General/Packaging/Build/Comfort
Truthear is a brand that needs no introduction i believe, they have been releasing some hits, namely the Hexa, as well as the Shio dongle dac amp which is widely received even till today. Today I have the Nova, which is considered as a successor to Hexa. Nova comes in a 1+4BA configuration whereas the predecessor is a 1+3BA. The packaging is quite premium looking and it's printed with the usual “waifu”on front. Three types of eartips are included, foam, dual flange as well as the usual silicone, a fabric braided cable in blue mixed with black colour, as well as a storage pouch, certainly not lacking in terms of accessories. Build quality is quite solid, the shell is 3D printed and the faceplate is certainly pretty. In terms of comfort, I have no issue with the fit, except the nozzle might be a little big for some.



Gears used for this review

• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-Amp
• Earmen Colibri
• Hiby R6 2020
• Nova Stock cable with Divinus Velvet eartips

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression
The first thing that I noticed upon listening to Nova, the bass in terms of quantity and quality are major improvements over the Hexa. Nova is tuned in accordance with the harman 2019 target with a slight emphasis on the bass. Timbre wise, a minor BA timbre is to be expected

Bass

• Bass has good texture and control, has very good speed
• Nova handled Metallica’s Lux Aeterna without sounding bloated
• Bass doesn’t bleed into the mids
• Sub bass does have some rumble when the track calls for it, it doesn’t go really deep but it is good enough for EDM enjoyment, tested this listening to Ping Pong by Armin

Mids

• The mids are not overly recessed which i’m quite surprised because Nova is tuned following the harman’s target
• Male’s vocal sounded full and had a good texture to it, and it doesn’t sound thin at all
• Female vocal has got good body to it as well
• Lower to upper mid range are very lush and enjoyable, even at high volume, it doesn’t get harsh and shouty at all

Treble

• Treble is smooth and not fatiguing, energetic enough but not excessive to the point where its harsh
• Extension is very good and it has good amount of air,
• Detail retrieval is good, higher expectation is just nitpicking in my opinion

Soundstage/Imaging

• Good sense of width and height, depth as well, it doesn’t sound boxy and very open sounding to my ears
• Imaging is quite good, instruments can be pinpointed easily, on tracks like Why So Serious, the instruments playing from left to right and even during the rapid transition, instruments still can be picked up easily

Driveability

• Nova is not hard to drive, but it does scales with power as with most dynamic drivers
• Amping it does exhibit slightly better bass control in terms of tightness and a little bit of refinement on the top end
• However it does scale with source, in terms of how the dac/amp affect it in terms of colorization of the sound

Comparison(Gizaudio x Binary Audio’s Chopin)

• Chopin is also following the harman target
• Sub bass does rumble harder than the Nova, mid bass on both are rather close in terms of performance
• The mids on Nova has thicker note weight compared to Chopin, not necessarily a bad thing but more of a preference, some preferred a cleaner mids while some preferred a slightly thicker mids, i for one certain find the Chopin is too lean sounding on the mids and i definitely prefer the mids of Nova
• Treble is slightly more energetic on the Chopin while Nova has tamer treble
• Technicalities on the Chopin is slightly lacking compared to Nova

Final Thoughts
Having listened to the Nova for several weeks now, it’s safe to say Nova is definitely a major step up from the Hexa and also a worthy competitor within the price range. I believe truthear definitely took the reviews/feedback seriously and released the Nova to address the shortcomings of Hexa, namely bass quantity and safe tuning based on my listening experience back then. Do I recommend Nova? Certainly and without any hesitation.

If you are interested in grabbing a pair, head over to the following links in getting one (Non affiliated):

Truthear Nova - Non affiliated

*Received the review sample from Shenzhen Audio, however, i am in no way influenced by them in producing this review, all thoughts are of my own, big thanks to them for the support as always

General/Packaging/Build/Comfort
Ziigaat is a fairly new brand within the community that’s available exclusively on Linsoul. In case you’re wondering who they are, below are a snippet copied from Cinno’s product page.

“While the world enjoyed high-end audio quality, there has been a silent team behind many of today’s most popular and praised audio devices. ZiiGaat has been developing OEM and ODM products for numerous global audio brands for over a decade. We wished to take our technological innovations and passion for audio to new heights by launching our own independent brand. By becoming our own brand, we can finally freely experiment and share our work without restrictions. We aim to be more than just an audio brand; we seek to be a tech team that can work closely with the audio community to make better products for all of us. Each ZiiGaat member is passionate for music and best-in-class audio resolution, and we are on a mission to help people rediscover their music like never before.
The name ZiiGaat is an acronym derived from our core values: Zero-in on Ideas, Innovate, Grow and Achieve All Together”

The packaging is rather simple and straightforward, consisting of the cable, eartips, and the IEM itself. The shell is made out of resin and the size is rather small, very comfortable and no awkward sharp edges that cause discomfort, wearing them for 2-3 hours straight without any discomfort. The stock cable is actually quite pretty in my opinion, i kinda like it, if only it’s available in 4.4 termination.



Gears used for this review

• Apple Dongle Type C -> iPhone 15
• Fiio BTR7
• Hiby R6 2020
• Ziigat Cinno with stock eartips and stock cable

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression
The Cinno’s tonality overall is slightly warm and very enjoyable to listen to. The timbre is quite good in general if you don’t nitpick, there’s a slight BA timbre which is expected since it consists of 4 BAs. The bass is mid bass focused rather than sub bass

Bass

• The bass is fun, good amount of bass coupled with quality and control
• Sub bass does rumble when the track calls for it, but the extension is slightly lacking
• Mid bass is punchy and tight, doesn’t sound muddy and bloated at all
• Speed is decent for the price, It handled Metallica’s Lux Aeterna’s speed drumming without sounding muddy

Mids

• Mids are not overly recessed nor too forward, sufficient details in this range
• Vocal positioning is not too forward nor recessed
• Male vocal is slightly lacking in terms of texture, but not too bad overall
• Female vocal is alright, but slicking lacking to my taste, due to the upper mids, which is rather safe in my opinion, lacking the energy

Treble

• The treble on Cinno is nicely done, not aggressive yet has plenty of energy to prevent the overall from sounding dark
• Even when you crank the volume up, Cinno will not sound harsh nor sibilant on the treble
• Detail retrieval is average, not the best in the class but good enough if you’re not nitpicking considering the asking price
• Amount of air is alright and not too sparkly which affects the imaging based on my experience

Soundstage/Imaging

• Soundstage is slightly out of your head, with good enough spatial representation in terms of width, height and depth
• Imaging does suffers a little on complex track due to the lack of air on the treble, but for the asking price, i’m just nitpicking

Driveability

• Cinno is easy to drive, and sounds good even on Apple Dongle
• It does scale with source in terms of overall tonality coloration ( slightly )
• Doesn’t really benefit much from amplification

Comparison (Tangzu Fudu)

• Fudu’s tonality overall is leaning towards warm and slight dark
• Fudu is slightly bassier but in terms of bass quality, Cinno’s bass quality is better but slightly lacking in terms of quantity
• The mids on the Fudu is thicker sounding compared to Cinno, Male vocal sounds full, female vocal on the other hand is sweet and doesn’t sound thin
• Soundstage is slightly smaller compared to Cinno, imaging is on par

Final Thoughts
So what do I think about ZiiGaat’s Cinno? As a first attempt for the brand’s IEM, I personally think that it is not bad, there are some brands out there where the first attempt was a miss rather than a hit. The Cinno’s sound signature is tuned quite well and will be easily accepted by most people in my opinion, but of course, those who crave a more analytical sound should look elsewhere as Cinno is certainly not that. Will I recommend Cinno? Yes, those who are new to the hobby or even those who are already in the hobby for quite some time will enjoy this set if they’re not looking for a very technical set. ZiiGaat is indeed a rising star!

*ZiiGaat Cinno is sent to me from Linsoul in exchange for this review. I am in no way under any influence nor do I receive any monetary compensation for this review. All thoughts are of my own.

