Disclaimer : This unit was provided for an honest review by Hifinage. All opinions are my own. You can buy it from the store here.

Build & Fit
Thankfully, it is lighter than it's bigger brother OH10 even though it is also made up of metal, an aerospace alloy. The understated blue is a refreshing color to see in the world of iems.
The shells are durable and well built, and on the taller side (vertically) than the usual shell, due to its "crushed metal" look.
The fit in my medium ears is not what I would call snug, but not something that actually bothers me. Unfortunately, the OFC SPC cable quality is just poor and not upto the mark for the price. There are just way better
cables being offered with much cheaper IEMs. On further scrutiny, I have found the 2 pin entry system to be of high quality, which is banked to prevent breakage by forceful entry. Nice thinking from Ikko.




Amp Needs
At 18 ohm and 106 dB/mW this is designed for portable usage and needs no dedicated amp to be driven. It even sports a right angled 3.5mm SE jack to be plugged into your phone directly.

Sound

Lows
For people who prefer nuanced and controlled bass, the OH1 will be a revelation. On first listen, you'll hear the bass dig deep down and with remarkable control and decay. No sign of bloat into the midrane, no melding with the midbass.
The subbass feels like a different entity when it comes to its presence but coherent when it comes to presentation. Even in complex tracks, the subbass holds its own with authority and confidence. The attack is clean and impactful followed by a fast decay which ensures an overall sound that is not warm.
Midbass slam is on the leaner side but you'd be willing to ignore it given the tasteful subbass that grabs your attention. The bass is slightly and tastefully boosted compared to what is "neutral" to my ears. This is some quality bass, and some of the best I have heard even ignoring the price point.



Mids
Lower mids are lean and I would have wished for some more weightage here. And hence we reach the only noticeable issue with the OH1 : it's upper midrange. The upper midrange is considerably shouty. This shoutiness cuts through most of the spectrum and you hear it all the time, it imparts a big chunk to the overall
sound signature. This upper midrange boost affects other parts of the overall sound as well which I will expand in their respective sections. Harsh female recordings, or harsh recordings in general have that hard edge to them because of this. That sizzle.
This boost does "increase" the perception of microdetails in this region which is felt on prolonged sessions. Is the boost bothersome? It will be, if you are sensitive in this region, otherwise it won't be a deal breaker, but be sure that you will aware of it, cymbals are snare hits sound compressed because of this, adding a nasal touch to this region.
The boost isn't particularly very fatiguing to my ears though, it just skews the otherwise nice timbre and tonality slightly to the shouty side. You can curb this by some EQ, which is highly recommended. The presentation of the midrange is slightly distant, making it what you can call a mild "U shaped" frequency response.



Highs
In one word, inoffensive yet present. The zing and essence of the instruments are portrayed beautifully with nice balance. It is airy, clear and well extended to my ears. The open-ness to the sound gives it a refreshing and energetic character to the IEM's overall sound. The correct word to describe the treble region would be
"euphonic". There are no timbre problems to speak of in this region.



Soundstage, Imaging and Dynamics
To get it out of the way, the dynamics aren't really noteworthy, the upper mid boost affects the overall dynamics. The soundstage width is decent for the price range, but loses out to it's bigger brother OH10 which has a substantially wide stage.
Depth isn't something that IEMs in this price class can render properly, and the OH1 falls in the same class. Imaging is similar to other competitors in this range.

Detail Retrieval and Resolution
The detail retrieval and resolution do take a hit because of the upper midrange boost, masking some of the micro details and ambient details and information. This is even considering the fact that OH1 doesn't have a boost in midbass which is infamous to mask details. There's no denying the fact that
the upper mid glare manages to cut through the sound.





Conclusion
EQ'ing the upper midrange, the OH1 is an entry that redefines the price bracket. It has some of the best bass I've heard yet in this range and even ignoring price. It's a fun and energetic listen everytime with no noticeable tonality compromise either (after the EQ).
It's the kind of IEM that gets you on your feet. For the price it sells, it is an over-performer.

Build & Fit
It would be a surprise if a Kinera IEM wasn't the looker. The Bd005 Pro is quite the looker if I am honest. The 3d Printed shell is similar to a semi custom fit, which translates to it fitting like a glove in my ear. Blissful comfort for me.
The faceplate has a "glassy" glossy finish to it, and indeed for the 49$ you pay for this, you are surely getting more than your worth at least when it comes to looks.
The cable is of the generic kind, which isn't to say that it is bad, just that there are better cables coming in stock form with other IEMs, but surely none of them are eyecandy like the BD005 Pro.
A feature to note is that the stock tips are quite shallow, even the largest size, which might pose some seal issues with big ears.
Finally, the best feature of all has to be the mic in the cable. THANK YOU! Why don't brands offer mic cables? It's basically a necessity. The mic cable means it's a dream to use it outside on the streets. I do wish it had volume controls as well,
but I guess I am getting ahead of myself in a world where mic cables are probably rarer than a hen's tooth.



Amp Needs
16 ohm @ 108dB/mW, i.e, no portable amp needed. Plug them in your phone and enjoy. These are extremely easy to drive. But 108dB/mW is quite sensitive as well. So do not plug this into noisy sources as it will surely pick up noise.



Sound

Lows
The bass is surprisingly clean and punchy, and more noticeably it decays fast! Never thought I'd find good bass in such a budget offering.
In it's price point, bass information is fine and not worth complaining. Impact is controlled, and it is slightly forward in comparison. You buy these for their bass performance on the budget.



Mids
The presentation of the mids are not exactly to my personal preference. The lower mids tend to get overshadowed by the bass. I find the entire midrange to sound a bit closed off and muted, but at it's price point
this isn't much of a concern. Vocal performance is good for the price range, but not the best I have heard. They appear slightly darker than they should be although with enough surface detail retained. That slight dark tilt is more noticeable on female vocals.
On the plus side this tuning can work well with genres that are badly recorded or compressed, avoiding the shoutiness in the mids that come with them.



Highs
There is a substantial roll off in the highs which result in an overall warm and dark tone. Good for treble sensitive people. For my tastes, it is a bit too dark. There isn't much detail and information to be extracted off this region due to it's tuning but
you get a very laid back experience that doesn't even come close to being fatiguing. Sibilance control is good for the price. The mid-treble region has just south of "just enough" presence in my opinion.
I can see this type of tuning work out for certain genres that don't take advantage of active treble.



Soundstage, Imaging and Dynamics.
Soundstage and Imaging is quite good actually. It is noticeably better than the Blon BL03 and the Tin T2. The imaging is very precise for a 49$ IEM. The stage has more width than depth but it is also above average, wider than most of the popular IEMs in this price class.
Dynamics are a bit lacking due to the laid back tuning.

Detail Retrieval and Resolution
These aren't the most resolving IEMs because of the slight closed off nature in the midrange, you don't get much spatial information in the music. When it comes to detail retrieval, these do a good job when it comes to surface level detail.



Conclusion
At 49$ this is the new kid in town, but there is serious competition to face from the likes of Tin T2/T2+, Blon BL03, Sony MH755. The BD005 Pro handily beats them in the soundstage and imaging department while the BD005 Pro has a considerably warmer and darker tonality than them. This type of tuning will appeal to a subset of the audience and complement genres that take advantage of bass.

Disclaimer: This unit was provided by Hifigo as a part of a tour in exchange for an honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own. You can buy the KBear BElieve here.
Build and Fit
Featuring shells made of aerospace grade aluminium alloy, BElieve is hefty! It's got a reassuring weight to the chassis which indicates premium materials used.
The faceplate is inlaid with volcanic ash carbon fiber layered with a blue reflective material that only shows itself when caught under the light.
The cable is made of 4 strands 40 core 6N Furukawa single crystal copper Litz structure. The cable feel and material is good and feels premium and the cable isn't stiff.
Top score to KBear for nailing the build quality of this, it really is built like a tank.



