Alpha & Delta AD01

ALPHA & DELTA AD01 (very late) Review :



CONSTRUCTION: 7.5/10
DESIGN: 7/10
SOUND: 7/10
VALUE: 7/10


Alpha and Delta is a very promising earphones company from Singapore that aim for quality instead of quantity and have create 6 different iem up to date. There goal is to stay budget friendly while delivering good sound quality, wich their last model call the Alpha & Delta D6 show perfectly.
Now, for the AD01, there first attempt, they try to create something for the mass with a bass oriented soundsignature that will entertain the basshead while keeping enough details and clarity to be enjoyed by music lovers as well, these I think aren’t mean for critical listiner or audiophile but more for youngster that enjoy bass driven music and want to make a first step in good quality audio.



CONSTRUCTION, ACCESSORIES AND DESIGN :



Very pleasant unboxing experience with lot of extra eartips of all type, ear hook and cable clip. As well a good quality protective case is include. It look like A&D give lot of attention to details when it come to product presentation ,as we can see with the cute little box that contain eartips.



A&D do not idle on construction, always goind toward durability for their iem, AD01 is no exception and have a built like a tank housing made of thick (and heavy) polish metal. As well, it come with all copper detachable cable of average quality this time.



For design, i’m a little more reserved due to the iem being very big and heavy wich will not suit every type of ears and even if it do not fall from my ears I guess I look dumb wearin. As well, not having MMCX connection but an old type of connection that make you dependant to their store when it come to buy extra cable is a drawback for me becaus yes, I would be curious to try a SPC cable with the AD01 because the one caming with it are just basic copper one, sure they are cute and have the advantage not creating microphonic, but these days its either MMCX or 2pin connection so I don’t see the goal of this type of cable choice.



SOUND :




Overall impression of the sound is rather positive if I forget the 100$ asking price for a V shaped soundsignature that hesitate between darkness and warmnest and struggle with complex music or anything that need a well controled bass or treble. This is a very wide sounding IEM with big impact and pumped but not detailed and well layered bass that without sounding completely boomy is stilla little muffly and well, immature sounding. Treble curve help mids being more hearable than low grade V shaped IEM and we have some details to enjoy, but attack decay and speed is above average in this price range, as well, no sparkle to be found and layering is kind of veiled.



BASS have pumped up impact that lack resolution where the sub and mid bass mix togheter and gain in weight but not really in energic thickness, it can be too slow for very fast electronic or jazz rock, but can deal great with some rap like Sudan Archive wich is very well mastered and clean sounding by its own. These are freakin basshead earphones where A&D try to keep the mids not too recessed, even if there some bass bleed it do not feel it veil them, its more the whole overall sound that feel little veiled in fact and lacking enough texture in lows to make the punch enough fowards as we can heard in RAGE track from Rico Nasty where everything sound as a big wall of sound without lot of deepness to it, so in some sens, the bass sound cavernous but at the same time in your face wich is a very strange experience that lack realism. Anyway, bass is energic and do not sound boomy, so it will not be a problem with excellently mastered music.



MIDS are warm but have some magic trick extra grainy resolution that make them just okay and not completly overshadowed by vast bass, its not really an IEM for instrumental music because violin or piano lack treble and details, but it do okay and have laid back non fatiguing approach that can be still enjoyable for some jazz and such. Transient response is well coordonated in all range but lack in finess, transparency and layering. Vocal can slightly sound hissy because of upper mids peak, but they have above average resolution for a bassy tuned iem.



HIGHS are roll off in upper region and non fatiguing, as the most fatiguing aspect of these iem is bass. It have enough treble to show details and some push in lower high but it do not really help percussion to shine and be easily hearable, even snare lack fowardness here, but the bigger problem is even if soudnstage is wide it do not feel clean as well as having enough air in all the space to make precise sound have well spoted presence. Overall, the AD01 is slightlydark in this region even if whole sound have lot of grain to it.

