So, Sendiy. Just another new face in the oversaturated playfield that is the China IEM scene: with their arrival in early 2016 come the budget-sensitive Sendiy M2 as their not-so-grand entrance to the cutthroat world of cheap IEM from China, it doesn’t surprise me when Sendiy rushes to introduce its flagship later that year: the sendiy M1221, a full metal hybrid IEM with 1 DD and 1 BA that every one rave about and no one ever buy.
…Well, not until today, when they have raised the price to 200$ and included a much, much fancier packaging, indeed.
Still, let’s take a closer look at the Sendiy M1221 and see for yourself whether or not it is worth buying or it is just another byproducts of the Head fi hype train, ‘kay?
DISCLAIMER: Oi, please take everything I said below with a grain of salt, lads: everyone’s ears, taste and preference are different, and what I said below is what I honestly and subjectively feel about the product. Don’t take it as gospel or anything, okay?
Just FYI, I bought this one 5 months ago with my own money, and I do believe that they have been burned long enough that their sound signature won't change anytime soon and I have been long passed the honey moon period: no new toy bias for me, or so I hope.
Specifications
Drvier 1x Dynamic + 1 BA
Impedance 20 Ω
Cable 1.2 m, 6 core silver plated copper
Sensitivity 110±5dB
Packaging and accessories: For the one with the newer packaging? Nice. Nice as ****. Very v-moda-y, if you know what I mean. Much box. Such fancy. Wow. Yadda-yadda. Back in the day, the unboxing process was pretty simple for us old timer: Open the heavily cushioned postage packaging and try and failing to open the hard case and losing one or two finger tip in the process and…I mean, you get the picture: All we ever got is the hard case. I mean, yeah, it IS a very nice hard case, but…you know, there is nothing to unbox to begin with.
Right out of my head, these are what I remembered packaged inside the hard case:
- A pair of M1221 earphones (Duh)
- 1 detachable silver coated cable with MMCX connectors
- 3 pairs of tuning filters (silver, gray and black in 6mm: the 8mm variations is only available for later edition)
- A pairs of foam tips
- 3 pairs (S, M, L) double flange silicone tips
- 3 pairs (S, M, L) single flange silicone tips
- shirt clip
If you check mine with the later one, you would find mine lacking the longer tuning filters and the semi-hard smaller carrying case, both of which would be very welcomed to have: Still, I do have the longer tuning filters now, thanks to a series of incidents that I will describe later…
Build, comfort and isolation:
Now, controversy about having the same design as the magaosi K1 and the trinity Atlas aside, it is no doubt that the Sendiy M1221 has a pretty good build: constructed from a precision engineered aluminum ergonomic shell that rivals RHA audio in terms of durability and style, its futuristic design features a nano-coated technology to ensure that moisture cannot break into and corrode the internal drivers. Still, while it is rather light, it is by no mean fragile and has indeed survived a lot of close calls that can absolutely break more delicate IEM: dunked into water? No problemo. Dragged through sands? No big deal. Chewed and spit out by a dog? Nah, still work. Get stepped on? Careful, you might hurt your foot there. Aside from being built like a tank, It is also sleek, rounded and without any edge, just like how it sounds. For the cables, they are all well-built: the newer cable, while definitely isn’t worth the 90$ price tag, is a remarkably well-designed and a joy to look at and listen to, having no noticeable microphonic to my ears. Still, while it is quite hard, the venting port near the MMCX connectors can be blocked, and so you should try to not block ‘em by accident.
Still, it isn’t like Sendiy can escape the horrible reputation of China manufacturer and their almost legendary lack of quality control : well-crafted as they might be, there was a problem with my black filters when one of them just slide right off no matter how I try to keep them in place: thankfully, Sendiy was very responsive and helpful to my woe and offered to sent me the new cable along with a new pair of black filter too, which…well, I was rather keen of. Still, unfortunately, my pair developed some kink along the way no thanks to my abusive way of using IEM and the left one got a little bit quieter…So I had to send it back to Sendiy for maintenance, which thankfully was a rather uneventful process. Still, it is good that there is no third party to mess stuff up because there is only 1 channel for buying Sendiy’s products and as long as you are cool with sending your iem back to China for repairing, the gens at Sendiy would probably fix yours up, no question asked, no finger pointed, free of charge, which is much more than expected for a China-based IEM company: Massive prop for the great customer service, Sendiy.
