Reviews by jreqtech

Disclaimer
Please note that I am not an audiophile, and this review does not delve into the technical aspects of the IEMs. My impressions are based on my personal preferences, and others may have different experiences with this product. I also have a very limited experience with audio products so please take this review with a grain of salt.

The Letshuoer DZ4 was lent to me as part of a review tour in the Philippines.

Price: 69 USD (nice )
Link: https://letshuoer.net/products/lets...sive-filtering-module-edc-hifi-in-ear-monitor

Part 1: General Product Details

Package Inclusions:

• IEM shells & cable
• Carry case
• 6 pairs of eartips

The IEM Shells

• The shell body is made of a flesh-colored plastic. The plastic does not feel cheap. The faceplate is made of a rose gold-ish colored metal with a lightning bolt-like opening (a stylized “z” perhaps?), revealing an orange mesh inside.
• The earpieces weigh ~5.2g. They don’t feel heavy despite being about 2g heavier than my daily drivers

The Carrying Case

• The carrying case is a small round cylinder with a twist-to-open lid. The lid has the name logo of Letshuoer front and center.
• The carrying case is made of a matte plastic covering material that is prone to marks, so you have to be careful or you might scratch it easily.
• It is also very bulky as a carrying case, weighing at 76g and has a dimensions of 8cm x 8cm x 3.5cm. I think it would be better called a storage case

The Cable

• The cable is pretty good! It doesn’t feel cheap at all, and is wound and braided very well. There are no kinks or bends to it and does not tangle easily. It has a straight 3.5mm jack at the end.
• The cable has a Letshuoer-branded cable tie near the jack. Though is nifty, I wouldn’t want to use it as it keeps getting caught on my deskmat, pulling out the stitches. It’s a good thing it is removable.

Part 2: Subjective review


General Usage Impressions

• It fits perfectly, even a millimeter more and it would become too tight for my ear canals.
• I can definitely use these for long periods of time without being fatigued easily

Sound Impressions

• There’s some soundstage in the DZ4, but not enough to give you taht “airy” feeling, or immersive experience
• The tuning seems to be brighter, good for vocal tracks but I’m not really a fan for this sort of tuning.
• I need to bring up my volume higher than normal to get a good bass rumble, but when it’s there, it’s good.

Final Thoughts

The DZ4 is an okay IEM for its price. It gives great value with its good quality build, carrying case, and the freebie tips.

Will I buy the DZ4? Frankly, no. While I’ve only tried listening to a limited number of IEMs, I’m pretty sure the DZ4 has a lot of competition in the same price range that will fit my preferences. Still, I think it will fit many other peoples' preferences so this still gets some high points from me.

Besides, after coming from the Project M and Pilgrim, it definitely made me want to hear more of those kinds of IEMs.

PS: Thanks for the free candy!

Disclaimer
Please note that I am not an audiophile, and this review does not delve into the technical aspects of the IEMs. My impressions are based on my personal preferences, and others may have different experiences with this product. I also have a very limited experience with audio products so please take this review with a grain of salt.

The Project M was lent to me as part of a review tour in the Philippines. Thanks to Ian and Mars who invited me to join!

Price: 325 USD
Link: https://ditaaudio.com/products/project-m

Part 1: General Product Details

Package Inclusions:

• IEM shells & cable
• Carry case (with cleaning brush & cloth)
• A case with 5 pairs of Final silicon eartips in different sizes

The IEM Shells

• The shell is made of clear resin, with the Dita logo encased within in color-changing hue. The shell has a strange shape, but I believe it’s because it’s well molded to ears. The IEMs really looks beautiful!
• Each earpiece weighing at around 5.6g. They don’t feel heavy despite being about 2g heavier than my daily drivers

The Carrying Case

• The carrying case (called a “Systainer”) is specially made by a German company called Tanos for Dita. It’s made of tough plastic.
• Be careful when closing the case and your wires are inside, you might accidentally damage your wires if they get caught in the edges.

