Alright... So, before I begin with the actual review, there were two earphones that I had the opportunity to listen to. The cord of the first one was rather delicate, got pinched near the jack and got a loose connection. The second one seems a bit sturdier. And now off to the review.
I became an instant fan of Mi IEMs since I bought the Piston 2.0 after seeing it in the WS section of @|joker|'s list (So, many thanks for that man). When the Piston 3.0 came out, I opted to buy it at a higher price (import) cuz I was too eager to wait for it to launch in India and it was still worth it. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait much for the Hybrids and bought it right off the official site.
Unboxing: As usual, I don't have the pics, sorry. Packaging for the Hybrids was a bit disappointing considering the cool, minimalistic box and silicone padding the last two versions came in. This one came in a cardboard box. Plain white, with the Mi logo in the front bottom-center, along with what felt like some kind of gelatin revealing the CD pattern of the IEMs and the remote. Details are listed in tiny gray Chinese characters on the back, with the 1MORE DESIGN logo on the bottom right. The seal for the box is like a paper version of gum wrappers. Catch hold of the strip and pull to tear open. A sub-compartment holding the IEMs slides out. The cord is folded and constricted with translucent/foggy tape. Another compartment in the box contains tips for smaller and larger size.
Built: The Mi In-Ear Headphones Pro carry the same characteristic CD pattern on the back. This time, (like the Pistons 2.0) the housing is metal again, but much lighter than the Pistons 2.0. The rest of the housing is smooth. The nozzle side is plastic. The metal housing has "HD audio" printed on its rim and shows a pretty big, capsule shaped rear vent. The plastic, nozzle side has the R/L inscribed to distinguish the direction and a tiny front vent. The nozzles are smaller than both, the Pistons 2.0 and 3.0. The mesh is pretty much the same albeit smaller. The 3 button controller on the right-side earphone cord carries the same CD-pattern. The middle and volume-down buttons have a notch on the top edge solving the button distinction problem plaguing the previous Piston 3.0. The left and right cords unite at a rubber-like piece with the company logo and continue as a single braided wire ending in a gold-plated 3.5mm jack with a metal shell with the same CD-pattern. No QR-coded plastic tab on the braided cord this time. The first pair that I bought had a much thinner cord, which was easily damaged. The replacement seems significantly stronger.
Comfort & Isolation: The nozzles are angled for an ergonomic design. The plastic that connects the metal housing to the cord can sometimes get in the way of a perfect fit. But overall the IEMs are very comfortable. Noise conducted by movement of the cord is a bit lesser than Piston 3.0, but still quite significant. IMO the Pistons 2.0 had the least knocking among the three (probably because of the rubber/silicon shield?). Isolation is quite low but that was expected as soon as I saw the size of the rear vent in the online pics. Not a deal breaker for me, personally.
Service: For any accessory servicing, you need all the components of the product (box, invoice, tips, etc.). If you have these, replacement is a breeze. They gave a free replacement date of about a month but they take barely a week or so (free only if submitted within the 6-month warranty period).
SQ:
Note: All observations done on Feel the Wind (JetEffect EQ) which is the default EQ on my Cowon i10. Tracks ranged from Aryeh Frankfurter (Celtic Harp), Yiruma - A river Flows in You, Afghan Jalebi (I know, I know...) and Ace of Spades and such.
Okay, so right off the bat, I am a big fan of wide soundstage and V-sig. Secondly, I have now realized Xiaomi has a piece to piece variation. I suspected this when I gave a listen to my friend's Pistons 2.0 and compared them with mine (both burned-in for a month with similar tracks). So, I'll list the common characteristics first and then the differences.
The first few minutes of listening to the Hybrids, it had significantly brighter (almost metallic) mids and highs compared to the Pistons 3.0. Still a very characteristic V-sig and a slightly wider soundstage. The trouble with most wide soundstage gear is the fading trebles and mids due to the more forward bass. However, in the Hybrids these are more forward (probably due to the balanced armature?). So that solves the problem for me. It sounded like a Piston 3.0 on adrenaline. The sound is definitely better resolved than in the Pistons 3.0. So what's the variation between different pieces?
Well, the first one that I got had a treble that almost hurt since I wasn't used to it. But, I quickly adapted and grew to like them better than my Pistons 3.0 because the bass sounded exactly like the Pistons 3.0 but the mids and highs were brighter and had a higher level of detail and clarity. When used with a Cowon iAudio 10, I had to barely up the volume to 25 for my desired level (with the Pistons it used to be around 32 (max volume is 40)
.
The replacement doesn't sound as bright (still brighter than the Pistons 3.0), the bass isn't as tight and is borderline muddy compared to my ex-Hybrids (Piston 3.0 bass is beginning to sound better). Clarity is significantly lower and I need a lot more power to drive these. Almost as much as the Piston 3.0, if not more. Honestly, I'm quite disappointed
. I probably wouldn't have figured out the difference and would've liked these just as much as the Piston 3.0 if I didn't have had a chance to listen to the previous Hybrids but this variation sucks even though at this price, another hybrid from any other company is but a dream. Huge price to pay for a stronger cord...
Update: Okay, so I was really bummed out by the new hybrids. Until I dug out a pair of old relics... My Brainwavz M1 foam tips!!!! Anyways, I wasn't hoping for much of a difference and boy was I surprised! The bass bleed has significantly reduced and is now a whole lot tighter. In fact, I was astonished to find that there was almost no flutter in lows even in Power (Kanye West); a test in which even the Piston 3.0 failed. The tips are a bit loose so I looped a rubber band on each nozzle and voila! It passed, what I like to call the
FYECASU test or
Force Your Eyes Closed And Shut Up test too
. It sounds like a completely different IEM. I don't think I'll be buying anything else anytime soon... So a tip for any Mi hybrid buyers out there (pun kinda intended), buy Comply or any other foam tips. They probably will cost you almost as much as the IEMs but it'll be worth it. I think I'm forgetting to add something, but I'm too lost in the new sound to care... Oh right... The clarity has increased. I guess it just needed to flex its muscles a bit. Trebles have become brighter; borderline harsh though.
<Update end>
Anyways, that concludes my review. Please feel free to leave your comments/suggestions below. Thanks!