Head over to their store to purchase one if you are interested
ZiiGaat Cinno - Non affiliated

General/Packaging/Build/Comfort
Simgot is a brand that needs to be introduced to the community. They have released several products that remain popular till today, namely the EA500 as well as the EW200, both which i have also reviewed and tested and like it a lot. The packaging of EA1000 is similar in the sense of presentation and style to EM6L as well as EA500, within the box, it consists of a very high quality cable, sadly it is non modular, standard eartips as well as the tuning nozzles. The shell is all metal and the unit feels very solid, as with most mirror finish IEM, the EA1000 is prone to fingerprints and micro scratches as well. The configuration is a 1DD+1PR. In terms of comfort, I have no issues wearing the unit for long sessions (2-3 hours).

Gears used for this review

• Earmen Angel
• iFi HipDac 3
• Hiby R6 II
• EA1000 with stock tips and Simgot LC7 cable

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Brief Sound Impression for the nozzles

• Silver nozzle with black ring - Offers the most treble extension and air as well as sparkles, not my preference as my tolerance towards the highs are not that good, but trebleheads will definitely love this tuning
• Gold nozzle - The treble is slightly more relaxed but the upper mids are boosted so it might be shouty on certain track, depending on my mood, sometimes i actually preferred the gold nozzle, but most of the time i’m using it with the silver nozzle with red ring

Sound Impression ( Red Ringed Nozzle with Simgot LC7 Cable )
The overall tuning is leaning towards neutral bright yet it doesn’t sound dry nor lean. There’s also a slight mid bass emphasis to add the slight warmth or thickness to the overall frequency. Nothing to fault in terms of timbre, very natural sounding overall.

Bass

• The bass is definitely the strength of this IEM, the PR is definitely working its magic here
• Very good bass texture and also speed
• The amount of bass is good enough for my library and tip rolling can help to slightly boost the bass as well, or alternatively iFi HipDac 3’s Xbass does work as well

Mids

• Timbre sounds correct to me and the midrange is actually quite lush
• Vocal doesn’t sound recessed, both male and female vocal has good texture to it,doesn’t sound thin at all
• Bass doesn’t bleed into the mids
• In general,i find that the mids are smooth from the lower mids to upper mids ( this is based on the impression of the red ringed nozzle )

Treble

• The treble is smooth, it has enough energy but not to the point where it is harsh and sibilant
• Detail retrieval is very good for its class, very detailed yet it doesn’t sound clinical and overly analytical
• Good amount of air that contributes the expansive soundstage

Soundstage/Imaging

• EA1000 has very good and expansive soundstage, good width and height perception as well as the depth, this is likely benefited from the implementation of the PR
• Imaging is good whereby the instruments can be pinpointed easily

Driveability

• EA1000 is very easy to drive, but it does scale with amplification, in terms of bass control and dynamics, personally, i prefer pairing it with a neutral or slightly warm source for a balanced and musical presentation

Comparison (Dunu Falcon Ultra)

• Falcon Ultra is a single DD with swappable nozzle
• The overall tonality of Falcon Ultra is slightly warmer due to a more relaxed treble presentation
• Depending on the nozzle, blue nozzle offers the most analytical presentation but on certain track and after a long listening session, it might be a little fatiguing as the uppers mids and treble can be too much for some
• Gold nozzle on the other hand smoothen things out, a safer upper mids as well as a more relaxed treble
• Bass presentation on the Falcon Ultra is speedy, it doesn’t have that kind of decay from EA1000 which offers a little bit more fun
• Both Falcon Ultra and EA1000 are fingerprint magnet

Final Thoughts
Having tested several IEMs from the brand itself, namely the EA500, EM6l, EW200 as well as EW100P, they are all good in their own way and of course with some misses, but my personal favourite from the brand will be the EA1000 that i reviewed today, for the asking price, it offers a lot in terms of technical performance as well as musicality. I think the EA1000 is the greatest hit from Simgot and I'm definitely looking forward to their upcoming releases. The EA1000 is highly recommended!

*The EA1000 and LC7 are sent over by Simgot/Linsoul for the purpose of this review. I thank them for the support and opportunity as always



Simgot EA1000 - Non affiliated
Simgot LC7 - Non affiliated

General/Packaging/Build
SMSL is well known for its lineup of dac amps. The lineup consists of budget models all the way to high end models. For those who are not familiar with SMLS, here’s a brief introduction of who they are and what they do from the official site. This is my 2nd time reviewing SMSL’s product, i have reviewed the SU-1 DAC previously and I like it a lot, it offers a lot of value for the asking price, i have the M300SE today and let’s see how it performs against the competition. The packaging is fairly straightforward and the unit is well protected, i’m surprised it came with a remote control and I actually find it very good and convenient to have a remote, Fiio K11 on the other hand which costs slightly higher doesn’t come with a remote.
Build quality of M300SE is solid, buttons have good tactile feel to it, the body is made out of aluminium, with an OLED front panel, 6.35mm and 4.4mm headphone out is located on the front panel.

Specifications

• Inputs:USB / Optical / Coaxial / Bluetooth
• Output Level:RCA 2.0Vrms XLR 4.0Vrms
• THD+N(UN-WTD):0.00013% (-117dB)
• Dynamic range (UN-WTD):RCA 120dB XLR 132dB
• SNR (UN-WTD):131dB
• Bluetooth:BT 5.0 ( support SBC)
• USB transmission:Asynchronous
• USB compatibility:Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 Mac OS X10.6 or Later / Linux
• Bit depth: USB:1bit ~ 32bit
• Optical/coaxial:16bit ~ 24bit
• Sampling rate: USB:44.1 ~ 768kHz DSD64, DSD128, DSD256, DSD512
• Optical/coaxial:32 ~ 192kHz
• Power Consumption:3W
• Standby power:＜0.1W
• Size:70x73x165mm (WxHxD)
• Weight:0.54Kg

Gears used for this review

• iPhone 15
• Macbook Air M2
• SMSL M300SE
• Fiio K11
• 7Hz Legato
• Sennheiser HD660S
• Hifiman Sundara

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Driving Power

• Despite the claimed power out from the specification, 148mw per channel, it’s not being specified whether the output is from SE or BAL, but based on my own testing from the 4.4 headphone out, it certainly has no problem powering my Sundara and HD660s to its potential without maxing out the volume, at just 20/40 volume step, for both HD660s and Hifiman Sundara

Features

• Low power consumption, does not need an external power supply, it can be powered solely by my Macbook Air M2’s USB port, even straight from my iPhone 15 via USB C, not an issue as well
• As a Tidal user myself, full MQA decoding is definitely a welcoming feature for me

Sound Impression
Tonality wise, BHD Pro doesn’t add much coloration to the signature, i would say it is quite neutral with a slight hint of warmth for the signature. I have tested several dongles and dac/amp with CS41313, it does seem like they have this signature where it sounds quite airy and a slight boost on the lows

Listening Impression with the following gears
Sennheiser HD660S

• Bass is punchy and tight, mid bass especially
• Sub bass has slightly better extension, although still lacking due to it being an open back
• Mids has a bit more body
• Slightly bigger soundstage
• Male vocal has slightly thicker texture and sounds fuller
• Female vocal is full sounding as well
• Not so much changes in terms of detail retrieval
• Overall, a very good synergy pairing the HD660s with M300SE

7Hz Legato

• Legato is a bassy and warm IEM, aimed at delivering analog-ish speaker sound
• The mids are slightly recessed, but when paired with M300SE, the mids doesn’t sound that recessed anymore and it sounded a little bit more forward, both male and female vocal also have better texture and body to it
• Bass on the other hand sounds a little tame when paired with M300SE, the sub bass doesn’t rumble that much, but mid bass is still punchy, a very refreshing experience if you ask me, still very fun sounding
• Not much changes on the detail retrieval as well
• Soundstage is slightly better in terms of better height,depth and width perception
• Legato is not hard to drive, but M300SE definitely have more than enough power to push it hard as Legato scales really well with power and source