COMPARAISONS:




VS NiceHCK M6:
Around 100$, the M6 is well tuned comapred to AD01 and even if both have good bass energy, the separation from mid and lower bass of M6 is in another league as it have better separation in whole sound spectrum. Mids of AD01 feel congested compared to M6 wich is in the middle, well separated and barely recessed. Both M6 and AD01 are onthe warm side without fowards highs but M6 because of great layering due to its multi driver implementation (Dual DD+4BA) is clearly more detailed even if less fatituing.

VS Macaw GT600S:
Bass of AD01 have more impact even if less textured, its more energic and weighty and give a more exciting fun sound. Soundstage of AD01 is wider while the one of GT600S is deeper and cleaner. Mids of GT600S are more fowards and textured but somewhat thinner than AD01. GT600S have more fowards highs and details and can be fatiguing for treble sensitive people in this aspect, M6 are more permissive in this region.



CONCLUSION as said, isn’t as disastrous as it can look , because these AD01 are quite enjoyable and fun to listen with some (simple well recorded) beat driven music, but unfortunatly it’s a minority of them. The V here lack resolution and details retrieval to create an enough clear sound and I say that using very clear and detailed sound source (Ibasso DX90 and Xduoo X20). As well, I feel at 100$ we can find lot of better IEM because last years competition in budget earphones go crazy. All in all, this AD01 is an average sounding classic V shaped earphones with wider than average soundstage and great fun for beat driven enthusiast but not for audiophile or critical listener (wich wasn't the consumer targeted).

Lend Me Ur Ears is a name that many in the portable audio world know and love.  They are known for being a distributor of quality audio products to many around the world.  In the past I have really enjoyed the Vsonic brand in which LMUE is an authorized dealer.  However, recently I was contacted by headfier @nmatheis asking if I would be interested in testing and reviewing a brand new in house product by LMUE the Alpha & Delta AD01 IEM.  What follows is my experience with the AD01. 
 
Specifications:
•   Driver unit: 9.8mm and 6.0mm Dual Dynamic Driver
•   Rated Impedance: 9 Ohm 
•   Sensitivity: 102 dB/mW 
•   Frequency response: 10Hz- 25KHz 
•   Rated power: 10 mW 
•   Maximum input power: 30 mW 
•   Plug: 3.5mm dual-channel plug 
•   Cable: 1.30 mm 18N OFC cable
 
Accessories:
My review unit came packaged in a fantastic box and is labeled Alpha & Delta with an AD01 sticker in the bottom right corner.  Immediately the presentation of these earphones impress!

 
Upon opening the box you will notice that the body of the earphones themselves are in fact separate from the cable.  Which of course means removable cables! This is a great feature and not one that you often see at this price.  Also included are a nice selection of biflange and single flange silicone tips a pair of foam tips and a nice hard case to use on the go.  Also included are a pair of ear guides to use when wearing these over the ear and shirt clip.

 
Build Quality & Fit:
The AD01 is one solid earphone! I personally did not have any issues with the build quality of the earphone itself during my time with these.  I must agree with other reviewers in saying that the cable on these can tend to be a little stiff and springy.  Also of note is that it is not very clear as to which earphone is the left and which earphone is the right.  Some clearer markings would have been helpful here especially given the fact that these come with removable cables.  Speaking of….removable cables!!! That is awesome to see and very welcome at this price point!
 
Isolation:
Isolation is actually better than what I thought it would be.  I found that they were reasonably effective at blocking noise but definitely not at the level of my old etymotics or even my aurisonics rockets.  Of course tips and proper seal can make a difference here as well.

 

Microphonics:

Microphonics were never an issue for me during my review period.  I wore these cable down.

 

Sound:

LMUE has something really fun going on here with the AD01.  These were very enjoyable to listen listen to but definitely not for someone looking for immense details and clarity.  The bass is certainly elevated withthe AD01 and I would certainly classify this as a warm sounding earphone.

Lows: As I noted above the loves are accentuated in the AD01 and they are without a doubt the most prominent feature of the sound signature.  Midbass is king with the AD01 and the lows present themselves front and center.  I could see many bassheads very happy with these in the under $100 price range.  Overall, bass tends to be a little slow and it can ever so-slightly bleed into the mids.

