Advanced Sound S2000

Specifications

• Driver unit: Single dynamic driver
• Impedance: 20 Ohm +/-15%
• Sensitivity: 103dB+/-3dB at 1kHz
• Frequency response: 20Hz – 20kHz
• Rated power input: 5mW
• Max. input power: 10mW
• Cord length: 1.2M
• Plug: 3.5mm gold plated

Official S2000 info

Price: U$25.

Warranty: 3 years!

Available in two versions, Live and Mobile.

Credits to the ADV team for the S2000 review unit. Thank you!



The S2000 arrives in a very plastic box with a standard accessories set that includes 3 pairs of silicone and 3 pairs of foam ear tips, a small soft pouch and a 6.3mm (1/4") adapter (only on the Live Edition).


Design

The S2000 is a very compact and lightweight in-ear set. The shells are made of plastic with a glossy finish on the outer part while a darker inner part (with an apparently thin rubber coating). Build quality is around average, which is good for the budget price, and looks well assembled and nicely finished.


The earpieces' shape is made for strict over-ear wearing and has a very low profile fit. The nozzle is a bit short and completely smooth so there's no extra lip at the tip of it; ear tip rolling is still possible. The S2000 is easy to wear, though the fit is rather shallow with around average level of isolation. The included silicone tips didn't provide the best seal, so chose the Spinfit instead; they provide just a bit less shallow fit but easier seal and a tad better isolation.
More importantly, the combination of low profile, light weight and shallow fit makes the S2000 one of the most comfortable IEMs.


There is no real strain relief on the exit of the shells, but with the memory wire the cable keeps a preferred shape. The wire also helps to keep the earphones in place when moving around.
The cable is nice, consisting of 4 separated strands softly twisted. The lower half from the plug to y-split is all black, while the upper R/L part looks cooler with the black and white color theme. It is soft with about average to low noise and little memory effect on it.

Sound

The sound has a mild v-shaped signature with a warm tonality. It has a very energetic and lively presentation with a strong lift on the bass and treble sparkle with good control and nice detail for its budget price.

The bass has a usual popular mid-bass enhancement giving a fuller response and thick texture. It is strong, not overwhelming, and quite enjoyable. Good in dynamics and very good layering. Sub-bass is effortless (relatively, for the price) with nice rumble and fair extension.

Despite the strong bass, the midrange remains clear. It is more distant in the presentation but still maintains a warm overall tonality. Lower mids sound drier and thinner than upper mids, but has good weight and body for a v-shaped signature and the texture still works well for male vocals. Upper midrange is more forward, richer and with more texture with some highlight for female voices.

Surprisingly, the sibilance is very low, unlike many v-shaped IEMs on the same price. It's not perfect as there's some grain and unevenness on the upper mid/low treble region, but not a fatiguing sound whatsoever; foam tips may help a bit more here. In comparison, the new Elise sound more refined and controlled but a bit sharper and less energetic.
The treble is more forward on the lower region and smoothes down on higher freq and bit rolled-off. Soundstage is very competent with noticeable more width than depth or height bringing a more open sound with decent sense of air.


Players used: Shanling M0, Fiio M3K, iBasso DX120.

Many in Headfi forum complained about the sealing issue they encountered with this earphone and I somehow agree with them. It is true, the nozzle of S2000 is indeed short and the fit is shallow and loose. Obviously that is a problem; poor sealing leaks sound, reduces bass and causes the earphone to fall off.


Sound

Isolation is a problem for most people but how about the sound? The raison d’être of an earphone. Despite having poor sealing, S2000 does a lot of things right in the sound department. Having listened to higher end IEMs, I was not thrilled by the sound. The treble extension is great and so far I have yet to encounter any sibilance in the high. The bass quantity is adequate but not excessive. The low is above average and not boomy by dynamic driver standard. Mid is natural and forward, nothing unexpected for this price and earphone design. What surprised me the most is the soundstage, the stage is wide for an earphone of this size and the positioning is very accurate.