Well, for Isolation, I do think that they are kind of…well, average for IEM this type: depend on the filter and the tips that isolation will change, though, with silver filter offer greater than average isolation while black filter offers the least and the gray filter is something in between. Insertion is on the shallow side of things, and deep insertion can feel a little awkward.
Sound: Indeed, the part everyone is waiting for! ‘Ere we go!
Source used for testing:
Xduuo X3 => Fiio e17K
Zishan z1
Zishan z1 => Fiio e17k
PC => Fiio e17k => O2 amp
Personally, this review is created while I was listening through my Pc with the last setup, and I have found that in general, while phone and such can definitely power the sendiy M1221, you do need a low impedance source for the M1221 to sounds at its best: a wee bit of amping doesn’t hurt, too.
Tuning filters:
There are three filters which are described as thus:
Silver (bass boost): Most isolation, largest amount of bass, smallest soundstage. A tamed L-sound signature to my ears. Not quite basshead material, but close enough.
Gray (reference): Average on all fronts. Classic V shape, a wee bit light on male vocal but still pretty good and realistic. My preference in general.
Black (high boost): Least isolation, almost no bass to speak of, largest soundstage. Offered greatest amount of detail. Airy.
Unlike other experiences with them, I have found the filters having quite a big effect to sound signature in general, and depend on whether or not you fully cover the small hole on the gray and black filters with your tips or not, the sound signature will change even further. As of what I said below, please assume that I am using the gray filters with…well, the monstrosity Frankenstein of a tip that I personally crafted for my ears.
Bass: Thanks to the dynamic driver, the sendiy M1221 can hit hard and hit fast: even with the silver filter on, I never found the bass bleeding into the mid or blending together into a mess of sounds: Subbass is very controlled for this price, and whatever the track ask for, M1221 delivers. Take Savant on Mushrooms by Infected Mushroom for example: the meaty yet delicate sub bass that only deliver upon being asked on is addictive by itself alone. For example of its control ability, just use any of your run of the mill bebop jazz or progressive metal, and I believe that you will be pleasantly surprised.
Mid: Personally, I think the mid on M1221 is..well, rather subdued when you pair it with the supplied, prepackaged tips. Only with this..eh, ‘custom’ tip that I get the mid response that I like: neutral, detailed and NOT thin, with the perky 4k Hertz response tamed. Still, in general, the mid of M1221 has good separation, speed and timbre, with a rather forgiving upper midrange and a more delicate lower mid that can make male’s voice sounds a little thin but still pretty realistic: in short, average for the price, but definitely the weakest link for the M1221. Thankfully, changing tip can turn thing for the better...or for worse. Just don't use spinfit, however, it will make the already thin midrange to sounds even thinner. No good.
Treble: Well extended yet never overbearing, it is rather good for long term listening, if I must say it. Definitely not dull, however, and the timbre is pretty realistic to my ears: not its strongest point there, and like the mid, it is rather average: not the most revealing there is nor the most forgiving one, it is just excitable enough to get the job done, and I like it for that.
General sound comment: Well, I found out the sendiy m1221 is very good at being an all-rounder, having no obvious weak point and 3 pairs of interchangeable filters to switch at will so to suit one genre better: Still, its timbre isn’t perfect, and its soundstage is…well, average. Imaging and resolution is rather good, no doubt thanks to the hybrid design. Still, aside from the well-controlled bass, its treble and mid isn’t anything to write home about, even though they are pretty detailed and coherent: I mean, that is what everyone expected coming from the 200$ price tag, y'know.
Conclusion:
Overall, I’m quiteee impressed with the M1221, especially with the build quality and customer service. I find them to be very enjoyable as a daily-listener, and I think that for the previous price 150$, they were quite a good choice. They won’t be the greatest bang of the buck you can get, that’s for sure, but they would be listenable in pretty much every kind of genre. However, at the current price of $200, they do have some stiff competition (e.g. LZ A4 and Pinnacle P1), and the M1221, sitting in between the LZ A4 and the P1 in sound signature, is not that bad a choice even though they cost 200$ now if what you look for in an IEM is a balanced, non-fatiguing and versatile sound signature and a design comfortable enough for long term listening.
All in all, 4/5. Can be improved, but alas, it is perfect…in its mediocrity.