myself with some Chi-fi IEMs, I can say that this is definitely NOT worth your money, and that's mainly due to the harsh peaks in the lower treble which ruins the entire bass-orientated sound signature. Build quality and comfort is also nothing to write home about. I think if you just spend a little more money you can find an even better sounding pair of IEMs. Or just don't spend more and buy a stellar sounding Chi-fi IEM instead for the same price or lower (eg. KZ ED9). Seriously, these garbage mainstream IEMs are just further increasing my admiration to my CIEMs.
TLDR:
Cheap plastic build + unappealing design + awful sound quality = garbage
P.S. After reading some "good" reviews on this, I can say that the average person who hasn't really invested their money in earphones and doesn't really care about great sound quality won't mind the harshness in the sound. I mean, for example if we're talking about a little kid who received these as their first earphones, then obviously they're gonna think it sounds normal because they have nothing else to compare it to. But I mean, these kinds of cases are rare and I think my review should do some justice on people who are more critical about how their music sounds (aka audiophiles and music enthusiasts) which takes years of audio listening experience to craft out.
P.P.S Argh what am I saying, it doesn't take anyone to NOT notice the harshness in the treble as it's just way too obvious, they simply just don't care I guess. Better than their earbuds that come with their phone I would assume.
They are warmer, bassier (more deep bass than mid-bass boom) headphones, but they do a great job at $20 or less of giving a full non-grainy sound in that style. Their only flaw is their design, they made them pointy and it may stab some people's ears. It didn't bother mine but I can see why it might bother some.
In the world of headphones, newer isn't always better. But I found with earphones, it usually is. Because they are constantly improving on what is still relatively new technology. Pushing the most out of it. The headphones you reviewed were from 2012.
I personally also have an 8320 and I enjoy it although I never found it to be, too bassy. But nice sounding all the same for the price.