Hifiman Sundara on 4.4

• Sundara is a Planar headphone from Hifiman that requires quite a bit of power in order to perform at its best, M300SE does have the capability to drive it to optimum performance with a 4VRMS voltage swing on balanced output
• Sundara on its own is quite neutral sounding with a slight hint of brightness in terms of tonality, pairing it with the M300SE seems to be a good choice where the overall presentation has a bit more body to it
• The low end is slightly elevated due to the added warmth, treble is smoother yet it doesn’t compromise in terms of resolution, not to mention the soundstage is also slightly bigger

Comparison (Fiio K11)

• In terms of sound, K11’s sound signature is leaning towards the “clean” sounding kind of tonality, uncolored and quite neutral to my ears, less musical compared to M300SE
• Soundstage is slightly smaller and less air compared to M300SE
• Packs some serious punch in terms of output power, up to 1.4w on Balanced
• Gain selection, Low, Mid and High
• Although sporting different DAC, the differences are actually very minimal, the 43131 on M300SE is a DAC chip with built in amp section, where as on the Fiio’s 43198, it is a DAC only setup and the amp section is designed/implemented separately
• On paper, it may seem like K11 is a better choice, but depending on your own use case and sound signature preference, i would put K11 as a more clean sounding dac/amp, whereas M300SE a more musical one, not to mention, it also sports a full balanced circuit with the ability to do dual XLR out to an external amp for more power

Final Thoughts
Having tested and daily driving the M300SE for several weeks, rotating between my IEMs, headphones and various dac/amp, it’s safe to say M300SE definitely earned a spot on my desk and without any doubt, i will recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a musical sounding dac/amp that is loaded with features yet it won’t break their bank. Highly recommended!

*A big thanks to SMSL for sending this over for the purpose of this review. I thank them for their support and opportunity

Head over to their official webstore if you are interested in getting one:

SMSL M300SE - Non affiliated

General/Packaging/Build/Comfort
By now, I’m sure Kiwi Ears needs no further introductions. They’re back with another budget set, namely the Forteza, which is a 2DD+1BA IEM. The build quality has been solid based on several IEMs from the brand which I have reviewed. The shell is a resin shell with a very beautiful faceplate in my opinion, no weird protruding edges and seals and fits very well in my ears. Packaging is the usual Kiwi Ears style, no changes, a simple hard carrying case, two types of eartips, wide and narrow bore, as well as the stock cable.

Gears used for this review

• iFi Hip Dac 3
• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-Amp
• Hiby R6 2020
• Kiwi Ears Forteza with Final Type E eartips and stock cable

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression
Upon listening, Forteza is undoubtedly a V shaped tuned IEM. It is fun and dynamic, however, not all will appreciate the energy on the top end as some might find it a little too much, i belong to the latter category, hence I'm writing this review with Forteza on Final Audio Type E’s eartip. The tonality is leaning towards slightly bright and it does have a little BA timbre. Forteza is one of the IEM where the highs are slightly tame after a burn in period for approximately 12 hours +-

Bass

• The bass is fun, good amount of bass coupled with quality and control
• Sub bass goes deep and rumble whenever the track calls for it, it doesn’t over power other frequencies
• Mid bass is punchy and tight, doesn’t sound muddy and bloated at all
• Speed is decent for the price, It handled Metallica’s Lux Aeterna’s speed drumming without sounding muddy

Mids

• Mids are slightly recessed
• Vocal positioning is slightly recessed as well, which is to be expected from a V shaped tuning
• Male and female vocal has good texture to it, doesn’t sound thin
• Upper mids on some tracks might be a little hot when you are listening at high volume

Treble

• Forteza’s treble is energetic and very dynamic
• Detail retrieval and resolution is good for the asking price
• If you are sensitive to treble, it’s best to pair the Forteza with a warmer source, such as iFi’s to tame the treble a little, or tip roll
• Average listening volume, Forteza’s treble is acceptable for me, but when pushed to higher volume, the energy might be too much for some and on certain track it is borderline sibilant

Soundstage/Imaging
Soundstage is slightly out of your head, good depth and height for the asking price.
Imaging is good with the ability to pinpoint instruments easily, further comments will just be nitpicking, so it’s best to set the right expectation as the Forteza cost only 59$

Driveability

• Forteza is very easy to drive, doesn’t need any amplification to perform at its best
• My personal preference would be to pair the Forteza with a warmer source to tame the highs a little
• It does scale with source in terms of bass control, treble, as well as soundstage

Comparison (7Hz Sonus)

• Sonus’s tonality is leaning towards neutral
• Bass quantity is not as much as the Forteza, but control and texture and quality wise, both are quite on par
• The mids on the Sonus is slightly forward compared to Forteza, Male vocal of certain artist is a little thin sounding, female vocal on the other hand is sweet and doesn’t sound thin
• Soundstage is slightly smaller compared to Forteza, imaging is on par
• Sonus has a more balanced sound profile whereas Forteza is leaning towards the fun and dynamic sound profile

Final Thoughts
Should you get the Forteza you ask me? It depends on your preference. If you are looking for a fun sounding set of IEM, by all means, go ahead. Make sure to burn them in for a little while and the highs will smooth out a little and make it better overall. Cheers and thanks for reading guys!

*Kiwi Ears Forteza is sent to me from Linsoul in exchange for this review. I am in no way under any influence nor do I receive any monetary compensation for this review. All thoughts are of my own.

Head over to their store to purchase one if you are interested
Kiwi Ears Forteza - Non affiliated

General/Packaging/Build/Comfort
7Hz is back with another banger collab with Crinacle. This time, we have the Zero:2, which is an improved version of the OG Zero that was released last year. Some are happy with the OG Zero, some aren’t, so 7Hz collected the feedback and here we have the Zero:2, featuring a new driver for improved bass and mid range, not to mention a better cable that’s similar to 7Hz’s Sonus. Packaging is similar to the OG Zero, the same goes for the bundled eartips, candy coloured ranging from wide to narrow bore, the shape and the build is also similar as to the OG Zero, except the Zero:2 has slight translucent for the colour that i’m reviewing, the silver and blue colour is transparent, i don’t have any fitting issue as with the OG Zero, hence the Zero:2 fits me just fine, but some might find the nozzle length a bit too short, tip rolling may help with this, i am using the Dunu S&S eartip for a better seal and insertion depth.

Gears used for this review

• Earmen Colibri
• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-Amp
• Hiby R6 2020
• Colorfly CDA-M1P
• Zero:2 Stock Cable with Dunu S&S Eartip

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression
Zero:2 is a lot more fun sounding compared to OG Zero. Many complained that the OG Zero lacked bass, there you have it, Zero:2, some complained that the highs are a little too much, Zero:2. The driver within Zero:2 is completely new and different from OG Zero, hence, making this tuning possible. The timbre sounds natural to my ears and has very good note weight overall.

Bass

• Bass quality is good on the Zero:2 and has adequate quantity for me
• The sub bass does rumble when it’s called for but nowhere near basshead territory
• Mid bass has good slam and punch to it and it is really commendable for its price point
• Good texture and speed as it is evident on tracks like Slipknot’s People = crap, it’s keeping up and doesn’t sound muddy at all, it doesn’t even bleed into the mids

Mids

• The mids has good note weight to me when listening to Imperial March by Wiener Philharmoniker, John Williams
• Vocal positioning is slightly recessed but not to the point where it is v-shaped kind of recess
• Both male and female vocal has pleasant texture and weight to the vocals, they’re not thin sounding
• Upper mids are safe and no where near shouty

Treble

• Treble has got enough energy and never harsh nor sibilant, very smooth overall but certainly not dark
• Good amount of air and extension which is quite rare for the price point
• Nothing much to comment here as the implementation is generally good
• Something’s got to give right? Well, detail retrieval is average i would say, not really a con but rather nitpicking

Soundstage/Imaging
Soundstage is slightly out of your head, good depth and height for the asking price.
Imaging is good with the ability to pinpoint instruments easily



Driveability
Zero:2 is easy to drive but of course when you feed it with a better source, it does perform better. Majority of the dongle will be sufficient to provide a decent experience on the Zero:2.

