Disclaimer: These earphones were purchased at €275 right here on head-fi from another user. Although they are discontinued now, the MSRP for these was $650 so early adopters of these, or those who purchased close to MSRP might have harsher opinions than I do. Please understand that if I had purchased these closer to MSRP, I would probably deduct a star from the score. DACs used (by order of preference): SMSL iDea, Apple Dongle, Audio GD NFB-12 (only tested once) Sources: Pixel 6, Custom Gaming PC connected to a USB Dac with a mix of music from...

This is going to be a different type of review, one where I mostly focus on the functionality of these IEMs and what I think about them. The Good Sound Quality There are no shortage of opinions on how the WF-1000XM3 but if you're only interested in how they sound, here's what I think: they have a fun warm tuning that will be appealing to most people, unless you are seeking for something with a more neutral response. They have good tonality and timbre and I'd argue that, in that aspect, they are slightly better than my Galaxy Buds+, which can...

2024 Update It's been quite a few years since I wrote these reviews and my general impressions on some of the products I reviewed have changed drastically, as has the budget IEM market since this was written. Please keep that in mind as you read the following paragraphs. I update the rating of the IEMs because I feel that nowadays these are completely obsolete both in terms of sound and build quality. Introduction Tennmak is one of the better known Chi-fi brands here on head-fi and they have a few models that have a rather vocal following like the...

I try not to be an extremist and I try to give most products I review a decent amount of hearing before making any judgments on their quality but when a product reaches with a level of quality I feel very motivated to notify others as soon as possible so that they may avoid what I would consider to be a terrible purchase.   This earphone, as far as I can tell, was bundled with a bunch of other Sony hardware and I had heard and read good reviews about some of Sony's bundled earphones for their great quality. This specific model wasn't one of the...

Just like my previous review, I will continue to iterate the format and thrive to more accurately describe the sound and listening experience and once again I will be using Spotify links to reference to the tracks I'm testing because that is the most efficient way I'm aware of to allow users of various countries to test the songs and compare their experience in a relatively easy and legal manner.   Perspective   Before starting the review I'd like to just make a short intro about myself. I am a budget-oriented audiophile and have appreciated and...

This is my fourth review here on head-fi and unlike my previous reviews I've decided to put a lot more effort into this one, which may sound odd considering that these are the cheapest headphones I currently own but I found that my previous reviews hardly gave any information that I'd consider useful to other head-fiers or just any consumers. With that said, during this review I plan to test songs that most community members be able to access more easily in order to gauge my opinions.   What this means in practical terms is that I won't be testing...

Edit: See the last paragraphs for updated impressions regarding build quality   When I unpackaged these headphones today I was expecting find a nice closed-headphone alternative for my Grado SR125i, but I got more than I bargained for.   From percussions, to strings to vocals, it seems that almost every single music track I listen to has a new breath of life. This is similar to the experience I felt when I bought my first Sennheiser earbuds, back when I had a Minidisk, and is something I haven't felt for years. Rather than feeling like I got a...

I bought these headphones as a replacement for my (still working) PortaPro, because I needed a nice portable headphone that folded into a neat flat shape. After a bit of reading, I decided to pickup these headphones, and while I wasn't expecting much from them in terms of sound quality, there were other aspects of this headphone that made it worth the purchase for me.   I cannot overstate how much I love the portability aspect of the AKG K450. When moving around, I'm usually carrying with me a Knomo sleeve bag made for the 13" Macbook Air, and with...

I picked these up when I was living in Belgium when I was looking for a cheap and durable portable headphone, that wasn't in-ear, and I was certainly not disappointed.   These headphones have almost the same level of clarity as my Grado SR125i but have a considerably more pronounced bass and are, quite simply, a lot of fun to listen to.   The form factor is quite interesting, because rather folding as most portable headphones, the PortaPro bend into a circular shape, around the size of a tennis ball, which makes them a bit inconvenient to...