First I want to give a shoutout to @Joe Bloggs for his absolute professionalism. He provided me with Canon 2 as a replacement for my Canon 1 that got lost during the shipping between one of the Aliexpress stores and Yanyin. It was supposed to go for repairs/replacement but never made it.

Joe’s got some of the most professional communication that I’ve had pleasure dealing with - not just in IEM/Aliexpress context, but all professional communication I’ve come across in my life, including for luxury products. Simply impeccable, and can totally recommend him as a rep if you need any info on whichever brands he's working with.

Disclaimer

Take my review with a grain of salt, as I’m not a professional reviewer. This is my first review here, and is probably going to be my last. Having worked professionally with written product reviews, I’m tired of it, especially when doing them for free . Also, I prefer to just enjoy the music these days with a good pair of IEMs rather than A-B comparing different gear to see what sounds 10% better here, 5% worse there, etc. chasing some perfect unicorn IEM that doesn’t exist.

Without getting too far ahead of myself - enjoying the music & forgetting about everything else is exactly what Canon II allows me to do. Immersion into music - to me - is the main selling point of this IEM.



My Experience

IEMs: From “proper” $60+ range IEMs, I’ve got experience with Canon 1, Truthear Hexa, and now Canon 2.

Sources: I messed up my Qudelix 5K with some water damage, so until the 11.11 deals hit I’m listening from cheap Realtek USB dongles. Fortunately, YanYin products are very easy to drive by design, IIRC someone was actually having issues putting too much power there through a balanced ending. A better source will probably improve micro-details, but it shouldn’t change the sound too much.

Canon II Vs. Truthear Hexa

Compared to Canon II, Truthear Hexa is more exhausting for prolonged listening sessions when it comes to the highs. Hexa's Harman tuning feels somewhat cleaner and more clinical, but also lacks the liveliness, engagement, and immersion of the Canons. That goes for both Canon I and Canon II. Hexa is still a good IEM for $89, but it’s just too sterile to work across all genres long-term. Doesn’t give you that “wow” effect, beyond maybe just the quality that you get for $89. Maybe for classical music it’s less noticeable, but overall it fails to pull you into the music and make you wanna dance to it. Both of the Canons - I feel - are tuned way better for musical immersion. In summary Canon 2 vs. Hexa: More details, better engagement, relaxed highs, better for prolonged listening sessions, sucks you into the music, the music feels more alive.



Canon II vs Canon I (from memory)

One issue I discovered with Canon 1 is that I get both highs and bass fatigue. My preferred setting for listening was 010, which elevates the mids, and leaves the bass and the highs as they are. But even with 010, the V-Shape was just a little too elevated for me in the ends for relaxed long sessions of listening. My ears eventually got tired, and I needed to take a break. Everything had a little bit too much color, was too intense.

I'm happy to say that they've fixed that with Canon II - at least in the “DD” switch setting. They’ve also fixed the venting issue that Canon 1 had. The pressure buildup in the ear was a very minor thing, but I did notice that with the first model. With this model, there’s no pressure buildup.



Summary & Conclusion:

My favorite part about Canon II is that they’ve finally included a neutral-ish signature with the switches in “DD” mode, which is also the one I’ve been listening to the most. It’s still bassy, but there’s just enough bass that in my opinion is perfectly balanced for a warm, engaging, lively sound. A little bit more - and it's too much for me personally. Which is also why I probably won't be using the switches too much, aside from leaner metal & classical tracks.

The mids are great, and the highs are not fatiguing in the least (while still being present). When listening, I realized that yeah, you could crank the highs just a bit more for more of a "wow" effect - there is space for that - but I'm happy that the YanYin team decided not to do so. The slighly relaxed highs and pinna gain is exactly what I'm looking for in an IEM these days.

Can’t help but mention the bass quality. It’s there, it rumbles deep, it’s like being in a cinema with the right track. It’s definitely an IEM for bass lovers. Even on "DD" setting there's enough rumble and bass, when you push the switches up it becomes boomy for me personally. But I know that some people seek out those bassy IEMs, and this one will definitely deliver with the switches turned up without sacrificing the details.

Overall Canon II makes my music engaging, lively, lush, and full of details. The sound pulls me in and makes me want to move along in the rhythm. It’s just got that magic “musicality” factor that Harman IEMs like Truthear Hexa & others don’t. I couldn’t ask for more details in the music - everything’s there from the small sounds of the finger plucking guitar strings, to various decays etc. I play both bass and guitar, and listening to bass guitar on Canon II is just like me playing with the amplifier, with all the mini-details present. Every instrument just feels very alive in these.

Honestly, if you’re going to pay this much money for an IEM it better have that X factor, the musicality, or whatever it is that you’re looking for. This one has the musicality.

While I would have preferred three different variations on neutral tunings as I’m not a basshead, that’s simply not the DNA of Canon. It’s an IEM for bass lovers, and I’m happy that I can enjoy it with the “DD” settings without getting fatigued.

Overall 4.5 stars, just because I have a feeling there's other options for the price these days in addition to this one. But for me, in "DD" setting, it's pretty much a 5/5 and I'm not interested in trying out any more IEMs (or spending any of my hard-earned money on any) while I have this one.

Thanks again to @Joe Bloggs and the YanYin team, much love!