Comparison (OG Zero)

• Less bass quantity and a little bit lacking in terms of punch and impact, Zero:2 does this better in terms of quality and quantity
• Treble has got more energy compared to Zero:2, not exactly a good or bad thing but this is down to personal preference
• OG Zero sounds a little bit lacking in terms of note weight due to the lows
• Slightly smaller soundstage compared to Zero:2
• Overall, my interpretation will be OG Zero will sound cleaner/a little bit technical whereas Zero:2 will sound more fun

Final Thoughts
Not gonna say much but if someone asks me if they should get Zero:2 as their first starter IEM? I’m more than happy to tell them yes, even seasoned audiophiles will like this I'm sure. I for one like them, I take em out and just put them on with my DAP and listen to music without caring much for technicalities or seeking to hear every single detail in that particular track. It is just something that I wear and I listen to music and completely indulge myself into it. An easy rec for Zero:2 in terms of sound and high price performance ratio.

*Zero:2 is sent to me from Linsoul in exchange for this review. I am in no way under any influence nor do I receive any monetary compensation for this review. All thoughts are of my own.

Head over to their store to purchase one if you are interested
7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 - Non affiliated

General/Packaging/Build/Comfort
Letshuoer is a company that was founded in August 2016.They are specialised in making in ear monitors for stage use but they do have in ear monitors for audiophiles as well. They were called Shuoer previously and most of those who were in the community for a little while should be aware of it.
Today I have with me the S15, which is the upgrade and revision to the original S12. The S12 was very well received and they even have a S12 Pro iteration and also a collaboration with Z Reviews.
The packaging is minimal, but the overall design does look premium.
You will find two types of ear tips in the box, wide bore and narrow bore. The cable is silver plated monocrystalline copper cable in modular form, plugs provided are 4.4, 3.5 and 2.5mm. I am really surprised to see such high quality stock cable at this price point. The included 3D printed storage case looks premium as well. A very good unboxing experience overall.
The whole iem is smooth and there aren't any sharp edges. In terms of comfort,S15 fits very well in my ears and I have no discomfort even wearing them for long listening sessions,do take into consideration that everyone’s ear is different and if it fits well for me doesn’t mean it will fit well for you,but fortunately, Letshuoer does throw in plenty of ear tips choices,so i’m sure there will be one that fits eventually.

Gears used for this review

• Earmen Colibri
• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-Amp
• Fosi Audio DS1
• Hiby R6 II
• Letshuoer S15 Stock Cable and Eartips

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far



Sound
S15 is slightly warm sounding to my ears, a departure from the S12 which is bright and energetic. The tonality of the S15 is quite good for a planar, the planar timbre is very minimal, in fact you have to try very hard in order to spot it. Well done!

Bass

• The bass rendition is nowhere near basshead level but it certainly provides enough "fun"
• Bass extension is good and the sub bass rumble can be felt, definitely no slouch when it comes to EDM
• Bass has good texture and note weight to it,it is also tight and clean
• Mid bass has got thump to it and the transition between the sub and mid bass is quite balanced without sounding incoherent
• I personally find the tuning of bass is done right to my preference,somewhere between fun and audiophile but not venturing into the basshead category

Mids

• Timbre sounds correct to me and the midrange is actually quite lush
• Vocal doesn’t sound recessed, both male and female vocal has good texture to them,doesn’t sound thin at all
• Bass doesn’t bleed into the mids
• In general,i find that the mids are smooth from the lower mids to upper mids,on certain track where i listened with some IEM,the upper mids can be a little hot,but this is not the case with S15

Treble

• The treble is smooth, it has enough energy but not to the point where it is harsh and sibilant
• Detail retrieval is average for the asking, can be better in my opinion, but due to the nature of the tuning, i can see why it is in such way
• But to put it as a whole, the bass, mids and treble all together, perhaps this is how and why it sounded quite natural overall

Soundstage/Imaging

• S15’s soundstage sounds slightly out of head and quite open,but a little lacking in depth to give the perception of big soundstage,but overall it is quite good
• Imaging is good,the instruments can be pinpointed easily in busy track like Slipknot’s Duality

Driveability

• S15 is very easy to drive and it does sound decently loud even from weaker source like Apple’s Lightning Dongle
• Switching over to Earmen’s stack ,with decent driving power,bass seems to tighten up a little and better control is exhibited, in a way, it is quite scalable with power as well as source

Comparison (7Hz Timeless x AE)

• Switching over to Timeless x AE for the purpose of comparison,i would say the tonality between Timeless AE and S15 is slightly similar
• Bass on the Timeless AE is faster and lesser in terms of quantity, sub bass does rumble but a little rolled off
• Soundstage is slightly smaller and more in your head for Timeless AE
• Imaging both are on par
• Mids are a little thinner on the Timeless AE
• Treble is slightly more energetic compared to S15
• The shell of Timeless AE might be a little big for some

Final Thoughts
Having tested several planars from different brands, it’s safe to say S15 is my favourite at the moment, the incorporated R-Sonic PFM seamlessly with the DD to offer a natural sounding tuning yet retaining the planar’s characteristics such as the speed and technicalities. Although not the best when it comes to the technicalities, it is certainly a pair of very enjoyable sets of IEM. I have tried gaming, watching some videos with it, and it handled all of it with ease, positional audio in gaming, explosions from the games and movies, easily handled. Do I recommend this? Yes certainly!



*The S15 is sent over by Letshuoer for the purpose of this review. I thank them for the support and opportunity as always

Head over to the official store if you are interested in getting one, it is currently being priced at 329$:
Letshuoer S15 - Non affiliated

If you would like to know more about how the R-Sonic PFM works, head over to the following thread in Head-Fi:
R-Sonic PFM (Passive Filtering Module)

General/Build/Comfort/Packaging
HarmonicDyne is a brand where it needs no introduction within the audiophile community. They have various products under their portfolio and i have the Zeus Elite with me today, which is one of the recent releases from the brand. It is dynamic driver headphone which sports quite a big dynamic driver which supposedly will help with the sonic performance.
Build quality is very solid overall, the headband provides sufficient cushioning for my head, earpads are rather soft and comfortable for long sessions.
The packaging for Zeus Elite is rather unique as it is my first time seeing headphones packaged in such a manner. The Zeus Elite is stored in a briefcase like storage case, within the case, you will find two high quality dual 3.5mm cable, one is terminated to 4.4, and another is XLR, which is not an issue for me as i will be using balanced 4.4 most of the time, those who are using single ended might have to source for 3rd party cable.

Gears used for this review

• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-Amp
• Earmen Colibri
• Colorfly CDA-M1P
• Hiby R6 II
• HarmonicDyne Zeus Elite Stock cable 4.4

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far



Sound Impression
Being an open backed headphone, the Zeus Elite is quite open sounding and has a fairly good soundstage in terms of width, height, and depth perception. Tonality wise, Zeus Elite is slightly warm with good enough treble performance.