Soundwise, don't expect this earphone to better $200 earphones or even $100 earphones, that's just wishful... but I think the sounds quality came close to that of a $50 earphone. No doubt, it is full sounding when you achieve the appropriate fit for your ears. S2000 does not offer the details and finesse in sound of a multi-BA drivers UIEM and of course I will have to let that slide since it costs a mere $25, it is almost criminal to ask for more.

I noticed a hint of channel imbalance in my S2000. Maybe that is due to me not being able to position the earphone properly in my ears, or maybe it is just the unit I have but somehow I think the volume is slightly lower on the right channel.

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To me, audio and photography are two parallel worlds. Speaking in analogy: Balanced Armature or BA earphones have better resolution (megapixels in photo term, resolving power in audio) while Dynamic earphones have better dynamic range (ev stops in photography, frequency range in audio). If I can only own a pair of single driver earphones, I will not hesitate to go for single dynamic driver earphones. If I get to choose a pair of multi drivers earphones, then BA earphones become the obvious choice. The logic is simple, for untrained ears or casual listening, resolution is just not all that crucial. The same goes for photography, you can always get away with a smaller picture provided it is well exposed. Moving on, if an earphone is equipped with more than one driver, the multiple drivers are capable of covering a wider frequency range while retaining or improving on sound resolution, so multi-BA earphones usually offer an overall more enjoyable sound compared to their single dynamic driver counterparts. For that reason I think one should opt for BA earphone if they are going for a multiple driver setup and dynamic earphone if they are going for a simple single driver earphone.


Comfort

Due to the short nozzle design, S2000 fits loose in my ears, so as a result it is also quite comfortable to listen to for long. I think S2000 is by far the lightest over ears earphone I have reviewed and the lateral profile of the earphone is so narrow it hides behind my ears when I use it.



Since the earphone is so light, it might be a great earphone for runners or ladies (with smaller ear canals, no prejudice against women here). I have seen S2000 dropped in Massdrop early this year and it garnered some positive reviews from actual owners, of course some did complain about the fit. I have also seen Advanced Sound offering the mobile edition of this earphone on Amazon for slightly more money but the one I received for review is the live edition that has no built-in microphone.


Disclaimer

Advanced Sound sent me this pair of S2000 a while ago, but I left it in my drawer for some time as I was not able to fork out the time to come out with this review. For the past few months, I jotted down random thoughts about this earphone when I use it and this is the “off the cuffs” review I compiled from all those notes.


Conclusion

“If only it has a better seal”, that is probably what most S2000 owners have in mind. I concur with them but I think S2000 is nevertheless a pleasant sounding earphone. It is also stylish, light and easy on my ears.

I have no doubt that S2000 is well worth its price. If you prefer earphones with loose-fitting, you will not go wrong with this $25 buy, S2000 might actually be a hidden gem for you!

Advanced Sound S2000 Review: How Low Can You(r price) Go?
The S2000 appears to be another entry into Advanced Sound’s audio-market smack-down, allowing them to push even further down into the budget range, well past the $40 M4. But as a brand that’s shown us some uncompromising ideals in their past products, did Advanced Sound actually maintain them in their cheapest product yet?

You can find the S2000 on sale, here, for $25 on Advanced Sound’s official web store. Versions with a mic and without a mic are available.

Disclaimer: This unit was provided to me free of charge for review purposes. I am not affiliated with Advanced Sound beyond this review. These words reflect my true, unaltered, opinion about the product.

Preference and Bias: Before reading a review, it is worth mentioning that there is no way for a reviewer to objectively pass judgment on the enjoyability of a product: such a thing is inherently subjective. Therefore, I find it necessary for you to read and understand what I take a natural liking to and how that might affect my rating of a product.

My ideal sound signature would be an extended sub-bass with a leveled, but textured, mid-bass. The mids should be slightly less pronounced than the treble, but still ahead of the bass. I prefer a more bright upper range.

Source: The S2000 was powered like so:

HTC U11 -> USB-C adapter -> earphones

or

Hidizs AP100 3.5mm out -> FiiO A5 3.5mm out -> earphones

or

HiFiMAN SuperMini -> earphones

or

PC optical out -> HiFiMe SPDIF 9018 Sabre DAC 3.5mm out -> earphones

All music was served as MP3 @320Kbps or as FLAC.