Mids: The mids of the AD01 can be categorized as slightly warm and smooth.  Unfortunately for those that really enjoy mids these can be a little recessed.  The clarity and the detail of the mids are just fine but as soon as a song calls for bass the mids are simply overshadowed.    

Highs: The highs are not recessed but do not expect to be blown away by insane amounts of treble.  If you are looking for clarity on the level of the B2 you will be better served elsewhere.  I personally found there to be more of a presence in the highs than the mids but once again the bass is the star of the show here with the AD01.  On the bright side is the fact that most will not consider the AD01 to be very fatiguing due to the little emphasis placed on the upper highs.
Soundstage: I found the soundstage of these to be average in this price range.  It is not something to brag about but certainly not so closed in that they feel congested.
 
Conclusion: Overall, I feel that these are pretty good for the price LMUE is asking and an awesome debut earphone from them.  I cannot wait to see what they will offer in the future.  Once again a special thank you to LMUE and @nmatheis for organizing the tour and allowing me to participate.

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Preamble:

Lend Me UR Ears is a dealer for audio products and based in Singapore. Besides their online shop, LMUE also has got an Amazon shop as well as a local storefront that is opened Monday to Saturday from noon to 7.30 pm.
Alpha & Delta is LMUE’s very first own brand and the AD01 (http://www.lendmeurears.com/alpha-delta/) their first own in-ear creation, a dual-driver with two dynamic drivers per side. The Alpha & Delta AD01 is modularly built, which means that both earpieces as well as the cable can be purchased separately in case that one of them breaks, which is really commendable. Replacing the parts is easy as well.
The in-ears are available in two colours (silver and black), an upgrade cable can be bought, too.

The Alpha & Delta AD01 in-ears were sent to me free of charge by Lend Me UR Ears’ Teo for the purpose of an honest evaluation. I should have originally posted this review months ago in the past year, but something seemed to have gone wrong at the mailing route in Germany and the parcel was returned, but the second delivery this year was successful. Thanks, Teo!


Technical Specifications:

Price: SGD 130/~ USD 93
Driver unit: 9.8mm and 6.0mm Dual Dynamic Driver
Rated Impedance: 9 Ohm
Sensitivity: 102 dB/mW
Frequency response: 10Hz- 25KHz
Rated power: 10 mW
Maximum input power: 30 mW
Plug: 3.5mm dual-channel plug
Cable: 1.30 mm 18N OFC cable


Delivery Content:

The in-ears arrive in a navy blue cardboard box that can be flipped open and has got a shiny silver Alpha & Delta logo on the lid. Inside, it is bolstered with velour. The amount of included accessories is quite ample: besides the in-ear bodies and the cable, a carrying case with loop, one pair of foam tips, three pairs of double-flange tips, three pairs of regular silicone tips as well as three pairs of hybrid silicone tips (“Sony-style”) come included.

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The upgrade cable arrives in a small black pouch, along with one pair of cone-shaped silicone tips.
 

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Looks, Feels, Build Quality:

The in-ear bodies are made of black, machined aluminium and don’t show any flaws in terms of build quality – they even feel somewhat premium and very solid. As the cables are replaceable and the in-ears modularly built, there are no side-markers on the in-ear bodies themselves but solely on the cables in the form of letters (additional coloured side-markers would probably be useful).
The connectors are 2.5 mm DC plugs, similar to MEE M6’s, however they aren’t rotation-locked on the AD01 (but still sit quite tightly).

The carrying case doesn’t look super premium and could be somewhat better made on the inside, however it is still very sturdy and protects the in-ears, just like it should.

The regular black cable reminds me of the one used by SoundMAGIC and on the Brainwavz M3, however it is a bit more flexible and less springy. The angled 3.5 mm connector, y-split and 2.5 mm DC connectors have got really good and commendable strain relief; a chin-slider (cable cinch) is also present. Overall, the cable leaves a positive impression.
The upgrade cable is haptically quite similar to the black one, meaning it has got the same excellent strain relief. In contrast, the metal elements are silver and not black, and the coating is clear, wherefore the copper litzes can be seen. The upgrade cable is more flexible as well.
 