Bass

• Sub bass is slightly rolled off but it still has some rumble when the track calls for it
• Mid bass has some slight emphasis here and the bass is very punchy and has good body to it
• The speed is good, listening to Metallica’s Lux Aeterna, Slipknot’s People=crap!, during the speed drumming session, the bass doesn’t sound bloated, it also doesn’t bleed into the mids

Mids

• The mids are somewhat lacking in terms of resolution, yet it is not overly recessed nor very in your face
• Vocal for both male and females has good enough textures to them, they both sounded very full and not dull at all
• Upper mids are generally safe to my ears and not certainly not shouty
• Details in this range are good enough for the asking price

Treble

• The treble has enough energy yet it is smooth at the same time, certainly not dark
• Detail retrieval is quite good, micro details can be picked up easily
• The treble performance is safe overall, never sibilant nor has any weird peaks

Soundstage/Imaging

• Soundstage is quite good, it has that out of your head experience, depth and height perception is quite good, not exceptional, but not bad either
• Instruments can be picked up easily where it is coming from
• Good layering and separation

Driveability

• Zeus Elite is very easy to drive,doesn’t require a lot of power to perform at its best, but it does scale well with sources and amplification, when fed with more power, bass seems to sound tighter and exhibited better control
• Dongles released recently will power the Zeus Elite just fine, but not to its maximum performance

Comparison (Sundara)

• Sundara sounds more technical compared to Zeus Elite
• Neutral bright in terms of tuning
• A lot harder to drive and demands more power in order to perform at its best
• Bass is tighter and has better speed
• Mid range is very detailed
• A little bit more energy on the treble
• Soundstage is slightly narrower
• Build quality is rather cheap compared to Zeus Elite

Final Thoughts
Overall, the Zeus Elite is quite a well performing headphone, with good enough technicalities for the asking price, and a smooth frequency range which doesn’t have any spikes on the top end makes for a good laid back listening session. I’m definitely recommending this if you are not looking for a critical listening session, else you might have to look for some other options available in the market.

*EDIT:
At the sale price of 322.15$ currently, instead of the usual 379$

*The HarmonicDyne Zeus Elite was sent over by Linsoul for the purpose of this review, I received no monetary compensation nor was I influenced in any way to produce this review.

If you are interested in getting a pair, head over to their official store to grab one now! It is currently available for 322.15$ sale price instead of the usual 379$

HarmonicDyne Zeus Elite - Non affiliated

General/Packaging/Build/Comfort
A week ago, I reviewed Oriveti OD200, also a single dynamic driver IEM, and it performs quite well at the price range that it’s competing with. For those who are not familiar with Oriveti, you may check out this section in their website to learn more. Today’s review is about the OD100, a single dynamic driver IEM that’s priced significantly lower than its bigger brother. The unboxing experience with OD200 is very good, so a standard/bar has been set, OD100 does not disappoint either, sporting similar packaging style, two types of silicone eartips and also foam tips, bundled cable looks very good in terms of overall aesthetic as well as build quality. The shape is quite similar to TinHifi’s T2 which I have tried back then, but the OD100 seems to have better ergonomics and fit.

Gears used for this review

• Earmen Colibri
• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-Amp
• Hidizs S9 Pro Plus
• Macbook Air M2 3.5mm
• OD100 Stock Cable and Eartips

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far
Sound Impression
The OD100 sounds like a mild V shape tuning to my ears. Timbre is natural as well, which is to be expected since it is an IEM with dynamic driver. Note weight has a good body overall and doesn’t sound thin. Let's take a look at the breakdown below:



Bass

• Sub bass has good rumble when the track calls for it, not bass head level kind of quantity, but clean and tight bass
• Mid bass has a good punch to it, when listening to tracks like Slipknot’s Duality, People=crap!, the speed drumming part doesn’t sound muddy and bloated, instead it is clean and tight, speed is very good as well
• Due to the design and shape of the IEM, it is very crucial that you obtain a good seal in order to get the best bass performance, otherwise, it will sound thin and lean

Mids

• Mids are not overly recessed nor overly forward,
• Male vocal has good texture and body, it doesn’t sound thin which some would define it as “dry” sounding
• Female vocal such as Faye Wong, Na Ying, Chantal Chamberland sounds full and very enjoyable, emotive to my ears, especially when you push the volume up
• Lower to upper mid range are very lush and enjoyable, even at high volume, it doesn’t get harsh nor shouty, listening straight out of the 3.5mm jack from my Macbook Air M2

Treble

• Treble is smooth and not fatiguing, energetic enough but not excessive to the point where it is harsh and sibilant
• A little lacking in terms of extension, but for the asking price, i am merely nitpicking
• Detail retrieval is good for the asking price, micro and macro details can be heard easily

Soundstage/Imaging

• For soundstage, eartips does play a role in the perceived soundstage, as mentioned earlier, i am using the stock eartips, hence i will be describing what i heard with the stock setup
• Soundstage for OD100 is slightly out of your head, good depth but slightly lacking in terms of the perceived height, but is quite good overall, doesn’t sound narrow or “in your head”
• Instruments can be pin pointed easily, perceived HRTF is relatively good

Driveability

• OD100 is very easy to drive, however, it does benefit from extra power (better dynamics and bass control)
• It does scale with sources based on my testing with various dongles/dac-amp, i personally find uncolored source such as Earmen’s Tradutto,

Comparison
Moondrop Aria 2

• Harman-ish sounding in terms of tuning
• Mid bass slightly lacking in terms of punch
• Treble has a bit more energy compared to OD100
• Soundstage is slightly within your head
• Imaging performance is more or less similar to OD100
• Overall, i would say Aria 2 is what i personally would label it as “safe sounding” whereas OD100 is slightly more fun to listen to

Final Thoughts
Having tested Oriveti’s product for the 2nd time. It's safe to say they are definitely on the right track. OD100 is certainly the underdog in its category in terms of the price range. It offers a balanced and fun sound with good enough technicalities for the asking price, other than that, you are also getting a well built IEM with solid build quality. If “fun” is what you are looking for, OD100 is highly recommended and worth checking it out, definitely a rising star in my book.

If you are interested in grabbing a pair, head over to the following link:
Oriveti OD100 - Non affiliated
Oriveti OD100 Product Page

*Received the review sample from Oriveti, however, i am in no way influenced by them in producing this review, all thoughts are of my own, big thanks to them for the support and opportunity

General/Packaging/Build
Hidizs is a brand where most in the community are familiar with, particularly with their sources (Mini DAP, Dongle Dac Amp), recently, they are upping the ante by releasing several IEMs which are well received by the community. MS3, MS1, and the most recent Planar MP145, back to the S9 Pro Plus, it is called Martha, why Martha? Here’s the snippet taken from Hidizs’s S9 Pro Plus product page “We've named Hidizs S9 Pro Plus "Martha" because "Martha" was the name of the last surviving female Passenger Pigeon, the largest flocking bird species ever to have existed on Earth. After 109 years since the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon, in commemoration of this magnificent species, the professional acoustic brand, Hidizs, has chosen to name their third-generation HiFi Balanced Dongle DAC , the S9 Pro Plus, as "Martha."”
Packaging is the usual Hidizs style packaging, minimal yet doesn’t look cheap. Build quality is fairly good, front and black glass panel, looks premium but the trade off being prone to micro scratches and fingerprints. The bundled USB-C cable is not bi-directional, meaning one end is input, and the other end is output, so if you plug it incorrectly, there will be no sound or power to the dongle. The cable with the Hidizs logo will be the end to plug into your phone/laptop, the other end without any logo will be plugged into the dongle itself, or if you have any other type C cable that’s bidirectional, just use that, not really a big deal.

Specifications

• ES9038Q2M High Performance DAC Chip
• PCM Supports Up to 32bit/768kHz
• Native DSD Supports Up to 512
• Physical Buttons for Volume Control & 6 Filter Option
• 4.4mm Balanced & 3.5mm Single-ended Output
• 138mW+138mW@32Ω 3.5mm SE / 180mW+180mW@32Ω 4.4mm BAL
• Sampling Rate Indication RGB Lighting
• Compatible with all platforms: Windows/Mac OS/iPad OS/Android/iOS/Harmony OS

Gears used for this review

• Hidizs S9 Pro Plus
• Hidizs MS1
• Hidizs MS5
• Oriveti OD200
• Hifiman Sundara Closed Back
• Fosi Audio DS1

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Battery Drain on Smartphone (iPhone 15)

• From 100% to 40%, running for approximately 7 hours +-
• Volume level at 3/10
• Streaming from Apple Music Loseless
• Doesn’t consume that much battery based on my observation, unless you pump up the volume to around 6-7/10

Sound Impression ( Linear Phase Slow Roll Off Filter)
*The listening is done on my Macbook Air M2, occasionally on my iPhone 15
Having heard several DAC with 9038Q2M, it's safe to say they all sounded different due to the implementation of the amplification stage. Even the S9 Pro sounded different from the S9 Pro Plus. S9 Pro Plus is certainly not neutral, slightly coloured, and it is a very dynamic sounding dongle dac/amp. Bass has good control and not boosted, the mids are forward, default filter is slightly more forward, on certain track in can be a little shouty when you pump up the volume, but overall it is alright, another point to note is that, IEM pairing is also crucial, pairing a forward sounding IEM with the S9 Pro Plus, or a bright sounding IEM, will definitely spells disaster. Overall, it is a very dynamic and fun sounding dongle dac amp with plenty of power to spare for most IEMs out there, it can even power efficient headphones without any issue, Hifiman Sundara Closed Back is one of them.

