I am always on the search for great in-ear headphones, however I always seem to find the same problem, because they are in ear, they tend to have very small drivers, meaning there is never much bass, and in most cases the highs are also messed up in an effort to get more bass!

So I am always on the lookout for in-ear headphones that have good bass, yet have a nice flat frequency (meaning that the high’s and mid’s should also sound great)- a balanced sound.

I find at the moment, there are a lot of new audio companies rolling out, one of these companies that suddenly caught my attention was HiSound, they are a group of audiophiles, who are passionate about sound. Although they are not a very new company, it is a company that has only recently been heard, since a flood of other reviews were announced!

The POPO’s in-particular caught my eye, because of it pleasing design, and the claims that the company says made me want to see if they were telling the truth. I knew if they were, they would be a great pair of earphones…!

Now let’s get on with the review, I am going to talk about these earphones in different stages, so that if there is a type of feature that you like best from a pair of earphones, it will be easy to pick out weather these are good earphones for you!

Packaging:

The first time I saw the POPO earphones I was very impressed by the packaging, the box reminds me of apple iPod boxes, they go for a more simplistic design for the box on these earphones, however, you will notice that with almost all of HiSound’s range of audio equipment, the packaging is simply excellent!

Also included in the packaging is a ton of silicone ear-tips, so you should be sure to find a good fit from these earphones!

 

Design and Build quality:

The POPO’s, are, in a word, gorgeous. Made out of a mix of African Rosewood and plastic, with a beautiful red cable that doesn’t tangle and keeps a good constitution, these are a handsome pair of IEMs. They are very light, being made of wood and plastic, and sit in your ears easily depending on the tip you use. I can say with great confidence that these are one of the most beautiful earphones on the market to date. Although all things considered, the Popo looks marvellous and is one of the more attractive IEMs I’ve seen, up there with the JVC FX700 and the Dunu Hephaes. The beautiful cable and the wooden cups really do wonders. You will just love that Rosewood. The LCD2 is made of Caribbean Rosewood, this African counterpart is no less classy.

The POPO’s fit really well, and because of its lightness, it tends to stay in place. With the huge assortment of tips, you’re almost guaranteed to find something that fits in your ear. If not, you can juxtapose the tips with any of the “large-canal” tips you may have, such as the ones found on the Monster Turbines, the old Shure e2c series, the Dunu branch of IEMs, Ultimate Ears, and a lot of other brands.

I have used these earphones for a while now, and they have always felt as if they are made to a great standard, and do not feel like they would ever break. This is down to the high quality materials that these earphones are made out of, and it is another great reason to buy these earphones!- They will certainly last!

 

Sound:

So obviously, the most important aspect of a pair of earphones (in my mind), is the sound, so do they disappoint?- In a single word, NO, they do not disappoint!

If you read the start of this review, you will notice that I said that I like earphones to have a nice flat (or balanced) frequency, these earphones do exactly that, they have a nice flat frequency, what sounds great about a pair of earphones like this, is that the high’s are not piercing, yet the bass is still nice (punchy, yet clear). The mid’s themselves were pretty good, although there is a bit of coloration there in the lower mid’s where the bass bleeds in a bit. That said, vocals do come out quite impressively and fully. Because the mid’s are just forward enough, you do get the sensation that the singer is singing about five feet in front of you.  Because of the rich bass, instruments like guitars and most drums have a rich texture that is very satisfying. Of course, electronic beats and other instruments like bass drums that set the beat are very, very good on the POPO’s. On the other hand, jazz mainstays like saxophones and trumpets seem to lack a bit of air. The only slight problem that I have had with these earphones (and it occurs with most earphones- so it isn’t a deal breaker), is extremely high female vocalists, can at some points sound a tad harsh, and it seems to fade out the bass, but it is just something to note!

 

Conclusion:

I Have really enjoyed listening to these headphones, they are, I have to admit one of the best in-ear headphones, and that is great coming from me, because I usually hate in-ear earphones (mainly because of the small drivers- I prefer the classic apple style earphones, because of the bigger driver they tend to deliver a bigger clearer sound)- however, these earphones have changed my mind completely about the in-ear type, as I keep saying, when I look for some audio equipment, I always try and look for some that have a balanced frequency, so this way the high’s, low’s and mid’s should all be relatively good, and these earphones have showed me that in-ear headphones can do this. They are great is you are a basshead, but also, if you are an audiophile on a budget, and you want some earphones that look great but don’t break the bank, then these are perfect for you!

 

Pros:

·         Great looks

·         Balanced frequency, with excellent bass

·         Fit- comfortable, and lightweight

·         Nice anti tangle cable

·         Great price

·         Great company (living up to what they had claimed on their website)

·         Plenty of ear tips included

 

Cons:

 

·         Some distortion when you crank it up (especially with an amp)

·         Female vocalists can sound a bit harsh at times (although it has to be very high noted for this to happen!)

 

And that is it!

 

As you can see there really aren’t many cons, and the cons that are there are only small, these aren’t the best earphones on the market by any margin, however for a pair to be a lot better that this you are talking up to 10x the amount of these- so they are great for the price, and great overall!

 

If you have any questions or queries about this product or any questions about any audio topic, then please, either comment below, or email me- connor.harris36@yahoo.co.uk

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this review!