(total 6 mins read) Introduction I believe a company as big as Dunu needs no introduction whatsoever, especially a name with products that I’ve been writing about lately, so let’s skip this part. To be frank, I haven’t been interested in any earbuds for the past years since I left all my Venture Electronics & other Chifi buds in the drawer waiting for the redemption day that never comes. It could be simply because they’re not giving me the isolation, the proper diffused projection, & the sort of immersive audio reproduction that most current budget...

Tonality: 6.6/9 Technicalities: 6.6/9 Preference: 7/9 Overall: 6.7/9 (A-) (star rating is for the price-to-performance ratio) (total 6 mins read) Intro As we have heard, there’s a new rather good-looking kid on the block making noise and all but mind you, this is not a common kid. First of all, I want to give a warm welcome to AFUL in this never-ending quest for sonic ecstasy. I believe it’s always a good thing to see new competitors in the market every now and then, especially the ones that bring “new tech” or new sound to the table, because most...

Tonality: 5.6/9 Technicalities: 6/9 Preference: 6/9 Overall: 5.8/9 (B-) (star rating is for the price to performance) (total 5 mins read) Intro Recently I’ve been impressed with Vulkan & Talos, especially the latter for its overall sonic performance plus value versus the rest of the market. I have had nothing more than a relatively high expectation for every Dunu product ever since. Although I haven’t had the chance to listen to Dunu’s TOTL stuff like Zen, in my opinion, Dunu is one of the most flavorful Chifi producers who don’t really follow...

Tonality: 6.3/9 Technicalities: 6.3/9 Preference: 7/9 Overall: 6.5/9 (B+) (star rating is for the price to performance) (total 5 mins read) Intro Recently I reviewed Dunu Vulkan and I was quite pleased with its performance the whole time. I think it's healthy to have a variety of tuning choices in the market, especially when a company trying to be different or rather original and somehow succeeds. Today I’m going to share my thoughts on Dunu’s own take on the planar magnetic in-ear monitor as it’s getting crowder if not more competitive in the...

Tonality: 6/9 Technicalities: 6.66/9 Preference: 6/9 Total: 6.2/9 (B) (star rating is for the price to performance) (total 5 mins read) Intro Dunu is one of those matured Chifi companies who have made numerous statements with their releases like Luna & Zen (though I haven’t listened to them) and the ever-popular SA6. I believe they have their own niche in the market and always looking brilliant and metallically-solid with every release even with their entry-level IEM called Titan. I’m not going to pretend that I know Dunu that much, just like most...

Tonality: 6/9 Technicalities: 6.3/9 Preference: 6/9 Total: 6.1/9 (B) (star rating is for the price to performance) (total 5 mins read) Intro LETSHUOER (formerly known as SHUOER) was a Chinese OEM company that joined the community market with the (in)famous “low-voltage electrostatic” Tape/Pro and the tribrid EJ07 IEM. S12 is their attempt at planar magnetic driver after the release of rather hyped 7Hz Timeless. There are rumors regarding S12 being the same driver as the Timeless, though then countered by LETSHUOER, but, I honestly don’t mind...

Tonality: 6/9 Technicalities: 5.6/9 Preference: 6/9 Total score: 5.8/9 (B-) (star rating is for the price to performance) (total 5 mins read) Intro I’ve written a long introduction about Westone in the previous MACH 10 review which you can find it here, so, anything I’m going to say in this review is pretty much a copy-and-paste job. Even so, I think a company as legendary as Westone needs no lengthy introduction. MACH 20 is one of 8 recently-released IEMs of the MACH series starting from MACH 10 that comes with a single balanced armature driver...

Tonality: 5.3/9 Technicalities: 5/9 Preference: 6/9 Total Score: 5.4/9 (C+) (star rating is for the price to performance) (total 6 mins read) Intro I never had a chance to experience any of Westone’s products but I’ve read a lot about them from time to time. They manufacture a large number of audiology-related products ranging from hearing protection, clinical & audiological supplies, custom communication & hearing healthcare earpieces, and most importantly in-ear monitors for professional musicians and audiophiles. Established in America back in...

Tonality: 5.6/9 Technicalities: 5.6/9 Preference: 5/9 Overall: 5.4/9 (C+) (star rating is for the price-to-performance) Intro TForce Yuan Li is one of my favorite single dynamic driver IEMs in the plethora of budget Chifi mediocrity out there. It is one of the most balanced-sounding earphones with a matured tuning from originally an OEM/ODM company, TForce (now Tangzu). Shimin Li is the second part of the “Trilogy” that carries the same vibe & bold aesthetic on the packaging rather than the typical weeb-pleaser with waifus that most companies...

Tonality: 6/9 Technicalities: 6/9 Preference: 6/9 Overall: 6/9 (B) (star rating is for the price to performance) (total 3 mins read) Intro Recently I’ve been impressed with the new Tin Hifi T3 Plus and have been talking about it for at least 2 days but I guess that’s just evaporated. This is because it feels like there’s a new Harman target IEM every month since last year. The market is flooded with single dynamic driver IEMs from different ranges of prices, a variety of tunings, and plenty of offerings to choose from, especially in this...