Sound Characteristics of various Filters (Taken from Hidizs S9 Pro Plus’s Product Page)

• <Green Light> Anodizing fast roll-off (Default Filter): Vocals are slightly forward, and high frequencies are extended with reduced resonance
• <Red Light> Linear phase fast roll-off: Enhanced analytical capabilities, delivering a clean and crisp sound
• <Blue Light> Linear phase slow roll-off: Enriched harmonics, full low frequencies, and natural reverb
• <Yellow Light> Minimum phase fast roll-off: Balanced and moderate sound
• <Purple Light> Minimum phase slow roll-off: Clean sound with a forward position
• <White Light> Hybrid fast roll-off: Soft and smooth sound with enhanced detail

My Impression with the above filters are, they do sound different from each other, but to my ears, the differences are very minor, the most noticeable for me will be between the Anodizing Fast Roll Off vs the Linear Phase Slow Roll Off

Comparison
Fosi Audio DS1

• The sound profile is fairly neutral to my ears, doesn’t add any coloration to the frequencies
• Clean and balanced sounding
• Hefty in terms of weight
• Independent volume control on the DS1, S9 Pro Plus doesn’t have that
• Slightly higher power output for DS1, 220mw on Balanced vs 180mw on Balanced for S9 Pro Plus, for IEM usage, it doesn’t really matter than much unless you are using it for headphones

Final Thoughts
Having tested several dongles from Hidizs, it’s good to see they are moving away from the 2.5mm and started to adopt 4.4mm for the balanced out port. In terms of sound performance, S9 Pro Plus is not the usual dongle with 9038Q2M, it is fun sounding, slight warmth with natural timbre, combined with all the factors mentioned makes for a dynamic and engaging listening experience, it is also priced competitively, hence, recommended!

If you are interested in grabbing a pair, head over to the following link:
It will be available to pre-order at 16th Nov 2023 at 70$ instead of the original price at 80$
Hidizs S9 Pro Plus Martha - Non Affiliated

*Received the review sample from Hidizs for the purpose of this review, big thanks to them for the support and opportunity as always

Gears Used for Testing

• Hifiman Sundara Closed
• Hifiman Sundara
• Hifiman Ananda Nano
• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-Amp

Specifications
Conductor:
22.8AWG (Signal +)
24.3AWG (Signal-)
21.5AWG (Shielding)

Cable structure:
$0.08mm 4N Silver + $0.05mm 4N Silver + Ф0.05mm Silver-plated OCC + Ф0.05mm Furukawa Silver-Copper Alloy (Signal+)
Ф0.05mm 5N OCC (Signal-)
Ф0.06mm Silver Plated over OFC (Shielding)

Build Quality
The cable itself is very well built, it is not too stiff or soft, easy to store and brought out from storage. The dual 3.5mm jack as well as the 4.4mm jack is very solid, gold plated for the dual 3.5mm as well as on the 4.4mm, the design somehow has very good ergonomics in my opinion, where the shape of the jack somehow provides a very good grip when you want to unplug it from the headphone or your amp. Very well thought out



Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression
*The cable has been run in for approximately 20-30 hours prior to writing this sound impression.
As ddHifi advertised, the difference or rather perceived upgrade for the soundstage is true to its claim. I paired up the BC150B with Hifiman Sundara Closed, which has a rather small soundstage and a little slow bass performance on a stock cable. Let’s take a look at the breakdown below:

Bass

• The bass seems to sound a little faster, tighter and doesn’t sound as woolly as it is with stock cable, cleaner sounding overall
• Better extension to my ears

Mids

• Mids are slightly forward compared to stock cable
• Vocal for both male and female has good texture and weight to it, doesn’t sound thin at all

Treble

• Sundara Closed on stock cable, to my ears are slightly warm
• Pairing it with the BC150B seems to slightly elevate the treble, specifically the air and presence region, not a lot, but just enough for you to feel the improvement on the soundstage
• Detail retrieval is slightly improved as well

Soundstage/Imaging

• This is my favourite aspect of the cable, the soundstage is just amazing
• The Sundara Closed on stock cable, the soundstage and imaging is just average, lacking depths and height
• Pairing the Sundara Closed with BC150B, the improvement is noticeable right away, better depth, width and height perception, very holographic sound, especially when i’m listening to Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel under Ocean Blvd
• Imaging and separation does improve slightly compared to stock cable

Final Thoughts
Cable altering/improving the sound of the transducer is a very controversial topic, there are some who don’t hear any difference and there are those who are like me, who have the ability to perceive the changes/improvement. Do keep in mind that cable will not make a bad sounding headphone sound better, That aside, ddHifi’s BC150B is definitely a worthy investment if you are looking to improve or tweak a certain aspect of your headphone (soundstage,lusher mids and slightly better treble extension), this is the cable for you.


*Received the review sample from ddHifi for the purpose of this review, big thanks to them for the support as always

Head over to their official aliexpress store to purchase one if you’re interested:

ddHifi BC150B - Non affiliated
ddHifi BC150B Product Page

General/Packaging/Build/Comfort
Oriveti is a brand founded in 2015, they have years of experience in terms of design and engineering for IEMs. They released several IEMs ranging from mid-fi to totl. This is my first time testing out Oriveti’s IEM, the OD200, which is a single dynamic driver IEM with a patent-pending DAD(Dedicated Airflow Distribution) which aims to improve the performance of the dynamic driver, housed within the OD200 is a 9.8mm Be-Coated (Beryllium Coated) driver. The packaging of OD200 is spectacular, and very premium for the asking price. I've seen worse packaging at a higher asking price than OD200. The box consists of a leather storage case which looks very premium, two types of silicone eartips, wide and narrow bore, as well as foam tips, and also tuning nozzle for OD200. Modular cable is also included which is very nice in my opinion, the cable is very soft, not microphonic, slightly prone to tangling, the colorway is intended to match the OD200’s British Racing Green i supposed. OD200’s built quality is also very good, the whole unit feels very solid and premium possibly due to the finishing.
Wearing the OD200 for several hours to access the comfort as well as the sonic performance of it, I did not feel any discomfort, the fit and seal is very good for my ears, no weird protruding edges that press against my ears.


Gears used for this review

• Earmen Colibri
• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-Amp
• Hidizs S9 Pro Plus
• Fosi Audio DS1
• OD200’s Stock Cable and Eartips

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression (silver nozzle)
The first thing that I noticed when I put on the OD200, it has good musicality coupled with good technicalities, in today’s overly saturated market, musicality and technicalities don't really go hand to hand, it is either one or another, in some rare cases, they do exist, OD200 being one of it. The timbre is natural, doesn’t sound odd or metallic, which is to be expected from a dynamic driver.

