Earbuds in general have fallen out of the public eye in recent years. The lack of a seal as well as ample amounts of sound leak have left this product sitting on your table at home while you take out your in-ear earphones instead for portable use.
Though there are caveats to this design, I also believe there are benefits to wearing an earbud in place of an in-ear earphone.
The EM3 is the new ‘budget friendly’ offering from Fiio. If you’re not familiar with Fiio as a company, they hit well above their price bracket for the majority of their products including portal and desktop amp/DACs as well as dedicated DAP devices and a few earphones to balance out the mix.
This low cost earbud give no reason for you now not to replace your default phone and ipod earphones. They are amazing value and the review below will discuss their qualities in more detail.
Just a disclaimer: This product was sent to me by Fiio to conduct an unbiased review. I have not been given any information to convey from them and will give my honest personal opinion
Specs:
Packaging:
For such a cheap product they actually do come with decent packaging. The box is solid, is structurally very sound (since there are things inside to hold it’s shape). The material is a recycled-paper feeling box with standard card folded inside to house the earbuds and extra foam cushions.
I will provide a picture only for the sake of it. In my opinion for a product of this price range, I couldn’t care less about the packaging. Of course it has to look decently appealing to the consumer, but I’d like the majority of the cost to go into the sound quality and the build of the product itself.
The inclusion of 3 foam cushions in total is a good touch though. They do wear out/ stretch and fall off over time I’ve found from other earbuds. So spares are a must.
Build Quality:
When I first unboxed these earbuds, after thinking ‘hmm, that’s pretty good packaging’ is ‘damn, these don’t feel hollow like other cheap earbuds’
That’s exactly it. They don’t feel cheap at all. They are weighty for an earbud and there is no hollowness or rattling at all. Very good build. Even when I flick them with my fingernail it doesn’t make a hollow noise. This either means they used pretty thick plastic for the housings or the insides are jam packed. The drivers inside are 14.8mm in diameter so there must not be much room left in there.
The cable is a mix between a rubbery feeling cable and a smooth plastic one. It’s got a rubbery texture, but it isn’t as soft and flexible as a full rubber wire if you know what I mean. I don’t think of this as a bad thing. Overly soft cables tend to tangle easier, and these I’ve not yet had an issue with tangling.
The mic and controls are decent feeling too. Less so than the earbuds themselves but nowhere near cheap feeling.
Lastly the cable is terminated in a right angled, gold plated 3.5mm plug. There is ample strain relief on both the earbuds and especially the right angle connector. I don’t see myself fraying this.
Design/ Comfort:
The EM3 has a dual ported design. One port directly behind the driver facing out of the ear. As well as a skinny long port down the shaft of earbud, above the Left and Right indicator letters. The lower port definitely makes less of an impact on sound.
This design gives the EM3’s more of an open listening experience as well as a very good bass response. But I’ll go delve further into that later.
In terms of style. It’s a plain black earbud. It has some styling on the back to look not too plain. For me it’s inconspicuous, which I like.
The comfort of these is great in my opinion. With earbuds you can’t really go wrong unless you make an oblong shaped bud. As long as it’s round and not too large, it’s going to be comfortable. The EM3 is no exception. It’s very comfortable and I forgot I was wearing it after a little while.
Sound Quality:
What everyone has been reading these reviews for. Now for sound quality I will be comparing these with the earbuds that accompanied the Galaxy Note 5, and the Sennheiser OMX 980 (yes I know this is not fair).
I assume, may it be wrong of me or not, that these earbuds will be a doorway to the audiophile world for many unsuspecting people who just want to replace their standard phone earbuds and get a little more sound quality without paying the big bucks. This is why I’m comparing them to the Samsung earbuds that came with a recent high end flagship, the Note 5. Bear in mind that I am only comparing sound. Nothing else.
Hands down the EM3 trumps the Samsung earbuds. They were more open. Strangely they actually even sealed better. Also the bass and was much smoother and boomier. The treble and mids were quite similar. Both slightly more in the background compared to the bass. But the soundstage on the EM3’s were considerably better than the Samsung. One thing to note on the Samsungs is that I heard distortion. Not even at a loud volume, but just standard listening volume. I could hear echos. This means the EM3’s are much better designed and dampened internally.
EM3 vs Samsung earbuds - EM3 Wins!
Now a toughy. Dethroning a top of the line earbud (currently on Amazon for 500USD)... Sadly it’s not happening. The extension, imaging and separation on the OMX 980 is just superb in comparison. The difference is definitely there. I got my GF to try both (she doesn’t know much about earphones/ headphones at all). She was like ‘These (OMX 980) are way better’.