Tonality: 6.6/9 Technicalities: 6.3/9 Preference: 7/9 Overall: 6.6/9 (B+) (star rating is for the price to performance) (total 6 mins read) Intro SeeAudio X Crinacle Yume: Midnight is self-explanatory. Together with HiFiGO as a three-way exclusive collaboration, “Project Midnight” is an effort in building a “technical Yume” for the better. In April last year, Crinacle himself criticized Yume for its subpar technicalities and called it a “One Trick Wonder” for its only good quality trait which is the tuning. While I agree with most of the critique...

Tonality: 5.6/9 Technicalities: 6/9 Preference: 6/9 Overall: 5.8/9 (B-) (this is useless but to give an idea - star rating is the price to performance) my preferred signature is neutral with or without a bass boost, with an exception for a little warm-tilted, or mild V-shaped but honestly, I'm a "signature agnostic" because anything can work. I listen to mostly everything but currently lusting more on the modern sub-genres of Jazz, Progressive Rock & Metal, Drone, Noise Rock, No Wave, Minimalism, Totalism, modern recording of Chamber, Orchestra...

Tonality: 4/9 Technicalities: 4.33/9 (this is useless, but to give an idea - star rating is for price to performance) my preferred signature is neutral with or without bass boost, with an exception for a little warm-tilted, or mild V-shaped but honestly, I'm a "signature agnostic" because anything can work. I listen to mostly everything but currently lusting more on the modern sub-genres of Jazz, Progressive Rock & Metal, Drone, Noise Rock, No Wave, Minimalism, Totalism, modern recording of Chamber, Orchestra, Concerto, or Modern Classical at...

Tonality: 5.6/9 Technicalities: 5.6/9 (this is useless, but to give an idea - star rating is price to performance) my preferred signature is neutral with or without bass boost, with an exception for a little warm-tilted, or mild V-shaped but honestly, I'm a "signature agnostic" because anything can work. I listen to mostly everything but currently lusting more on the modern sub-genres of Jazz, Progressive Rock & Metal, Drone, Noise Rock, No Wave, Minimalism, Totalism, modern recording of Chamber, Orchestra, Concerto, or Modern Classical at large...

KXXS Advanced Technology Optimized Tonality: 6.3/9 Technicalities: 6.6/9 Preference: 7/9 Overall: 6.6/9 (B+) (this is useless but to give the idea. the star rating is the price to performance) my preferred signature is neutral with or without bass boost, with an exception for a little warm-tilted, or mild V-shaped but honestly, I'm a "signature agnostic" because anything can work. I listen to mostly everything but currently lusting more on the modern sub-genres of Jazz, Progressive Rock & Metal, Drone, Noise Rock, No Wave, Minimalism, Totalism...

Tonality: 5/9 Technicalities: 5.6/9 (star rating is for the price to performance) (total 6 mins read) TRI I3 Pro is supposedly a revamped model of the original I3 that was released in 2019. however, I haven’t had the chance to audition the original I3 for comparison but it’s said to be an upgrade in terms of tuning and fit (26% smaller). hence, the “Pro”. it has the look or finish that has become quite the choice of many entry to mid-tier IEMs nowadays, such as HZSound Heart Mirror & Moondrop KXXS. it's a kind of no-brainer aesthetically for people...

Hisenior Fe3 somehow reminds me of ThieAudio Voyager 3, but not in terms of sonic qualities Tonality: 5.3/9 Technicalities: 5.6/9 (5 mins read) this is my first experience with Hisenior especially a full balanced armature set that's purposely made for musicians in the first place. the price is a little fierce at $249 for a 3 BAs IEM but hey, it's Sonion's. with a beautiful faceplate that whispers "Febos...", it comes in a minimal matte black box with a magnetic lid. there's also a protective round metal case with a cleaning brush other than an 8...

Tanchjim Hana 2021. a feast to the eyes Tonality: 6/9 Technicalities: 5.3/9 (5 mins read) my first relationship with Tanchjim was through Tanya and it's getting stronger ever since. so I've been always wondering what Tanchjim has to offer from their top-shelf even before Tanya. apparently, they have this thing called "Oxygen" which is well known as one of the best single dynamic driver IEMs in the world by many enthusiasts, but that's Oxygen. while Hana has a very close frequency response, build, and shape to the Oxygen, does it perform, if...

! these are loaned units from a fellow audio enthusiast Bryan who is generous enough to lend them to me for trying purposes. so thanks to Bryan & (Shenzhenaudio + Moondrop) for this opportunity. this is a straightforward amateur impression of the new Moondrop Quarks which has been released recently. I have 100% control of my words here, with zero influence from anyone and entirely based on my experience alone. bold yet a brilliant name for a tiny little pair of earphones with 3 'quarks' as the logo. a clean presentation. Tonality: 4.6/9...

in the package: HE400se headphones, a black rubber sleeve stereo 3.5mm to dual 3.5mm cable (Chinese-non-stealth-magnet) Tonality: 5/9 Technicality: 6/9 Resolution: 6/9 Biased Score: 4.5 I've been wanting a pair of budget open-back planar magnetic headphones since early this year but I didn't really have the time to start digging into another rabbit hole. but during my leisure time recently, after some readings & the double money-back guarantee from the seller, I was convinced to purchase a pair of the HE400se (Chinese version) for myself purely...