Amp Needs
BElieve being rated 17 ohms @ 98dB/mW is very insensitive for an in-ear headphone given that most people will use it with portable sources. Portable sources like phones and
laptops will just not be able to drive it properly. I found myself running out of juice off my trusty Zorloo Ztella MQA as well. A portable amp is recommended and best performance
is attained off a desktop grade amp. Not only that, I heard the BElieve scale with better amps.



Sound

Lows
Star attraction of the show, hits DEEP with no effort whatsoever. Thick full bodied subbass that slams reasonably hard. Unfortunately the caveat to this being that the bass is
one-note and lacks texture. The decay of the bass is slow, adding warmth and creaminess to the sound. I am guessing that this is the sound signature that KBear had being aiming for.



Mids
The entire midrange is kind of laid back with reasonably well defined texture and information. The bass does bleed into the lower mids slightly and the result is a heavy lower-midrange response.
This won't be a problem for male vocals as it adds a thick body to them, albeit making voices sound deeper and heavier than they are. It might be too thick for some.
There is enough presence in the upper midrange to make the overall experience have some bite to it, occasionally coming out a bit hot and screechy for the critical listener. The overall tuning makes certain female vocalists lose some detail
from their voices. Evidently the tuning of the BElieve was aimed to be a more relaxing and laid back kind and it does provide that.



Treble
Pretty much to my liking as I prefer a more natural and slightly warm tone in the treble. There is no hint of lower treble aggressiveness to which I am terribly sensitive too. It's smooth and laid back. But of course to add the balance back,
expectedly there is a slight boost in the mid-treble which does result in sibilance. The sibilance isn't bothersome but I have found the IEM to be prone in picking it up, and it sticks out like a sore thumb in some genres of music only.
Timbre in this region is warm, but isn't skewed much. So users that are treble sensitive or fancy a relaxing and soothing time with their IEMs will love the treble tuning in this. It strikes a relatively nice balance of sounding warm and relaxing but not boring or dull.



Soundstage, Imaging and Dynamics
Soundstage is pretty nice on the BElieve. Depth and width is considerably more than the average IEM in this price range.
Unfortunately height rendition isn't seen, but that is asking too much at it's 180 USD price range.
Same case for the imaging, it's on par with the good IEMs of this price range.
Macrodynamics are okay, could be better if not for the relatively slow decaying bass. You trade the fast footed sound for a creamy cup of hot chocolate sound. On the flipside, the microdynamics are quite good because of the impactful subbass.
This is clearly seen to shine in certain genres.

Resolution & Detail Retrieval
You'd expect the BElieve to lack in raw detail and resolving power given it's bass emphasised tuning, but that is simply not the case. It extracts plenty of raw detail even without the boosted treble which most brands incorporate to "increase" detail retrieval.
This means you're not missing out on detail even though the experience is relaxing. The BElieve scores high in detail and resolution! I have found the detail retrieval to scale with better amps as well.



Conclusion
BElieve is a rich flavor infused IEM, it doesn't aim for perfect accuracy and transparency. It aims for a sound signature that you can relax to, without thinking or analyzing the music too much. For some genres like Jazz/Contemporary Jazz, the BElieve is what you might reach for.
Kudos to KBEar for such a unique IEM. And of course, the Be diaphragm! How could I forget?

Build & Fit
The carry case of the TM1 is made of ceramic which give it a premium feel and heft to it. I haven't come across a TWS with such a premium material on its carry case.
It does feel premium but unfortunately, ceramic doesn't make it scratch-proof as in my unit the case has attracted a few scratches from months of usage.
The earpieces themselves are lightweight and on the small side and feature the acrylic faceplate like the other offerings from Tipsy. The stem of the TM1 is shorter than average,
and people with big ears might have some seal issues. I have medium ears and I have seal issues, tip rolling is recommended which should fix the problem. Optimum seal is needed for reasons which shall be discussed in the sound section.





Connectivity, Battery, Range and Mic Quality
The TM1 features the new Qualcomm QCC 3040 chip and the Bluetooth 5.0. Pairing with the phone is instant with consistent result. However the earpieces use the Master-Slave mechanism of pairing with themselves.
Getting the earpieces to pair with each other consistently requires a certain order : Take the left out, wait for blue light to flash. Take the right out, wait for blue light to flash. Then the earpieces pair to each other.
If the order is reversed, I have faced inconsistent result. I hope Tipsy gets rid of this outdated Master-Slave Technique.
The case sports a Type C port (Nice!) and features wireless charging as well (Nice!).
Tipsy advertises a 6+50 hour battery life (6h = earpieces, 50h= case). In my experience, the rated battery life needs to be taken with a spoonful of salt in general as the parameters used aren't made public. In my usage you can squeeze 4.5h from the earpieces
listening at around 80% volume and around 40h more from the case. In short, the battery life of TM1 is brilliant! I barely reached for the charger, what a relief.
As for range, I can't give an exact number in meters but I felt no signal drop even though there were multiple thick walls between me and the phone. Actual results will vary depending on the phone.
Most TWS mics are, well, subpar. The mic in TM1 has the same "underwater garble" in the background. But it is totally usable should you need to take a call on the go. It's just not the best in class.





Sound Quality
Boy oh boy, do these have a great sound to it. Let's face it, TWS usually sound like poop, even if it comes from an "audiophile" brand. But the Tipsy TM1 is THE best sounding TWS I have tried, period.
Clean bass that has authority but no hint of bloat or bleed into the midrange. Enough texture in the bass region, separating it from the commercial junk that shoves bloated one-note bass in your face.
The treble is smooth, no harshness or rough edges to speak of, enough air to give it an open-ness to the sound. This isn't your typical treble tuned to appeal to the masses (i.e not treble murder), it sounds quite natural actually.
The midrange is plenty good for a TWS, it does indeed sound a bit thin, lacking body but it isn't distant like in the case of most V shaped tuned TWS. Male and female vocals appear to have slightly lesser body than there should be,
but it's mostly noticeable if you're coming from a mid-centric background. To sum up the tuning, I would say it's a very mild V shape, which is tastefully done.
I would like to add that the bass response is heavily seal dependent. Even the slightest loose seal and you lose most of the bass. So it's essential to have a complete seal.
The TM1 has stupendous imaging and a very well rounded soundstage. The soundstage isn't quite wide, but it is very well rounded, an encapsulating sphere around your head. And that imaging! damn! it has better imaging that most audiophile IEMs in the price range.
Pinpoint, sharp and precise imaging all around the soundstage.





Conclusion
This is by far the best sounding TWS I have tried. I can't fault the TM1 in any aspect. It's sound signature will satisfy not only the casual listener but also the "audiophile".
A strong recommendation if you can cough up the 899 RMB asking price (as of writing this review).

Disclaimer : The unit was provided courtesy of Hifigo as a part of a review tour. I am not being influenced in any way to say anything specific, all thoughts and opinions are my own. You can purchase the unit by clicking here.

Build and Fit
TinHifi's P2 features a 12mm planar diaphragm which is housed in a stainless steel shell. The chassis isn't bulky, in fact it's on the smaller side and will benefit from big sized tips for a nice seal.
The ultra fine mesh on the back gives it a nice sophisticated look, and the P2 is a closed back iem. The cable is a 6N OCC 2.5mm balanced cable with a gorgeous braid and is worthy of the robust 2.5mm to 3.5mm 90 degree and 2.5mm to 4.4mm pentaconn connectors you get in the box.
The overall build of the P2 is very nice, excluding the fact that the chassis is a bit slippery and people with big ears might find it small on the size. I found the best fit with the included foam tips and my findings are based on using the foam tips (for more reasons that follow in the sound section).