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Comfort, Isolation:

The in-ear bodies aren’t overly large, so the in-ears should easily fit most people.
In my large ears, the AD01 sit very comfortably and securely. I have worn the in-ears with the cables over the ears, along with using the cable cinch, wherefore microphonics were entirely eliminated. Nonetheless, even when wearing the in-ears straight down, microphonics were relatively mid.

Isolation is on a good level and definitely above average, however still a bit below entirely closed in-ears.


Sound:

My main sources for listening were the iBasso DX80, LH Labs Geek Out IEM 100 and HiFiMe 9018d.
I used the upgrade cable as well as the largest included black silicone tips.
Although I don’t believe much in burn-in (with headphones), I burnt the AD01 in for 100 hours with noise and sine signals.

Thoughts on the Upgrade Cable:

I am someone who is very sceptical towards the sound of cables as long as they don’t influence the sound because of measurable parameters, for example a different cable’s inner impedance in combination with multi-BA in-ears. That said, I was also somewhat sceptical when using the upgrade cable for the AD01. I indeed seemed to hear a slight difference in terms of control and clarity, but it was easily explainable as volume output was very slightly louder with the upgrade cable than with the standard one.
I just want to leave it at that, as objective listening comparisons between cables are barely possible.

Tonality:

A small side-note regarding the tonal differences between the Sony Hybrid-style and regular black silicone tips: sonically both types are very similar sounding – the largest difference is that the hybrid tips have somewhat less level in the middle highs, hence sounding more relaxed – the difference isn’t super large though.

I would describe AD01’s tonal tuning as bass-heavy with a (much lesser) upper treble emphasis for compensation – therefore it is a quite common “consumer-oriented” tuning that tends towards a v-shape.

The lows are the central element and dominate the sound. With about 13 dB at the climax, the lows’ emphasis is quite ample. Sub-bass doesn’t really roll off, however it softens a bit. The focus lays on mid-bass; from there on the emphasis decreases evenly with the shape of a hump towards the mids where the emphasis stops at about 800 Hz. As a result, the fundamental area is quite lush and the lows don’t only appear mighty and voluminous but also warm, with mids that are still more or less natural considering the strongly emphasised bass, however voices and instruments in this area are warmer than they should be and are also a bit overshadowed by the lows that spill into the lower mids. Between 1 and 2 kHz, level is neutral and very even, wherefore vocals sound still quite good despite the added warmth; above, the treble is evenly in the background in the upper lower and middle highs. 6 and 7 kHz are more in the background than the rest and guarantee for a smooth, relaxed sound and quite good long-term listenability. At 9 kHz is a rather bread-banded peak that is above the ground-line, however it is rather mild and of much lesser quantity than the bass emphasis, it just compensates for the lows and helps that the sound doesn’t become woolly or muffled.
The v-shaped signature is clearly bass-focussed.
Above 10 kHz, level rolls evenly off.

What’s quite positively outstanding is that sound is very coherent; there is no audible transition between both drivers.
Who knows me and my reviews better should know that I don’t judge a headphone for its general tonal tuning as long as the mids are tonally quite correct and the upper treble extension is good. For the price, extension above 10 kHz is still good, however I have to subtract some points for the midrange: despite the mighty bass, it sounds quite natural, but is audible on the warm side with deeper voices, with slightly too much warmth and lushness – a somewhat lower starting bass emphasis would probably have been slightly better for the mids.


Ensuing is a frequency response plot of the in-ears:


 
Please note that it wasn’t recorded with professional equipment but with my Vibro Veritas coupler that was pseudo-calibrated to more or less match a real IEC 711 coupler’s response with applied diffuse-field target, hence the results shouldn’t be regarded as absolute values but rather as a rough visualisation. Especially at 3, 6 and 9 kHz, there are sometimes greater deviations from professional plots – but for a general, rough comparison between various in-ears and a rough idea of how they sound, the results are sufficient.