Bass

• The sub bass here does roll off quite a bit but the rumble is still there whenever the track calls for it
• Plenty of impact and punch from the mid bass, definitely not a basshead IEM, but the key word here is quality and control, rather than quantity and bloated bass
• The bass is tight and has very good speed, very evident in tracks like Metallica’s Lux Aeterna’s speed drumming and Slipknot’s People=crap!, it doesn’t even bleed into the mid range

Mids

• Mids are not recessed nor overly forward,
• Male vocal has good texture and body, it doesn’t sound thin which some would define it as “dry” sounding
• Female vocal such as Faye Wong, Na Ying, Chantal Chamberland sounds full and very enjoyable, emotive to my ears, especially when you push the volume up
• Lower to upper mid range are very lush and enjoyable, even at high volume, it doesn’t get harsh nor shouty

Treble

• Treble is smooth and not fatiguing, energetic enough but not excessive to the point where it is harsh and sibilant
• Extension is good and it has good amount of air, i believe the design of the DAD that contributed to this
• Detail retrieval is good, higher expectation is just nitpicking in my opinion

Soundstage/Imaging

• Good sense of width and height, depth as well, it doesn’t sound boxy and very open sounding to my ears
• Imaging is quite good, instruments can be pinpointed easily

Driveability

• OD200 is not hard to drive, however, it does benefit from extra power (better dynamics and bass control)
• It does scale with sources based on my testing with various dongles/dac-amp, i personally find uncolored source such as Earmen’s Tradutto, Colibri matches very well with the OD200, the Hidizs S9 Pro with a little bit of warmth also has very good synergy with the OD200

Comparison
IKKO OH5

• Priced several times higher than the OD200, impressive driver tech
• A warm sounding IEM overall, fuller sounding in terms of having slightly better note weight
• The bass isn’t as clean and doesn’t exhibit better control compared to OD200 despite being priced several times higher
• The mids are fuller sounding compared to OD200, which is to be expected due to the nature of the tuning
• The treble is smooth and somehow lacking, in terms of air and presence compared to OD200, hence indirectly contributed a slightly smaller soundstage
• Technicalities is not the strong suit as well vs the OD200
• I would say OH5 is more for laid back listening while OD200 offers a blend of musicality as well as technicalities
• It may sound like i’m being very harsh on the OH5 and praising solely the OD200, rest assured that’s not the case here, just trying to show that OD200 is indeed punching above its price point

OD200’s Black Nozzle (default nozzle)

• Bass performance to lower mids doesn’t change much
• The upper mids however are a little hot, or slightly more forward depending on how you word it (this is not exactly a bad or good thing, more about preferences, some prefers a more forward sounding upper mids whereas there are those who are like me who prefers it to be slightly less forward
• Treble is also slightly more energetic here, which also contributes to a better technicalities in terms of detail retrievals
• Overall note weight does sounds a little bit thinner compared to silver nozzle

Final Thoughts
Having tested Oriveti’s product for the first time after their comeback, it's safe to say they are definitely on the right track. OD200 certainly punches above its price point, offering good technicalities as well as balancing it with musicality, which to me is the intended/preferred way of listening to music. OD200 certainly can give you that, not to mention, with the included tuning nozzle, you have two different sound signatures to explore based on your preference. Easy recommendation from me!

If you are interested in grabbing a pair, head over to the following link:
Oriveti OD200 - Non affiliate
Oriveti OD200 Product Page



*Received the review sample from Oriveti, however, i am in no way influenced by them in producing this review, all thoughts are of my own, big thanks to them for the support and opportunity

General/Build/Comfort/Packaging
Having tested the Sundara previously and had a very good experience with it, its only natural that i have the same expectation for Sundara Closed , the differences between the Sundara and Sundara Closed, of course one being open backed and the latter a closed back, Sundara Closed is using stealth magnets whereas the Sundara does not. For your information, Sundara Closed is released five years after the original Sundara, which until today, is still the most sought after headphones of hobbyists, be it those new to the hobby, or even a seasoned audiophile. The earcups are made out of wood grains and look very classy and stylist, the head band is similar to the Sundara’s. In terms of comfort, the Sundara Closed is a little bit heavier compared to Sundara, possibly due to the wood grain earcups, yet, it doesn’t weigh down on your head when you are wearing the headphone. Packaging is the same as Sundara’s, I personally think that a headphone storage case will serve a better purpose than the headphone stand.



Gears used for this review

• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-Amp
• Earmen Colibri
• Hiby R6 II
• Hifiman Sundara Closed Stock Cable

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression
Sundara Closed sounds quite different compared to Sundara to my ears. I would describe the Sundara Closed as a more “fun” sounding headphone compared to Sundara. In terms of tonality, Sundara Closed is warmer and sounds fuller compared to Sundara.

Bass

• Bass is quite speedy and has good control overall, certainly not “loose” sounding
• Sub bass has slightly better extension due to it being a closed back, mid bass is also punchier and the bass sounds full overall
• Handling tracks like Slipknot’s People=crap! speed drumming like a champ, good speed for the asking price,
• The bass doesn’t bleed into the mids

Mids

• The mids are somewhat lacking in terms of resolution, yet it is not recessed nor in your face
• Vocal for both male and females has good enough textures to them, they both sounded very full and not dull at all
• Upper mids are generally safe to my ears and not certainly not shouty
• Details of this range is good enough for the asking price

Treble

• The treble has enough energy yet it is smooth at the same time, certainly not dark
• Detail retrieval is quite good, micro details can be picked up easily
• The treble performance is safe overall, never sibilant nor has any weird peaks

Soundstage/Imaging

• Soundstage is a little lacking in my opinion, partly due to it being a closed back i believe
• Just slightly out of your head to not sound overly congested, depth and height perception is quite good, not exceptional, but not bad either
• Instruments can be picked up easily where it is coming from
• Good layering and separation

Driveability

• Sundara Closed is very easy to drive,doesn’t require a lot of power to perform at its best, unlike its sibling the OG Sundara
• Dongles released recently will power the Sundara Closed just fine
• However, as with most Hifiman headphones, Sundara Closed does scale with better source and amping as well

Comparison (Sundara)

• Sundara sounds more technical compared to Sundara closed
• Not as warm as Sundara Closed
• Harder to drive compared to Sundara Closed
• Bass is tighter and has better speed
• Mid range is very detailed
• A little bit more energy on the treble
• Slightly wider soundstage

Final Thoughts
Sundara Closed is quite different from the OG Sundara to my ears, in terms of tuning and of course the design. The Sundara Closed is more of a headphone with the “Fun” characteristic and can handle a little bit of occasional critical listening sessions. If you already have the OG Sundara and the tuning is not something that you prefer, i don’t see a point for you to buy one, but, if you are someone who’s in the lookout for such a signature, the Sundara Closed is for you. Recommended for a fun listening session rather than critical listening!

*EDIT:
At the sale price of 149$ currently, instead of the usual 399$, this deal is a no brainer deal and highly recommended especially if it priced at a sale price for 149$

*The Hifiman Sundara Closed was sent over by Hifiman for the purpose of this review, I received no monetary compensation nor was I influenced in any way to produce this review.

If you are interested in getting a pair, head over to their official store to grab one now! It is currently available for 149$, i repeat, 149$ instead of 399$, for the performance and value, a total steal!

Hifiman Sundara Closed - Non affiliated
Hifiman Sundara Closed Product Page

General/Build/Comfort/Packaging
To date, I have tested multiple Hifiman headphones from HE400SE, to Ananda Nano and Edition XS, i have the Sundara with me today which is the crowd’s favourite despite being released years ago, and no, it doesn’t sport the stealth magnet, but it does have the neo supernano diaphragm derived from the Susvara. Let’s talk about the build quality, to me, the build is more or less similar across the line up, so there really isn’t much to talk about, the same goes for the packaging, it is also identical, a cardboard box which consist of the styrofoam headphone stand, the dual 3.5mm cable,a quarter inch adapter as well as the headphone itself. The clamping force is just nice to my preference, not too tight or loose, the earpads cover my whole ears and I don't feel any discomfort like how I did with on ear headphones.

Gears used for this review

• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-Amp
• Earmen Colibri
• Hiby R6 II
• Hifiman Sundara Stock Cable

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression
Sundara’s tonality is quite neutral to my ears, there’s a hint of planar timbre but other than that, in terms of price performance ratio, it is really good. There’s a slight hint of warmth to give the overall impression of slight musicality rather than sterile sounding. CH-Amp gives the Sundara a very dynamic experience, fast bass and snappy transient response, very engaging listening experience. Pairing it with dongles does leave something to be desired.