Amp Needs
The P2 is extremely power hungry, phones/dongles and even most run of the mill portable amps cannot drive it, no question.
Consider yourself chained to a desktop grade amp or a really capable portable amp. Tin Hifi hasn't stated the rated sensitivity but evidently it is quite low. It takes in as much current as the usual over ear headphone due to this.
P2 is very hard to drive and you need a desktop grade amplifier to get the best out of it, and there is no getting around it.



Sound
The sound varies totally when using stock silicone tips or foam tips.

On silicone tips :
The P2 does not sound good on stock silicone tips. The treble spike which renders the sizzle is sharp and piercing, the mids are hollow and the bass is boomy. Not a pleasant experience and I would not recommend using the stock silicone tips on it.

On stock foam tips :
Woah! It's like listening to an entirely different IEM! Everything changes drastically, and I mean drastically! The sound analysis follows :-

Bass
The bass is very present, subbass rumble isn't as deep, it focuses mostly on impact and quantity, it casts a warmth to the overall sound. Can't help but notice that the mid-bass is a bit one-note and still kind of boomy, similar to that of the KBear BElieve.
However this tuning feels to be aimed for casual fun listening experience and not the analytical/critical kind. You trade in some of the speed and cleanliness for impact and quantity. It's quite ironic, the bass sounds like it's off a big ol' dynamic driver.



Mids
Kind of laid back and not in your face, vocal presentation takes a step back. Mids have body, avoids sounding thin. When it comes to performance in vocals I found it to be good tonality wise, except occasionally female vocals did seem to lack some energy. This form or presentation complements badly mastered tracks/shouty vocals with an upfront and aggressive presentation.
This form of tuning aids long term fatigue free listen and never sticks out seeking attention.



Highs
The treble region improves multiple-fold when using the foam tips. The sizzle is gone, the sharpness and treble "needle" is gone. What you get instead is a smooth, laid back and relaxed listening experience. Some might even call it dark, although there is no . I have never experienced such a drastic sound change on changing tips.
There is no hint of harshness, and this presentation of treble I quite fancy. It almost feels like this is how the P2 was intended to sound like.



Dynamics
This isn't the fastest I have heard, but it isn't slow. In a similar price range the BGVP DM8 is faster overall (maybe a bit too fast?). As mentioned, it sounds like a big ol' punchy dynamic driver. It sets the pace : it rolls, you roll.



Soundstage and Imaging
The soundstage width is so-so, not congested by any means. The depth rendition is nice. The layers of the music come about quite nicely and easily discernible. Both the horizontal and vertical separation is really good.
Imaging is also a bit mediocre, while it doesn't feel smeared, it does feel a bit foggy and the competition provides better imaging, for example the BGVP DM8.



Conclusion
At 379 USD (at the time of writing) the P2 is a worthy addition in this segment, even considering that the competition is fierce. The sound performance on the foam tips is pleasing and aimed at a more fun experience.

Build and Fit
The build and style of Mimi is quite stylish, a repeating pattern seen in CatEar products. This features the DP100 shell which is smaller than the MX500 shell,
which is good news for all as its an easier fit in the ears, even in my not-big ears. I can wear these for hours without ear ache or pressure points. The cable is 1.2m 3.5mm SE, silver plated OFC.
The cable although beautiful to look at and interact with, has its pros and cons. The advantage being that it never gets tangled with itself, drawback being that it never stays wound, uncoiling itself the moment it is placed somewhere.
It is a pain if I'm honest. But hey, I am not complaining at 10 USD when the unit looks so beautiful, not to mention you get the CUTEST carry case as well, fits in your palm, it is SMALL!
It has the Shoonth style "handlebars" which are built immaculately, and give it an iconic look.




Amp Needs
Mimi is rated at 32 ohm impedance and 110dB/mW sensitivity, so it can easily be driven off a phone, but I found it to scale with better sources. You should obviously use a better source if you have it,
but you don't have to rush out to buy a better source for the Mimi.




Bass
Mimi has shy subbass, the subbass rolls off like almost every earbud. Which is a good thing as sizable subbass on earbuds ruin the experience with their limp impact. As a result, you'll be losing some detail and information in the subbass region.
What the mimi has in place is a taut midbass which shows no sign of bloom. There's always an accompanying punch to the music which is pleasurable, and honestly speaking a worthy tradeoff.



Mids
The upper midrange is subdued and could use a boost. String instruments could use some sharpness, as they're a bit cloudy in it's presentation. Female vocals could use just a touch of forwardness.
Male vocal performance are stellar for the price. Overall, the mids have great detail retrieval and an airy presentation, a very airy presentation which makes me beg the question : how is this 10 USD?



Treble
The upper treble is rolled off, so you lose the sparkle/brilliance and forwardness in the region. This results in an overall signature that could use some openness. The presence region is so well tuned; natural sounding with a perfect balance of forwardness and energy.
Hence the Mimi is forgiving of harsh recordings yet it retains and conveys the tone in the treble region excellently well, for a lack of better word. Tone and timbre of metal being stricken is also conveyed in its natural sense, which is really a big feat for such little cat paws.
One thing to note is that treble forwardness is direction dependent, so make sure to fit the Mimi snug in your ears, and point them "away" from the center of your forehead.



Soundstage & Imaging
Image distribution is unbelievable on the Mimi, it's so linear and clear. Soundstage is wide and airy. It's freakishly wide in it's price range, rivalling even the Koss KSC75, if not beating it in width. It lacks depth distinction, but hey its 10 USD, seriously?
Instrument separation here is much more than its worth, some serious level of distinction and separation goin on here.



Dynamics
Mimi is snappy and agile, and it's worth mentioning that the sense of macro-dynamics is more than micro-dynamics. The snappy feeling of Mimi makes it even better than it already is.





CatEar Mimi vs Monk+ (base variant)
The Mimi mauls the Monk+ in every aspect. The Monk+ has been dethroned as the best budget earbud, the Mimi is the new gateway to the audiophile sound on a budget.
The Monk+ is slow, veiled, bloated, lacks treble finesse and treble extension compared to the Mimi. The imaging on Mimi is light years ahead. The soundstage of Mimi is wider than Monk+, but not by much as Monk+ itself is quit wide.

CatEar Mimi vs Monk+ Shining Copper (60 USD)
The Mimi even takes on the Shining Copper which is worth 60 USD. The Mimi has better midbass control and impact, more forward sounding in the entire spectrum and simultaneously carrying more body. Treble on the Mimi has more body and information in the presence region.
Imaging on Mimi is on par with that of Shining Copper while the Shining Copper has more width. The overall presentation of Shining Copper is more diffuse and "sterile" while that of Mimi is more engaging.


Conclusion
A 10 USD, this is obviously a no brainer and if you're an earbud lover like me, this has to be in your collection. The cons listed in the analysis are done under critical analysis and in the greater scheme of things the Mimi sounds much better than it's price would suggest, rendering anything under it's price basically useless.
Even if I am not considering the price, the Mimi's performance is very commendable.