The thing is. Is the difference worth 490USD. The answer is no. Here is how I put the difference. The OMX 980 is just an all round beast. Treble, mids and bass are spot on. Very musical but also very clear and open. Everything is extended to give punch but also separate very well.
The EM3 on the other hand has very comparable bass response. However the mids and trebles sounded veiled in comparison. I mean veiled as in through a sheet of sponge. This can be alleviated by taking the foam off. However the OMX 980’s manage to push through while also having them so I don’t know…
EM3 vs OMX 980 - OMX 980 Wins! (Big surprise)
Treble:
Laid back and smooth. Not to the point of no highs, but they tend to take a back seat to the bass. No spikes that I can hear up to this point.
I’ve found that removing the foam really opens up the top end. However the bass is just gone as a result.
Mids:
Sadly similar to the treble. Takes a back seat unless the volume is turned up quite high. Luckily there is decent separation between the highs and mids. Very good effort.
Bass:
The earbuds time to shine. The bass is just wonderful. It’s smooth, has punch and rumble. Also it is never overbearing or inflated. Sounds great with pretty much all modern music.
Soundstage:
The soundstage really did surprise me on this. It’s really great. Much wider than I was expecting. The earbud in general is very musical and listening to jazz was very enjoyable. This is to be expected since this is an open earbud. Comparable to many open headphones.
Imaging:
Quite accurate. Not as much as a closed earphone. But it does very well even compared to the OMX 980.
One thing I will mention is that I wish Fiio included some donut shaped foam covers. Like another reviewer stated. I cut the centre out of one of mine and the sound is definitely improved. The highs and mids are more extended while the foam around the edges still seal enough to give very good bass.
A must I’d say when getting these. But learn from me and cut the holes slightly smaller
Conclusion:
Fiio is onto a winner in my opinion. Another product that manages to punch above its weight. Sure it doesn’t beat an earbud 50 times it’s price. But who really expected it to. You should really be marvelling at what 10 bucks can get you now. It is considerably better than both the Apple earpods (compared in another EM3 review), as well as the Samsung equivalent. This gives absolutely no excuse as to why you shouldn’t get these to replace your stock earbuds for pleasure listening.
If you’re commuting on a train or public transport of another kind. I’d say these don’t isolate too well. But for home, office or general indoor use it’s a done deal
Though there are caveats to this design, I also believe there are benefits to wearing an earbud in place of an in-ear earphone.
The EM3 is the new ‘budget friendly’ offering from Fiio. If you’re not familiar with Fiio as a company, they hit well above their price bracket for the majority of their products including portal and desktop amp/DACs as well as dedicated DAP devices and a few earphones to balance out the mix.
This low cost earbud give no reason for you now not to replace your default phone and ipod earphones. They are amazing value and the review below will discuss their qualities in more detail.
Just a disclaimer: This product was sent to me by Fiio to conduct an unbiased review. I have not been given any information to convey from them and will give my honest personal opinion
Specs:
Packaging:
For such a cheap product they actually do come with decent packaging. The box is solid, is structurally very sound (since there are things inside to hold it’s shape). The material is a recycled-paper feeling box with standard card folded inside to house the earbuds and extra foam cushions.
I will provide a picture only for the sake of it. In my opinion for a product of this price range, I couldn’t care less about the packaging. Of course it has to look decently appealing to the consumer, but I’d like the majority of the cost to go into the sound quality and the build of the product itself.
The inclusion of 3 foam cushions in total is a good touch though. They do wear out/ stretch and fall off over time I’ve found from other earbuds. So spares are a must.
Build Quality:
When I first unboxed these earbuds, after thinking ‘hmm, that’s pretty good packaging’ is ‘damn, these don’t feel hollow like other cheap earbuds’
That’s exactly it. They don’t feel cheap at all. They are weighty for an earbud and there is no hollowness or rattling at all. Very good build. Even when I flick them with my fingernail it doesn’t make a hollow noise. This either means they used pretty thick plastic for the housings or the insides are jam packed. The drivers inside are 14.8mm in diameter so there must not be much room left in there.
The cable is a mix between a rubbery feeling cable and a smooth plastic one. It’s got a rubbery texture, but it isn’t as soft and flexible as a full rubber wire if you know what I mean. I don’t think of this as a bad thing. Overly soft cables tend to tangle easier, and these I’ve not yet had an issue with tangling.
The mic and controls are decent feeling too. Less so than the earbuds themselves but nowhere near cheap feeling.