The Cable

• The cable though thin feels very premium. Sometimes they get all tangled up, but it’s no big deal, easy enough to untangle
• The jack can be switched between the included 3.5mm and 4.4mm, mind-blown! You won’t get the orientation wrong, as there’s a peg-and-hole to guide the insertion of the jack to the cable.

Part 2: Subjective review

General Usage Impressions

• The iems fit my ears perfectly, giving me a good seal with no extra effort. These might be my favorite fitting IEMs
• The shells are protruding from my ears a bit, not really an issue, just kind of feels weird.
• Feels very premium overall, I love the fit and the looks!

Sound Impressions

• The bass gives off a slight rumble in my ear but it’s not as strong as the Elysian Pilgrim.
• Song details are crystal clear with an emphasis on vocals. If you love songs with a lot of vocals, you’ll probably love this IEM. I personally think that it’s a tad bit too bright for me. It’s not a deal-breaker, this can easily be fixed with a bit of EQ fiddling in the mid-treble
• Soundstage also feels wide to me, but not as wide and “airy” as the Pilgrim.
• Despite the difference in tuning, I think this is still very much great for general use.

Final Thoughts

The Dita Project M is an excellent premium midrange IEM that is aesthetically pleasing with amazing sound to go with it. I enjoyed the unboxing experience, and the inclusion of extra tips was a pleasant surprise.

While the tuning out of the box isn’t my cup of tea, It’s still a wonderful choice for non-bass heads. When the budget allows, I will want to buy a pair for myself.

Disclaimer
Please note that I am not an audiophile, and this review does not delve into the technical aspects of the IEMs. My impressions are based on my personal preferences, and others may have different experiences with this product. I also have a very limited experience with audio products so please take this review with a grain of salt.

The Elysian Acoustic Labs Pilgrim was lent to me as part of a review tour in the Philippines. Thanks to Ian and Mars who invited me to join!

Price: 399 USD
Link: https://hifigo.com/products/elysian-acoustic-labs-pilgrim

Part 1: General Product Details

Package Inclusions:

• IEM shells & cable
• Carry case (with cleaning brush & cloth)

The IEM Shells

• The shell is made of metal, likely stainless steel. It looks very industrial, looking like bare metal silver. It features the Elysian Acoustic Labs logo embossed on both earpieces surrounded by concentric circles
• Each earpiece weighing at around 6.7g, almost double the weight of the budget IEMs I am currently using.
• The Pilgrim uses MMCX connectors (single pins) which allows you to rotate and adjust the IEM around the connector.

The Carrying Case

• The flip-top carrying case is made of faux leather on the outside. Embossed on the lid is the silver logo of Elysian Acoustic Labs. Seems like the faux leather would easily get dirty over time so consider bringing wipes to keep it clean.
• Inside, we find that the lid and bottom are covered with grey suede. The lid has a netted compartment for extras like eartips.
• In the container, I found a black cloth, likely for covering and cleaning the IEM shells, as well as a small cleaning brush.

The cable

• Thick and braided translucent but flexible cable. Feels very premium and doesn’t tangle easily, likely the best IEM cables I’ve ever seen.
• The slider, y-splitter connector as well as the straight 3.5mm jack have steel jackets

Extras

• There are no extras aside from the manual and warranty paperwork

Part 2: Subjective review


General Usage Impressions

• After a few hours of usage, my ears started getting tired due to the weight but after 3 days, I have gotten used to the weight
• The shell can get cold because of its material, might be uncomfortable to some
• The fit on my ears is loose, even if I changed tips from small to large. Can’t seem to make a good seal because of the shell’s shape, need to do extra effort to push them in. Occasionally, I’d need to push them in as the IEMS seems to keep sliding out.

Sound Impressions

• The bass is strong, but not strong to the point of being bothersome. it can also be felt, like there's a rumble in my ear that I only experienced from headphones.
• Details of songs are fantastic. Tuning doesn’t sound warm to me. Sounds better than my headphones for sure.
• Surprisingly wide soundstage. Music felt very "immersive”. It sounded similar to open back headphones!
• Fantastic for general use, whether it’s music, gaming, or watching movies .