Build & Fit :
We have the transparent clear variant here for review and it is beautiful. But what's even prettier is the cable. It is a thiccc frozen UPOCC 6N 8-strand single crystal copper 24awg cable. The Litz structure is made by hand according to BGVP.
It is a heavy cable and the connector plugs are solid chunks of metal, which can even be used to hurt people. Every component of the cable screams quality and truly high-end. It is a balanced cable in stock form and you get 2 adapters, one to 3.5mm SE and another to 4.4mm BAL.
The cable is so thiccc that the DM8 barely fits in the included metal carry case. There won't be any space to keep the adapters inside.
Coming back to the shell, it's always fun to be able to see what's inside. The 4 pairs of BA and even the crossover board. Each pair of BA having their own bore, the DM8 being a quad bore. Fun stuff.
The shell is smaller than the Moondrop Blessing 2 and I didn't find the DM8 to be uncomfrotable. You get a wide assortment of tips too to tune the sound (Balanced, Vocal, Bass and Foam). Review conducted on Balanced tips.



Amp Needs :
Rated at 12 ohm at 110 dB/mW, DM8 is very efficient and can be run off phones. But if you're using a 350$ IEM, I'd expect you to have a good source to take advantage of this IEM.
Explicitly speaking, no external amp is needed.



Sound :

Bass:
The bass extension is abnormally good for a BA, it feels like a DD. The subbass is deep and tight, and DM8 has firm grasp over it, never losing control, never sounding loose or limp.
I haven't heard such great extension and punch off a BA as of writing this review. The subbass will force you to recalibrate your brain regarding what a BA can do.
It focuses on more on speed, texture, information and tightness than quantity which I personally prefer, even more so as I consider the bass quantity on DM8 to be optimum i.e of perfect quantity.
Even considering my bias for this tasty bass response, it is indeed boosted compared to "neutral" but not by much.



Midrange :
The upper midrange is bity and crispy. It isn't aggressive to me but it is getting right up to the limit, do note that I tend to prefer some more energy in the upper midrange than others usually. It might also be fatiguing for long listening sessions if you're sensitive.
So the upper midrange might sound a bit aggressive to others. The rest of the midrange I find fairly balanced with correct tonality. No issues in tonality with male vocals but due to the hot upper midrange, female vocals can come out to be sharp sometimes, specially on intimate recordings.
I find the detail retrieval in this range to be better than in the top end, micro-details and spatial cues are resolved with ease.



Treble :
The tuning in treble is played safe, there is not much emphasis on the mid-treble. I see this trend repeated across many brands and I see why they do it (to avoid sibilance, excess sparkle or harshness), the DM8 is no exception. This left me wanting a bit more as the IEM is very capable all things considered.
However, when it comes to the upper treble, it redeems itself with sufficient sparkle, brilliance and brimming with energy, neither does it feel closed in nor is it harsh. The airy and atmospheric upper-treble makes up for the tamed mid treble and the overall experience is balanced, all things considered.
The lower treble is free from spikes which is good news for compressed recordings/genres in general, with no harshness or tonality issues to speak of. The DM8's treble tuning is miles ahead compared to the DM6, which was very aggressive and harsh to my ears.



Soundstage & Imaging :
The imaging is class leading, it runs circles around the dt880 600 ohms which is already some of the best imaging headphones out there. I've rarely seen such a continuous soundscape from an IEM, bravo BGVP.
The soundstage is more wide and tall than deep. The center image's vertical height is locked on straight, and aided with some good height, the soundstage is tall and wide.
Unfortunately, the depth is not much to speak of. It ain't bad, but I have heard better for cheaper.



Dynamics :
Holy mother! I am predominantly a headphone user and the DM8 has better macro-dynamics than all my headphones (AKG K361, HD6XX, AKG K712, DT880 600 ohms, AKG K240 Sextett) driven off a desktop amp.
Listening to Dawn Chorus by Conforce, I was finally able to appreciate it in its full glory. Surreal macrodynamics for an IEM, so much so that it might get overwhelming sometimes, like recordings similar to Dawn Chorus.



Conclusion :
350 USD isn't exactly in the budget range for many people, but it is hard not to recommend the DM8. It is a potent player in the mid-fi range competing even with mid-fi headphones and outplaying it.

Build and Fit :
The faceplate of Anou takes into account scattered pearlescent flakes which changes color subtly when it catches light at different angles. It changes from reddish brown to gold and sea green to ultramarine blue. The design is sophisticated and it isn't chintzy or gaudy to look at. The color shift is lowkey and won't be attention seeking on the streets. The Anou is universal fit, the fit is perfect for my smaller than average ears. I can even insert it deep in my ears, which attenuates the noise a lot, resulting in some serious passive noise cancellation.
It uses the 2 pin 0.78mm to 3.5mm SE interface. The cable material is 5n OCC copper. The cable weave is thick and almost completely flexible, it does have the tendency to hold a small kink here and there.
In terms of accessories you get 4 pairs of silicone tips and 2 pairs of foam tips.



Amp Needs :
It's rated at 106 dB/mW at 32 ohm. Specs would suggest that this can be driven off a phone or portable dongle DACs. But I found myself almost maxing out my Zorloo Ztella MQA almost all the time to get the best results.
Which is indicative of the Anou requiring more power than its specs would suggest. Anou is best suited for high volume listening (off these dongle dacs) as it unravels the soundstage and dynamics much better with more power. On dynamic/quiet recordings, I found myself going up to 90% volume on the Ztella, which is considerably more than all the other IEMs I have tried on the same recording. Anou behaves very differently when you throw some power at it. Anou scales noticeably with a good source, so I would recommend using a good dongle dac like Zorloo Ztella MQA which is sufficient to take the Anou to it's full potential at high volumes.
I also paired the Anou with the budget dongle dac Tempotec Sonata HD Pro and had to open a lot of volume off it too, to get much improved results.
So in a nutshell, Anou for some reason needs more power than its specs would suggest and it scales damn well too. It does sound good off a phone, but you really want a dongle DAC/Amp for the best experience.



Sound

Bass
The entire bass region is surprisingly neutral. It has enough presence and forwardness to satisfy all save the bassheads who live for the thump. There is no midbass emphasis or bleed into the lower mids, in turn making the sound appear less congested and avoids being too warm. The bass never gets in the way as it is fast, yet you can always feel its presence, and for most of the times, it doesn't feel lacking to a person like me who is allergic to too much bass. It doesn't have the deep rumble and chest digging thump however. I would consider the bass in Anou to be very well balanced. I did find myself wanting some of the rumble sometimes on my usual test tracks.
But that lingers on being nitpicking given how coherent the bass is.



Mids
The mids are neutral, with no hint of shoutiness or honkiness, neither is it laid back in any sense making it V shaped , nor is it too forward. There are no awkward peaks in this range and the tonality in the mids is very realistic and lifelike. The vocal performance is accurate, with just enough energy in the upper midrange.
Lower midrange depth and body is just in perfect balance. Even better, the positioning of vocals isn't artificial. It is true to the source. It shows the difference in recordings with laid back and forward vocals like it's cakewalk. The depth in placement is easy to visualize, which makes the experience much more immersive.



Highs
The treble region is smooth. It's tuning is on the laid back side. It complements every genre I throw at it. For most people, the overall treble region will appear "natural". It avoids sibilance by conservative tuning in the susceptible regions. There is a roll-off in the upper treble and brilliance/air region which results in a slight lack of sparkle and brilliance, which is the only realistic gripe I have with the Anou. I ended up wanting just a bit more of that sparkle which would complete the picture.