Lastly the cable is terminated in a right angled, gold plated 3.5mm plug. There is ample strain relief on both the earbuds and especially the right angle connector. I don’t see myself fraying this.
Design/ Comfort:
The EM3 has a dual ported design. One port directly behind the driver facing out of the ear. As well as a skinny long port down the shaft of earbud, above the Left and Right indicator letters. The lower port definitely makes less of an impact on sound.
This design gives the EM3’s more of an open listening experience as well as a very good bass response. But I’ll go delve further into that later.
In terms of style. It’s a plain black earbud. It has some styling on the back to look not too plain. For me it’s inconspicuous, which I like.
The comfort of these is great in my opinion. With earbuds you can’t really go wrong unless you make an oblong shaped bud. As long as it’s round and not too large, it’s going to be comfortable. The EM3 is no exception. It’s very comfortable and I forgot I was wearing it after a little while.
Sound Quality:
What everyone has been reading these reviews for. Now for sound quality I will be comparing these with the earbuds that accompanied the Galaxy Note 5, and the Sennheiser OMX 980 (yes I know this is not fair).
I assume, may it be wrong of me or not, that these earbuds will be a doorway to the audiophile world for many unsuspecting people who just want to replace their standard phone earbuds and get a little more sound quality without paying the big bucks. This is why I’m comparing them to the Samsung earbuds that came with a recent high end flagship, the Note 5. Bear in mind that I am only comparing sound. Nothing else.
Hands down the EM3 trumps the Samsung earbuds. They were more open. Strangely they actually even sealed better. Also the bass and was much smoother and boomier. The treble and mids were quite similar. Both slightly more in the background compared to the bass. But the soundstage on the EM3’s were considerably better than the Samsung. One thing to note on the Samsungs is that I heard distortion. Not even at a loud volume, but just standard listening volume. I could hear echos. This means the EM3’s are much better designed and dampened internally.
EM3 vs Samsung earbuds - EM3 Wins!
Now a toughy. Dethroning a top of the line earbud (currently on Amazon for 500USD)... Sadly it’s not happening. The extension, imaging and separation on the OMX 980 is just superb in comparison. The difference is definitely there. I got my GF to try both (she doesn’t know much about earphones/ headphones at all). She was like ‘These (OMX 980) are way better’.
The thing is. Is the difference worth 490USD. The answer is no. Here is how I put the difference. The OMX 980 is just an all round beast. Treble, mids and bass are spot on. Very musical but also very clear and open. Everything is extended to give punch but also separate very well.
The EM3 on the other hand has very comparable bass response. However the mids and trebles sounded veiled in comparison. I mean veiled as in through a sheet of sponge. This can be alleviated by taking the foam off. However the OMX 980’s manage to push through while also having them so I don’t know…
EM3 vs OMX 980 - OMX 980 Wins! (Big surprise)
Treble:
Laid back and smooth. Not to the point of no highs, but they tend to take a back seat to the bass. No spikes that I can hear up to this point.
I’ve found that removing the foam really opens up the top end. However the bass is just gone as a result.
Mids:
Sadly similar to the treble. Takes a back seat unless the volume is turned up quite high. Luckily there is decent separation between the highs and mids. Very good effort.
Bass:
The earbuds time to shine. The bass is just wonderful. It’s smooth, has punch and rumble. Also it is never overbearing or inflated. Sounds great with pretty much all modern music.
Soundstage:
The soundstage really did surprise me on this. It’s really great. Much wider than I was expecting. The earbud in general is very musical and listening to jazz was very enjoyable. This is to be expected since this is an open earbud. Comparable to many open headphones.
Imaging:
Quite accurate. Not as much as a closed earphone. But it does very well even compared to the OMX 980.
One thing I will mention is that I wish Fiio included some donut shaped foam covers. Like another reviewer stated. I cut the centre out of one of mine and the sound is definitely improved. The highs and mids are more extended while the foam around the edges still seal enough to give very good bass.
A must I’d say when getting these. But learn from me and cut the holes slightly smaller
Conclusion:
Fiio is onto a winner in my opinion. Another product that manages to punch above its weight. Sure it doesn’t beat an earbud 50 times it’s price. But who really expected it to. You should really be marvelling at what 10 bucks can get you now. It is considerably better than both the Apple earpods (compared in another EM3 review), as well as the Samsung equivalent. This gives absolutely no excuse as to why you shouldn’t get these to replace your stock earbuds for pleasure listening.
If you’re commuting on a train or public transport of another kind. I’d say these don’t isolate too well. But for home, office or general indoor use it’s a done deal