Sound Signature
Initial Impressions:

V-shaped with limited treble extension.

Treble: Songs used: In One Ear, Midnight City, Outlands, Satisfy

Treble is reminiscent of the IEMs of Advanced Sound’s past. Unfortunately, however, they couldn’t maintain the excellent level of extension that I’d come to expect from Advanced Sound drivers. This was a bit of disappointment until I remembered that the S2000 only sets me back $25.

That said, the treble that is actually present is quite articulate and agile, much more so than I was expecting from an IEM of this price. In One Ear sounded airy, but not harsh, as did Midnight City.

The choruses of string instruments in Outlands had a sweet timbre to them. They were fairly detailed too, more so than I had expected from a low-cost dynamic driver.

There were no traces of harshness or sibilance from the S2000. Satisfy attests to the non-aggressive tuning of the treble.

Mids: Songs used: Flagpole Sitta, Jacked Up, I Am The Highway, Dreams

The S2000 doesn’t have as recessed mids as one might expect from a $25 V-shaped IEM. While they won’t be taking center stage, the mids are still expressive and relatively articulate.

Flagpole Sitta’s dry recording style benefited greatly from the fuller timbre of the S2000’s mids. The guitars had a good crunch to them but lacked the full expression that I’ve come to expect from my earphones.

That said, when comparing it to my other IEMs in that price range, such as the First Harmonic IEB6 and Advanced Sound’s own M4, the S2000 competes very well. It edges out the IEB6 in overall clarity and beats the M4 in lower-mids articulation. Again, this surprises me since the S2000 is cheaper than both.

Bass: Songs used: Moth, Gold Dust, In For The Kill (Skream Remix), War Pigs (Celldweller Remix)

I love bass, and so does the S2000. It produces a good quantity of bass at a quality that is way above average for its price bracket. The bass guitar in Moth extended pretty well and had a good, deep, solidity to it.

Gold Dust benefited well from the naturally complementary tuning of the bass response. Drops had impact and rumble and were fairly quick. That said, there was a small amount of overflow into the lower mids, but not nearly enough for me to declare the IEM “messy” or “mushy”.

It is here that my hubris ended, as the S2000 met its match; In For The Kill proved to ask too much from the S2000’s single dynamic driver. The sonorous bass line that Skream produced for us simply goes too low. The S2000 sort of flattens out at a certain point, and while it doesn’t sound bad, it is a bit disappointing to not get that sub-woofer feeling I normally expect. Although maybe I am asking a bit too much of this IEM. After all, it is only $25.

Packaging / Unboxing

Build
Construction Quality


The S2000 makes use of a shiny plastic shell. It isn’t anything special but is well-built none the less. There is a fair bit of stress relief where the cable meets the housing. This combined with the plastic layer of memory wire gives me confidence that the S2000 won’t break easily, at least as far as cabling goes.




Speaking of cables, the S2000 makes use of a twisted cable. It is a simple twist braid below the Y-splitter and breaks into two above it. It also adopts the black/white “zebra” color scheme you see in the pictures above.

The Y-splitter is made of plastic and has ample stress relief. The same goes for the 3.5mm jack that the cable is terminated with.

Comfort

The S2000 is quite comfortable once you actually get it to seal. The shell is light and small and will work well for people with small ears. It has a shallow fit, so how that interacts with your anatomy is up to your individual ear shape.

Accessories

I don’t really expect anything more from a $25 IEM. Inside the box of the S2000 you will find:

• 1x 6.3mm jack adapter
• 3x extra pairs of silicone ear tips
• 1x soft carrying pouch

The ear tips are of acceptable quality. While the adapter definitely confuses me a bit considering I’m not sure who’s going to be using serious sources with a $25 IEM, but it is a welcomed edition nonetheless.

Summary
Advanced Sound did quite well for themselves with the S2000. I often forgot how little it costs! The S2000 offers a more refined take on a traditional V-shaped sound signature (when compared to other mainstream options at this price) that maintains the spirit of Advanced Sound’s outstanding treble tuning. All in all, I find the S2000 to be a great value for the money and well worth it for someone looking to get their first pair of high-quality earphones or just a pair of beaters.