Soundstage and Imaging
Now we're talking. The Anou's soundstaging capabilities is exceptional, class leading rather. And the imaging comes up right behind it. The Anou doesn't make everything sound wide, no.
But what it does is still remain true to source, i.e, it reflects the soundstage in the recording considerably better than any IEM I have tried till date. Listening to poorly recorded Djent music like that of Meshuggah, it appears flat and narrow just like it was recorded. But on music that is recorded good or even excellent,
the width is honestly jaw dropping. Like the usual David Chesky recordings, if you're sitting in a small room, you will be tricked into believing for a moment that you are listening to speakers.
The soundstage depth is astounding. Not just in front, but it extends almost to the back.
This crazy soundstaging capability enhances the layering of music to an extent that it even beats many mid-fi headphones. Putting on wide binaural recordings, the entire stage is presented to you if you close your eyes.
Bass direction, instrument placement in this scenario is really commendable.
For the first time on listening to Letters by Yosi Horikawa, I got to see some good semblance of soundstage height from an IEM that costs $169, which even headphones in the $500 range can't reproduce.
The imaging is spectacular given how good the soundstage is. Maybe sometimes I found the image distinction to be slightly fuzzy (very slightly, can be improved with better source).



Dynamics
Macrodynamics/Microdynamics are stellar. Anou is unrestricted when it comes to dynamics and in this case the dynamic range bottleneck is probably from other components of your chain (or in almost all cases, the recording). It clearly reflects the dynamics of the recording. With more power comes considerably more dynamics, the soundstage seems to unravel even further. It's as if Anou comes to life the more you push it.



See Audio Anou vs BQEYZ Spring 2

*Spring 2 seems impossible to get a good fit with, using the stock tips. The stem is too short and I never got a good fit with it. Using aftermarket tips might help in this regard. Anou fits snug like a piece of a puzzle in my medium ears.

*Anou requires more power than the Spring 2 to come to life, I consistently found myself reaching for more volume to let the Anou sing.

*Anou and Spring 2 have vastly different tonalities. Spring 2 has a more aggressive and forward tuning in comparison to the Anou which is much more balanced and neutral. The bass of Spring 2 digs considerably deeper and has enough rumble. The quantity of bass is enormous and it has thunderous impact, but it does bleed into the lower mids, unlike the Anou which has lesser quantity of bass and lacks rumble in comparison but has no bleed/bloom issues.

*The treble region in Spring 2 is grainy and the lower treble is splashy and spiky which throws off the tonal balance completely. I found it hard listening for more than a few minutes due to it's splashy lower treble which makes anything in that region sound tinny and compressed. Anou is leagues ahead in tonal balance and timbre in treble with no graininess to speak of. When it comes to speed and microdynamics, the Spring 2 has the upper hand.

*In soundstage and imaging, I would say that imaging on both are on par. In the soundstage department, I found Anou to beat out the Spring 2 in depth, the width are more or less similar, again found Anou to reach out slightly farther, but not notably more. But when it comes to transparency in the soundstage (i.e reproducing the original track's width and depth, not making every recording sound wide and/or deep) the Anou is clearly the winner. Even comparing outside the soundstage, Anou has more transparency being truer to source.

*To wrap it up, the Anou and Spring 2 trade blows when it comes to technicalities but the Anou is miles ahead when it comes to timbre, tonality and transparency.

Conclusion
Easily leads the sub 300 USD class of IEMs if what you're looking for is a transparent and balanced sound.

Build Quality
The resin faceplate is a gorgeous blue/black which is inspired by the color of the aurora. The shells are extremely lightweight as it features only 1 BA inside.
The shell size is slightly smaller than its bigger brother the Dunmer and so it fits flush inside my small-medium ears.
The cable has a nice braid but is lesser in girth than that of the Dunmer. It also has a tendency to kink on itself. However the plugs and connectors have the same great build quality and weight to it.
The stock eartips provided are of silicon and narrow bore, but are of a sticky texture which helps with the grip, although pulling them out requires some work.
You also get 1 pair of foamies just like in the Dunmer. The review has been conducted with the stock silicon eartips.



Amp Needs
Although the Blue Aurora is rated the same as Dunmer, i.e, 105db/mW @ 16 ohm, it plays at a considerably lesser volume than the Dunmer and I find myself reaching for the volume more than the Dunmer.
If you're using this off phone, you will need to turn up the volume substantially in comparison to the Dunmer.
An external amplifier is not needed, I would however, like for all products would recommend a decent source or a dongle DAC paired with a phone to get the best performance.



Sound

Bass
The Blue Aurora has tamed bass, given its a BA. You shouldn't expect DD bass out of it. There isn't enough of it to make you go "wow!" and the bass roll off is early. It doesn't have the slam and impact that is regularly felt off a DD. Neither does it dig deep.
You can still "hear" it, but you won't feel it.



Midrange
The Blue Aurora has GLORIOUS midrange. It is a banger for the right person. It has the romanticized midrange characteristics that people often call "analog-like". The lower midrange is noticeably elevated, so the entire sound is thick and has body to it.
In my testing, I have only come across a couple of complex tracks where the lower midrange elevation plays against itself making the sound too thick.
The vocal performance, specially male, on the Aurora is good with detail, texture and an all encompassing tonal richness thanks to the advantages of the BA design.
You trade off the impactful bass and transients of the DD to get more transparent and natural sounding midrange on it.
The upper midrange isn't boosted making the sound harsh and shouty, in fact it lacks (very slightly!) the upper midrange glisten and bite which would have made the midrange tuning perfect for its intended flavor.
The tuning of lower and upper midrange thus can make some female vocalists sound a bit thicker than normal but not enough to be a deal breaker.
The overall vocal performance paired with the good amount of detail retrieval makes the Blue Aurora an awesome IEM on the budget for mid-centric listeners.



Treble
The treble is rolled off, you won't be getting great extension on the top end with raspy violin notes but the tuning in the presence and other key regions in the treble is enough to not disturb the overall tonality and tonal balance.
The Aurora is a far cry from being too dark, in fact the treble tuning is coherent with the lushness of the midrange and thus I have no gripes against it.
It complements and completes the overall voicing that Tipsy had been looking to achieve.



Dynamics
The macro-dynamics are lacking in the Aurora. I haven't heard an all BA design with good dynamics and this is no exception.
Transients are smoothed out, attacks are slightly softer. If you want a dynamic and engaging listen then its bigger 1DD brother the Dunmer is a worthy candidate.



Soundstage & Imaging
This is where tipsy has nailed it. The soundstage has room for the instruments to breathe. This is especially necessary if you are aiming for a mid-centric sound. Otherwise the overall sound would have been congealed. Thankfully, the soundstage width is good which results in very good instrument separation.
The imaging and image distribution never leaves me asking for more. The soundstage depth, just like the Dunmer, is just okay. It is unfair to look for soundstage depth in such affordable offerings.
The more than adequate width and great separation makes the Aurora sound that much better. It is one of the rarer examples of a mid-centric IEM that doesn't sound congested or congealed.



Conclusion
Coming in at around 65$, the Blue Aurora has a quintessential mid-centric BA sound and respect to the Tipsy team for making it so with just 1 BA.
This IEM plays excellently with vocal centric genres, music of the 60s-80s and still wont break a sweat if you throw other genres at it. It has a distinctive and confident tuning which becomes apparent on the very first listen. And more importantly, it is well executed.
A strong recommendation to anyone looking to experience the mid-centric and/or BA sound at a budget.

Build Quality & Comfort
Like all Tipsy products, the Dunmer is handmade and the faceplate is polished to represent a night sky. The unboxing experience is suave and hip, you know Tipsy hails from the modern day and age and it shows in their packaging and design. The faceplate looks gorgeous. The surface of the shell is prone to picking up grease and fingerprints.
The cable is an 8 core Silver Plated Copper terminated with 3.5mm SE and 2 pin 0.78mm detachable on the connector side. The cable also features a robust y-split and a chin slider. The connector plugs are hefty and solid, with a chrome finish which complements the black color perfectly.
Regarding comfort, I have small-medium ears and they fit in my ears perfectly. Once in, they disappear entirely.