Resolution:

Positively, there is no audible transition between both drivers; transition is very cohesive and unobtrusive, unnoticeable.
Starting with the highs: they are quite detailed and sound harmonious, mostly very natural. Here’s really nothing I could blame.
The mids are slightly overshadowed by the strong bass emphasis, however they are still able to keep authority, although they sound slightly less detailed than the highs. On their own, the mids sound quite good though.
The big drawback in the system however are the lows: the bass is clearly more on the boomy than punchy side, more spongy than dry and more slow than fast. With more demanding music, lows lose contour and begin to sound muddier; the bass also softens towards the sub-bass.
Overall detail retrieval is about average for the price – neither super outstanding nor particularly bad.

Soundstage:

In my ears, AD01’s soundstage is slightly wider than average, with good spatial depth and height. The relation between depth and width is very natural and the soundstage is round as well as harmonious.
Layering and instrument separation could be slightly more precise and less foggy nonetheless.

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Compared to other In-Ears:

Brainwavz R3:
The AD01 is so much easier to insert and comfortable – despite (or probably because of?) my large ears, I struggle to get a secure fit with the R3 and getting a seal also takes quite some time, whereas inserting the AD01 is extremely easy.
The Brainwavz is tonally very balanced sounding, with a slightly dark neutrality. The only thing it could be blamed for is that the mids are a bit on the darker side.
In terms of detail retrieval in the mids and highs, both in-ears are about comparable – both have about similar resolution in the treble and a midrange that is slightly less detailed. Where the R3 wins however is the bass: R3’s lows are easily more controlled and faster.
A01’s soundstage is deeper, R3’s is a bit wider and has got the slightly cleaner instrument separation.

Havi B3 Pro I:
The Havi is much more balanced sounding and has got a very natural, moderately warm signature with slightly elevated upper treble (with the stock tips I am using).
The Havi is an extremely good in-ear for its little price, although there is one thing I can’t describe closer and that makes me not to like it entirely for 100% - probably a phase anomaly? Nonetheless, the transition between both drivers sounds slightly inconsistent (however just very minimally) – here, the AD01 sounds more coherent in my ears, however the Alpha & Delta can’t compete with the B3 Pro I when it is about resolution, bass speed and spatial precision: the Havi is a distinct level above and offers unbelievable value for its price.

TTPod T1 (non-E):
TTPod’s (that I consider as a very good overall in-ear for their price) signature is a v-shape as well, however a much tamer and more natural one.
T1 has got audible less bass and is quite a bit brighter in the treble department – sometimes even slightly too bright.
T1’s midrange resolution is slightly better, however its highs sound less natural and are a bit gimmicky, faking resolution with the emphasis. Despite the treble that is more in the background, AD01’s detail retrieval in the upper frequencies is clearly better and sounds more natural as well. As long as there are not too many fast or complex bass lines on the recording, details in the lows are comparable; generally speaking, detail retrieval is about comparable with both in-ears, however the T1 slightly wins in the mids and the AD01 in the treble.
The T1 isn’t known for super-fast lows (although they are faster than some other in-ears’), but sounds quite controlled and clean – AD01’s bass sounds muddier, boomier and less controlled when the music speeds up.
In terms of soundstage, AD01 slightly wins because of more spatial depth; both are about comparable regarding spatial presentation and precision.


Conclusion:

Are the AD01 in-ears worth their price? Yes, they are, especially if you are looking for this kind of sound – but keep in mind that there are some technically superior models for less money, however none of them with a similar tonality. Who is looking for a tendentially v-shaped sound with full-bodied lows that are clearly in the focus will find solid in-ears with the AD01.
Their snag is definitely the bass which is rather blunt, rather slow and can’t handle fast music with authority. If the bass would be more refined and faster, the AD01 would be good in-ears for the price – they are not bad as they are now (they are quite solid), have got good spatiality, offer a good amount of accessories, are well made, offer replaceable cables, a really well made treble and are bass-heavy however without any muffled midrange, but can’t handle faster music as good as other similarly or lower priced in-ears.

67% or 3.35 out of 5 stars.
My suggestion: tighten up the lows and the AD01 will be a really good basshead in-ear.