Final Thoughts

Definitely an upgrade in leaps and bounds from what I am currently using (Phillips SHP9500 headphones & Truthear Hola)! The build quality of the shells, cable, and carrying case are top-notch. If I could afford this, I would buy this, BUT the fitment issue is a glaring issue for me since these are made of steel, I would be cautious of scratching or accidentally dropping the IEMs.

Nonetheless if you are looking for midrange (yes, audiophiles consider this midrange) IEMs that have amazing soundstage and details with a well balanced tuning, the Elysian Acoustic Labs Pilgrim should be at the top of your list, if not near there.

Here’s my review of the Hidizs SD2 DAC/Amp but there’s a catch: I'm not deeply entrenched in the audio hobby, and I don’t know most of the numbers and technical jargon that are usually mentioned when it comes to audio devices. So my goal here is to review this from a casual user’s standpoint.

Tested on:

• PC
• Mi pad 5
• Xiaomi 13T

Tested with:

• Truthear Hola IEMS
• Phillips SHP9500 headphones

In the box you get:

• The SD2 device itself
  • Compact plastic design with metallic accents.
  • Futuristic faceplate with indicator light.
  • 45-degree angle audio jack to reduce USB-C strain.
• USB-C to USB-A adapter
• Lightning to USB-C cable
• Documentation.

Visual Description:

The SD2 features a compact design and seems to be fully made of plastic with some small metal parts, though I’m not too sure. The faceplate has a futuristic design, with all the lines and panels. On one side, it has an indicator light to display the bitrate of the audio being played.

The audio jack seems to be at an angle of 45 degrees from the USB-C, which is apparently done to reduce strain on the USB-C port.



Comparison with cheap dongle

I’ve been using this cheap dongle from Shopee for less than 3 USD due to my mobile devices lacking a headphone jack. While the dongle gets the job done, it lacks the finesse and quality assurance that comes with a dedicated DAC like the SD2. The SD2 promises a higher fidelity audio experience and more reliable connectivity.



Testing Results:

Using the HiBy Music app, I enabled "Exclusive HQ USB audio" to optimize audio output. The SD2 provided significantly clearer and louder audio compared to the cheap dongle. The sound was more detailed, with distinct separation of instruments and vocals, creating a more immersive listening experience. Vocals sounded richer and more natural, while the treble was crisp and well-defined.

However, there were instances of overpowering bass, especially in bass-heavy tracks, which occasionally overshadowed other frequencies. Notably when playing Coldplay’s Orphans paired with my IEMs, the chorus felt a bit “sharp,” to the point of painful for me. Playing the same song over my Phillips headphones though, seems to tone down the “sharp” frequencies, so I’m not sure if the cause is my IEM or the SD2.

Additionally, during my Overwatch gaming sessions on my PC using the Phillips headphones, I noticed that the audio was sometimes painful, particularly when multiple sound effects are being played.

Despite these minor drawbacks, the overall audio quality provided by the SD2 was impressive, especially considering its compact size and affordable price. It managed to enhance the audio output of my mobile devices significantly, delivering a noticeable improvement in fidelity and clarity across various music genres and multimedia content.



Usability Concerns:

With the SD2's design, I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving it plugged into my phone while it’s in my pocket and doing physical activities. The potential for movement while walking or running could cause damage to my phone’s USB port, so it's something to be mindful of during mobile use.

Also, I noticed that after using the SD2 for a while, it tends to warm up quite a bit. This could get uncomfortable if you have it plugged and in use in your pocket for too long.



Conclusion:
With all that said, the SD2 offers a drastic improvement in audio quality for casual audio enjoyers who don’t have a mobile DAC.
And while I’m not a fan of its looks, the price to performance makes this a must-buy. Especially since after all that testing, my dongle stopped working.
While most of this is based on my preferences, I hope you found this review useful.

Good luck!

PS: I made a video review if you want to watch that as well:
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