Amp Needs
The Dunmer features a 1DD rated at 16 ohm, 105dB/mW which makes it ridiculously easy to drive. You can drive this off your phone easily and since it's sensitive at 105dB/mW, you won't be needing to turn up the volume much either.
The Dunmer doesn't scale enough for me to recommend using external amplifiers or DAPs. But I do recommend using a dongle DAC to get the best performance. (check Dynamics section)



Sound

Bass
As someone who is allergic to bloated and slow bass or even huge quantity of bass, the bass on the Dunmer is a breath of fresh air. Is tight and very well executed. The subbass quantity isn't overdone and you feel it's hit all the time. Textural variances in this region is also brought about clearly. The bass speed is fast and plays in tandem with the rest of the spectrum.
The midbass region is where the elevation is clearly noticeable. Midbass slams hard which makes everything sound punchy and impactful. However when it comes to speed, it isn't the fastest out there and you can hear it's bloom with well recorded music. However, in most cases the midbass slam adds an energetic flavor to the bass response.



Midrange
The lower mids have a slight touch of warmth but the quantity of warmth is done tastefully and in no way does it mask details. The upper midrange is slightly muted which makes it forgiving of badly mastered shouty music and rock/metal in general. This muted character in the upper midrange makes well recorded intimate vocal performances lack a bit of "bite" and "shine" to them.
However, the positioning of vocals and midrange frequencies is almost perfect; not too forward, not too recessed.



Treble
The treble response isn't overdone, the overall coherence in this range is astounding. There is an emphasis in the 7kHz region which adds a shimmering metallic twang to the region which becomes evident in cymbal-ridden music. The highs are never sibilant, harsh or fatiguing. Other than its metallic timbre, the treble response is almost ideal for all genres of music thanks to its tuning.



Dynamics
Micro-dynamics is very good, aided by the tasteful fast bass and impactful midbass. The dynamics do improve noticeably when you move up to a cleaner and well implemeted dac. If you're listening off your phone, its noisy output stage could very well be choking the Dunmer's dynamics. A dongle DAC might be the best bet to get the Dunmer to it's full potential.



Soundstage and Imaging
Soundstage width is good. And the imaging is very good. The instrument separation is excellent. The soundstage isn't deep, but that's expecting too much for its asking price. The overall soundstage is more flat/2D like most IEMs in this price range (and even much more).



Conclusion
This is a solid IEM, and I consider it some of the best around the 100$ price point. It's sound signature is engaging, fun and tastefully executed with great technical performance which make it an exciting listen every time. In this day and age when brands are shoving 10, 20, or even 30 BA drivers as a gimmick, Tipsy shows the others what can be done with only 1DD. And it is because of this I have a newfound respect for Tipsy.
If your budget is around 100$, the Dunmer is a solid choice. Period.

Disclaimer: The unit has been sent to me from Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Purchase link (non-affiliate): https://hifigo.com/products/cozoy-t...84khz-dsd-hifi-decoder?variant=31684552785969



Build Quality: The Takt C is made up of aluminum entirely. The form factor is sleek and is on the longer side. The unit feels solid in the hands and the machining is exquisite with rounded edges and buttons. It has volume up and down keys with a play/pause button. However, there is a design flaw involved with the volume buttons, being that the volume keys are flush against each other with no spacing and on top of that, the buttons are quite small in size leaving most of the surface empty. This makes changing volume a chore for people with big fingers. I would have liked if the volume buttons were elevated to the height of the play/pause button for ease of press. These gripes aside, the unit feels solid in the hands from every angle.



Utility: Driverless Recognition in Windows 10 and multiple Android phones that I have tested. It passes through microphone audio and people on the other end did not complain about the voice quality. Now coming to the biggest con of this unit, the heat generation. I have used multiple type c dongle DACs that provide the same amount of power as this but show minimal to no heating while the Takt heats up in barely a minute and gets absurdly hot in even 2-3 minutes which is a big factor to take into consideration. You might be thinking that I am over exaggerating, but this device overheats almost instantly. After about 30-40 mins of usage, it gets absurdly hot. The overheating will be a deal breaker for a good number of people.



Sound Analysis: Takt C is equipped with the SABRE9018Q2C dac chip, and it is reflected in the sound quality. It sounds exactly how a modern DAC/Amp should sound like. There is nothing much to write about the sound quality except that it does everything quite good. The bass, mids and highs are exactly how a SABRE dac usually sounds like. Which might not be good news for all as the treble region has the signature SABRE Glare and is quite analytic in nature. I would avoid pairing it with bright IEMs/Headphones as it would be fatiguing after some time. It is best paired with relatively dark sounding IEMs/headphones. It does have oodles of power at 28mW @ 32 ohm per channel, to drive almost any IEM and easy to drive headphones with ease. However, with higher impedance transducers it shows poor driver control just like the Tempotec Sonata HD Pro, making them sound sibilant and harsh. For example, with the HD6XX, the treble is quite accentuated and sibilant. I would avoid pairing with higher impedance transducers.



Conclusion: As of writing this review, the Takt C retails for $110 and for its price, it has enough power to drive almost any iem in the market and it sounds just like the standard SABRE dac should i.e great. It is revealing, analytic in the treble region and doesn’t feel lacking in any department. However, it does seem to take a hit in the utility department with that absurd overheating and weird button placement.

Disclaimer: The unit has been sent to me from Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Purchase Link: https://hifigo.com/products/2020-qoa-mojito-2-sonion-ba-4-knowles-6ba-driver-in-ear-earphone-iem



Build and Fit:
As with all the QoA products, the Mojito is quite a looker. The resin shells are beautiful to look at and are very lightweight, and in actuality the cable weight itself is comparable to the weight of the IEMs. The lightweight nature is also partly due to the 6BA setup (2 Sonion BA + 4 Knowles BA). The fit is quite good for my small ears, with the IEMs giving a good proper seal and passive isolation. The nozzle length and girth are fine for my ears although some people with bigger ears may find it smaller than their liking. Thankfully this time it has a proper lip on which the tips can sit, unlike their Pink Lady. The cable supplied with the Mojito is wonderful to behold and feels excellent on daily handling.



Amping:
At 23Ω and 118±2 dB sensitivity this is driven off anything, no dedicated amplifier needed.



Lows:
The mojito being an all BA setup, we must keep our expectations in check. The subbass punch and rumble are weak and have little impact and texture. It is audible for sure but you can actually feel the drivers straining. But then again, BA. However, the bass proper has some real good texture which caught me off guard. Detail retrieval and texture in this region is quite commendable and surprising.



Mids:
The midrange is congested. Everything feels squished and congealed in your ears. To make matters worse, the tonality is off in this region, instruments sound honky and jokingly off. Vocal tonalities are also tonally off. Female vocals retain its naturality.



Treble:
Treble is rolled offf after the Presence region. Splashy cymbal hits. Lacks a bit of air and sparkle. Will not be a good match for genres that need active treble response.



Soundstage & Imaging:
Although imaging isn’t quite worth noting, the soundstage depth is really something. Depth separation is genuinely very good. The mojito’s depth depiction caught me by surprise in many tracks, giving it a new dimension.



Conclusion:
With its tonally off midrange, it’s a unpleasurable experience to hear certain genres of music on this. The good qualities of Mojito being its strong soundstaging capabilities and excellent resolution throughout the board. Buy only if this is the exact sound signature you fancy.

Disclaimer: The unit has been sent to me from Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.



Build and Fit:
A remarkably beautiful IEM by design, the entire chassis is made out of plastic, hence lightweight. I do wish the pattern extended all the way down to the shell. Overall, the build seems to be good for the price but long-term durability may be questionable. However, the fit is perfect for my ears and I don’t see anyone having a problem with its fit. The cable is thick and very flexible, but is prone to tangling.
The big problem with the fit is that there is no lip on the nozzle of the IEMs so on taking the iems out of my ears, I am left with the tips stuck in my ears! This is a common problem faced by other users as well! This is unacceptable in any IEM of any price range!
Amping:
At 16Ω and 112±2 dB sensitivity this is driven off anything, no dedicated amplifier needed.


Lows:

There seems to be an overwhelming amount of subbass in this IEM. Its extension is very deep although not pleasant to have being shoved in your ear for long. It bleeds through anything and everything in the mix. I must address that the texture variances in this region is brought out well however the bass is slow for sure.
There is also a noticeably big hump in the midbass which makes the sound even more bloated and “one-note” and fatiguing after some time. Overall, there is a lack of finesse and a massive bloat in the low end which is definitely going to be a deal breaker for many.


Mids:

The midrange is just okay. It is not as forward as the bass however the lower mids are masked by the bass bleed which results in lower mids that have little juice and body. In the vocal department, the vocals are distant for both male and female with not a lot of detail and texture, except baritone vocals which sound good. Instruments like saxophone and other Brass instruments lack body and sounds thin. Pianos have a more or less natural tonality and doesn’t sound thin. The region of Upper midrange however is tuned nicely, it is fairly natural sounding without any unnatural harshness.




Treble:
The tonality in the treble region is what I would call a bit south of correct, but without any sibilance or harshness. The overpowering bass gives the treble a darker tonality. The timbre of instruments in this range is good for the price range. However, the response in the air and brilliance region is subdued which leads to a closed off sound with lack of airiness. Resolution in the treble region is quite good for the price range, it seems to capture the micro details despite the bass bleed masking the overall region. Overall, the treble region is smoothed out noticeably and would have been a far more enjoyable experience if it weren’t for the bass bloat masking the region.




Soundstage and Imaging:
Starting with the soundstage, the width and height are nothing special, they’re pretty average for something in this price bracket. Same goes for the imaging. However, the soundstage depth is actually very good! The depth and layering are more pronounced than an average IEM of this price bracket. The depth and separation are brought about rather effortlessly even in songs that aren’t recorded or mastered brilliantly.


Conclusion:

It is obvious that Pink Lady struggles with many genres and it isn’t a pleasurable listening experience because of its overpowering bass. The sad fact is that it is not a pleasurable experience for genres that CAN take advantage of the massive bass either because the top end is smoothed out and recessed. Definitely not the best IEM in this price bracket by any means.

Hifigo purchase link (not affiliated) : https://hifigo.com/products/qoa-pin...tor-hifi-earphone?_pos=3&_sid=06c967040&_ss=r

Disclaimer: The unit has been sent to me from Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Build and Fit:
The shell is made of 3D printed medical grade resin and the faceplate is made up of stainless steel. The units are hefty and feel solidly built. The cable has the perfect length for portable use, the material of which is reasonably flexible and well built. A bit on the thinner side which is a plus given the unit itself is heavy. No complaints regarding the build quality.
Comfort is a big issue for me because I have small ears. And I suspect that the Blessing 2 will be a pain to wear for people with small to medium sized ears. The size of the nozzle is quite thick and so is the entire chassis size. The chassis has to rest outside the ear canal entirely by design. Pushing it in the canal for a better seal is really quite torturous. Comfort is quite disappointing for the price.




Amping:
With an impedance of 22 Ω @ 1kHz (± 15%) and sensitivity of 117dB / Vrms @ 1kHz the Blessing 2 will work off of any portable device. No dedicated amplifier needed, as it does not scale with better amps.




Sound Quality:
Overall, it’s a complete and full sounding IEM with resolution and speed that is awe inspiring. It handles complex tracks with ease. It is eager and aggressive in its sound presentation.

Lows:
The bass extension is deep. From my testing the subbass goes down to 11Hz with ease. The subbass attack is remarkably clean and only comes in play when called for. The bass in general is omnipresent in all tracks but with subtlety, no sign of bloom into the mids. The quantity of subbass shouldn’t offend anyone save the raging bassheads who want some serious pounding all the time. Midbass response is perfectly linear so there is no hint of bloated boxiness in the sound.




Mids:
The lower midrange has a realistic and natural tonality without sounding too thin and weightless. Male vocals sound good. Not something extraordinary, but good.
However the upper midrange is a bit hot for my personal taste and it may sound a bit thin in some tracks. Vocal performance is really good: the intimacy and detail retrieval are really good; I found the Blessing 2 to capture all the details and shove it in the ear. However, the tonality of female vocals is slightly harsh.




Highs:
The highs are tip dependent. I found the highs to be unrefined and grainy when using narrow bore tips. On changing to the wide bore tips, the treble opened up and it sounded right with no more graininess. The highs do lack a bit of airiness to them and it feels a bit muted with respect to the other parts of the frequency range. However, the Blessing 2 displays incredible detail retrieval and textural variances in this region which kind of balances the scale in my opinion. The timbre for the most part is as natural as it can get, only that I wished it had just a little more shine and sparkle in the treble region to make it absolutely perfect.




Soundstage and Imaging:
The soundstage is fair. The width isn’t too wide to behold but calling it narrow would be insulting. So, the soundstage width is fair. The same goes for the soundstage depth. The layering is depicted well but not to the degree I would call mesmerizing. However, the soundstage height is quite good, which is rare to find in iems. It presents a tall wall of sound in front you which is a joy to behold.
Coming to imaging, the Blessing 2 takes the cake. The imaging is strong and there is no hint of fuzziness at any point between the L-R channels.



Conclusion:
The Blessing 2 is a solid offering from Moondrop that seems to set a high bar when it comes to sonic performance. However, the design and fit definitely needs some improvement.

The overall sound is clean and balanced. The highs are clean and not sibilant or in your face. They are fairly recessed but have great extension which keeps the music alive and not sound dark. Hence these make a great candidate for long listening sessions without fatigue. Vocals sound amazing in these. Been listening to a lot of Jim Morrison, Sam Smith and Freddie Mercury lately and I can definitely confirm that the vocalist takes a step forward. The mids are surprisingly very well detailed and cozy. any vocal based music will sound fantastic in these. the presence of a good amount of midbass which doesn't bleed into the lower mids gives a good heft to the sound . The drawback is that it seriously lacks the sub-bass punch and rumble but hey, you're already getting much more than your money's worth.
Soundstage is fairly well (lesser than the crazy Koss KSC75X at 17$) but the imaging is quite good.
Surprisingly at 55 ohm and 91dB/mW this is classic AKG i.e needs more power than it should. So an amp is absolutely must to even get sufficient volume. I have to keep it at 12 o' clock on the Magni 3 high gain all the time. On quiet recordings I have to keep it at 2 o' clock.
The comfort is crap if you're using stock pads. The stock pads are shallow, hard pleather that doesn't breathe. Gets sweaty and hot very soon. A brainwavz XL Round Perforated pad is recommended (the non XL is a tight fit and hence not recommended)
For 50$, this is epic, give it a try.

Build and Aesthetics:
The entire body is made up of plastic except a few small parts that use metal.
Although people can scoff at an almost entirely plastic build, it results in a very lightweight headphone. Since this is mainly intended to be used in studio/home, the plastic build isn’t that big of a deal. But at 350$ (INR 25000) it would have been better to see more metal incorporated.

Fit:
Uses the classic suspension strap mechanism of AKG, the strap here being made of leather; no complaints regarding the headband, works all the time and works great.
The earpads are velour filled with dense memory foam. The pad size is massive so your ears will not touch the circumference of the pad. But the pads are not that deep and rather shallow, and big sized ears will touch the mesh inside. Overall, the pads are super comfortable, although they get dirty really quick.

Amping:

It is deceivingly power hungry at 105dB/mW and 62 ohms. With portable devices you will be able to power them but forget about driving them. A desktop amp/dac is absolutely necessary. The cans seem to keep on sipping power like it’s nothing. It requires a lot of power from a quality amp to show their true potential. When underpowered it will sound thin in the upper mid-range with very less bass impact (verified with the Aune X7S). The Magni 3 can drive these well at its price range but the depth in the soundstage is not as well pronounced. A Schiit Asgard 3, Lyr 3 is recommended. With proper driving power, the lows are more impactful with more depth in soundstage.
You must have a quality amp/dac if you’re looking to buy these.

Soundstage and Imaging:

The soundstage is the star attraction of these cans. The K701/K701/K712 Pro are some of the widest staging headphones ever. Since the soundstage is so wide, the music is always airy. It reaches extreme left and right but the sound never quite comes close to your ears. As a result, the sound is always very relaxing. The complete opposite of the likes of the 600/650 where the sound is always in between your ears and intense.
You might expect that the imaging is going to take a hit given the super wide soundstage, but it’s not. The imaging is accurate even in the extreme left and right; the center image is a bit wide and very accurate. But when it comes to diagonally ahead of you in the left and right direction, the imaging is a little bit fuzzy.
But overall, it is excellent to see the imaging not being compromised as much given its soundstage capabilities.

Sound:
Starting with the bass, these cans have an astonishing bass extension, which is quite rare in open backed headphones. The bass is very fast and clean throughout. It is never bloated, doesn’t bleed into the mids and is very coherent with the rest of the frequencies. When underpowered the bass quantity is quite less and not punchy at all.
But thankfully, these headphones can be EQ’d marvelously. Boosting the subbass in the EQ results in some clean, controlled and fast thumps. The subbass rumble is also astonishing with EQ (Track- Flight to LAPD from Blade Runner 2049 OST, Mountain from Interstellar OST).
The mids are natural, they are full bodied and not tinny and their presentation is not in your face. It’s when you hear vocal based songs that you notice that the vocals have a layer of warmth over them, which does make them sound a bit unnatural but quite pleasing (Track- It’s A Kind of Magic by Queen, I Feel the Earth Move by Carole King).
The problem arises in the upper mids, where there is an awkward hump at 2kHz. The peak although not ear shattering, is evident in some rock and roll songs where the electric guitars sound overly crunchy and in some cases, it can get a bit too intense (Track- Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Rolling Stones, Grand Designs by Rush, Diamonds and Rust by Judas Priest).
The treble response is absolutely master crafted. I would like to make it absolutely clear that these headphones are never sibilant (unless the recording is, obviously). Violins, saxophone, trumpets and any instrument with high frequency extension just sounds phenomenal with such a beautiful timbre. The entire treble range is full of energy and vibrancy. I almost had an out of body experience in some of the string based songs I tested (Track- Artemis by Lindsey Stirling, Marry You by BB King and Eric Clapton ).
The treble range is the most forward among all the frequencies. If your music has a lot of strings or instruments that have a lot of treble extension, they will be presented first to you. Then comes the vocalist who’s a step back in comparison, along with the rest of the band.
The over response in the upper mids and the energy in the treble range results in what I would call a slightly bright sound compared to neutral. This combination also results in a very euphonic and euphoric sound that always keeps you tapping your feet. I am personally allergic to bright headphones but to be honest I never felt the need to tone down anything in the k712 pro: because of its dynamism. The K712 is very dynamic when driven properly. Its speed is also very commendable given it’s a dynamic driver. Feel this portion of this song is a bit harsh? Bam, its over.

Build & Aesthetics:

The shells are made of metal through and through which results in a durable build quality. The downside being that in winter your ears get an ice-bath for a minute until it reaches thermal equilibrium with your body temperature.

The T2s are aesthetically pleasing and nothing screams out of place. With round and smooth edges, when plugged in they appear quite discreet and minimal, not appearing gaudy and drawing too much attention.

At 50$, the stock cable it comes with is of commendable quality with the ends molded in resin. But if you're a seasoned audiophile you'd know that the cable texture is nothing to write home about. It tangles easily and it has a rough "rope-like" texture.

An aftermarket copper plated cable is highly recommended with these (explained later in Treble section).

The mmcx connectors, also molded in resin is cause for concern as there have been reports of the left connector being loose. But thankfully Tin HiFi has solved that with the newer batches of the IEM which come with an improved cable.


Overall Score: 3.5/5.


Fit:
Well there's no other way of putting it: if you have big ears, these will not securely fit which will inevitably result in loss of bass quantity. Even with the foamies the fit is not secure, although a tad bit improved.

Which means there's good news for people with small ears (including me): these go down deep in your ear canals causing no issues with the fit.


Overall Score: 3.5/5.


Amping:
It is a 2DD Driver unit with 16Ω impedance and a sensitivity of 102dB/mW hence no amping is needed. You can drive these off a phone with ease from the 3.5mm jack.

Sound:

Right off the bat, these are not bassy IEMs, if you're an avid basshead, look elsewhere. The quantity of subbass qualifies just enough to be passable. Same goes with the frequencies all the way up to the midrange. It's present enough to not sound dry but don't expect the thump. The good news is the bass is fast and accurate. But if you really want some more kick from the low end, these drivers are capable of handling a good amount of EQ. Turn up the subbass frequencies a notch or two and be surprised with ample amount of clean and fast bass. No bloating is noticed. Bass mods are not recommended as they bloat the bass.

The mids are where these IEMs redeem themselves. Detailed breakup of the frequency range performance is seen below.

100Hz-800Hz: the graph shows a nice smooth valley which results in the sound being "bodied" and fuller, not at all hollow sounding which most budget Chi-Fi IEMs fall victim to.

1kHz-4kHz: the curve rises but steadily, peaking before 3kHz. Electric guitars have a good "crunch" to them and sounds pleasing. No harshness is noticed even on Judas Priest's Starbreaker and Rolling Stone's Rock and A Hard Place.

5kHz-8kHz: This is the party piece of the T2. They are sibilant, very rarely, on female vocals only, if the mastering of the track itself is a bit hot on the treble. This is due to the peak at 8kHz, but it's not as strong as you'd might expect just by looking at the graph. Soulperfreesia's Underwater Love is already mastered a bit hot on the treble and the T2s on this track are a tiny bit sibilant sometimes. But the really commendable part about its treble performance is the smoothness. The treble here is really smooth and it absolutely razes many other IEMs more than double its price when it comes to overall smoothness of treble. The timbre of string instruments and orchestral instruments are truly jaw-droppping for an IEM that costs 50$. Lindsey Striling's Artemis induces an eargasm every single time. The crisp and raspy sound of the violin strings are truly incredible.
Remember the copper plated cable? The overall treble is blanketed with a slight touch of warmth, reducing the slight sibilance noticed on some tracks. The difference is enough to be noticed right from the get-go. The mids are also noticeably more forward.

10kHz-20kHz: The air region is boosted, making the sound very airy, all the time. Which is very pleasing to the ear.

Soundstage and Imaging:
Soundstage is quite wide when it comes to width. The boost in air region also helps in presenting an airy soundstage. It cannot do height or depth that well.
Imaging is just good enough, could be better.


Overall Score: 4.6/5

Conclusion:
If you can see past a few of its shortcomings, the positives far outweigh the negatives. This is a legendary pair of IEM, and for good reason! No matter if you use 50$ headphones or a 50000$ Orpheus, you need to hear it! Amazing what you get for such a low price.


Absolute Overall average: 3.8/5

Absolute Overall average with a copper cable and a warm DAC : 4.6/5