Bass

• Bass is fast and tight with good control
• The sub bass does sounded a little rolled off, but mid bass is punchy and has good slams
• It is definitely not the bass response that bassheads will crave, but personally the bass response to me is just nice, unless if i listen to EDM, then i will crave for more bass quantity
• Bass has good texture overall and doesn’t sound too thin unless it is under powered

Mids

• The mids are not overly forward nor recessed,
• Vocal for both male and females has good enough textures to them
• Female vocal has a bit more energy compared to male
• Upper mids are generally safe to my ears and not shouty
• A tinge of warmth in this range prevents the overall presentation to sound sterile/clean

Treble

• Treble has plenty of energy yet it is not harsh nor sibilant
• Fast and snappy transient response
• Very good resolution for the price, in fact i think it is actually punching above its price point
• Good detail retrieval, micro details can be picked up easily
• Very good technicalities for the price point

Soundstage/Imaging

• Soundstage is slightly out of your head, not exceptionally wide considering this is an open backed headphone
• Good height and width perception for the soundstage
• Instruments can be picked up easily where it is coming from
• Good layering and separation

Driveability

• Sundara does require quite a bit of power to perform at its best, avoid the budget/entry level dongles as they will not power the Sundara well. It does go loud if you are talking about the volume, but bass control and trebles are quite off/harsh
• Most of the recent release will do the job just fine, iFi Zen Air Can, Fiio K11, Tempotec Mach 3 if you are on the budget

Comparison (Grado SR125X)

• In comparison with Grado’s 125x, which is a dynamic driver headphone and also open backed
• Mid bass is slightly punchier and sub bass has a little bit more rumble compared to the Sundara
• In terms of build quality, both more or less has similar build quality in my opinion, not exactly premium looking for the budget to mid range models
• The 125x’s cable is not removable and gets tangled very easily,not to mention it is very thick and stiff, whereas the Sundara is bundled with a rather high quality stock cable and it’s removable, hence that makes cable rolling possible
• The treble can be a little too much on certain track when you crank the volume up, those who are treble sensitive will be affected
• In terms of timbre and tonality, the 125x has rather natural timbre and the tonality is leaning on brighter side of spectrum

Final Thoughts
Having tested multiple Hifiman headphones from various price point, it’s safe to say Sundara offers a very good price performance ratio if you are on a budget, it has very good technicalities yet it doesn’t sound dull and lacking in terms of musicality, a very balanced blend between musicality and technical performance. Recommended!



*The Hifiman Sundara was sent over by Hifiman for the purpose of this review, I received no monetary compensation nor was I influenced in any way to produce this review.

If you are interested in getting a pair, head over to their official store to grab one now! It is currently available for 299$, for the performance and value, a total steal!

Hifiman Sundara - Non affiliated
Hifiman Sundara Product Page

General/Packaging/Build/Comfort
Gizaudio is a name that I believe most should be very familiar with, the man behind it, Timmy, has collaborated with Binary Acoustics along with HifiGo to release Chopin. For those who are not familiar with Binary Acoustics, here’s a snippet of it from HifiGo’s site “Binary Acoustics has been pursuing better sound quality since 2017. They aim to achieve the smallest possible size and streamlined design. They develop the products on the concept of "Let your ears！“ "convey sound and emotion". Their products disappear into the ears when listening to music, allowing their users to completely immerse themselves into the world of music allowing them to feel the original, pure sound!!”
The packaging is minimalistic, clean,simple and elegant overall presentation. Upon unboxing, it consists of a hard case which stores the left and right channel with a small iem pouch for each channel, the 4.4 cable as well as eartips. The cable is rather thin and will get tangled up easily sometimes, but overall, it works well.
The build quality is good, the shell is 3D printed resin with stainless steel faceplate, and overall it feels solid, sturdy and lightweight. Despite having an odd shape(personal p.o.v), the fit and seal is very good, it literally disappears in your ears when you are wearing it.



Gears used for this review

• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-Amp
• Earmen Colibri
• Hidizs S9 Pro Plus
• Hiby R6 2020
• Chopin Stock cable with Divinus Velvet eartips

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression
The first thing that I noticed upon listening to Chopin, it is very clean across the overall frequency range. I would say it is quite neutral with a bit of bass boost. Timbre sounds quite natural overall, but if you try hard enough, there are some minor BA timbres.

Bass

• Bass has good texture and control, has very good speed
• Speed is good and handled Metallica’s Lux Aeterna without sounding bloated
• Bass doesn’t bleed into the mids
• Sub bass does have some rumble when the track calls for it, it doesn’t go really deep but it is good enough for EDM enjoyment, tested this listening to Ping Pong by Armin

Mids

• I’m quite surprised that the mids are not as recessed as shown from the graph, very clean mid range overall
• Male’s vocal sounded a little lacking in terms of body, overall it's not too bad, i tested this with Zhao Peng’s song, it doesn’t sound that full, but its not bad either
• Female vocal such as Faye Wong does sound fuller compared to male’s, very enjoyable
• Lower to upper mid range are very lush and enjoyable, even at high volume, it doesn’t get harsh

Treble

• Treble is smooth and not fatiguing, energetic enough but not excessive to the point where its harsh
• Extension is very good and it has good amount of air,
• Detail retrieval is good, higher expectation is just nitpicking in my opinion

Soundstage/Imaging

• Good sense of width and height, depth as well, it doesn’t sound boxy and very open sounding to my ears
• Imaging is quite good, instruments can be pinpointed easily

Driveability

• Chopin is not hard to drive, but it does scales with power as with most dynamic drivers
• Amping it does exhibit slightly better bass control in terms of tightness and a little bit of refinement on the top end
• However it does scale with source, in terms of how the dac/amp affect it in terms of colorization of the sound

Comparison(Truthear Nova)

• Nova is a slightly warmer set overall, with a little bit more note weight
• Sub bass doesn’t rumble as hard as Chopin, mid bass on both are rather close in terms of performance
• The mids on Nova has thicker note weight compared to Chopin, not necessarily a bad thing but more of a preference, some preferred a cleaner mids while some preferred a slightly thicker mids
• Treble is slightly more energetic on the Chopin while Nova has tamer treble
• Technicalities is also better on the Chopin, in terms of imaging, soundstage and detail retrievals

Final Thoughts
This time around, I think Timmy has done it right, i personally think that Chopin is an improved Galileo from every aspect, bass, mids, treble and technicalities. At the price of 199$, it is definitely a solid pair that you can’t go wrong with, be it you are just starting out in the hobby, or have been in the hobby for a little while, it is definitely a solid choice. It works well with a wide range of genres, but of course there are also some where its performance is lacking. Recommended!

If you are interested in grabbing a pair, head over to the following links in getting one (Non affiliated):

HiFiGo： https://hifigo.com/products/gizaudio-binary-chopin
Aliexpress：
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006135789174.html
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CL6LNF82/binary+gizaudio+chopin/
Amazon JP：
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0CL6MRTW9/binary+gizaudio+chopin/

*Received the review sample from HifiGo, however, i am in no way influenced by them in producing this review, all thoughts are of my own, big thanks to them for the support as always

General/Build/Comfort/Packaging
I don’t think anybody needs any introduction for Hifiman, in case if you need, you may read about it here. Ananda Nano is using both the stealth magnets and also the nanometer thickness diaphragm that is based on their top of the line Susvara’s.
The Ananda Nano that I have with me today, shares some resemblance with its bigger brother, the Arya, the earcups in particular. The packaging of the Ananda Nano is similar to the HE-R9, HE400SE, and Edition XS that I have tested, with the exception that the Ananda Nano came with a storage case instead of a headphone stand. The cable remains the same across the models that I have tested. The build quality is pretty good overall, it's just that the earcup itself is quite huge and it might be an issue for people with smaller heads. For me personally, it fits just fine without the need to adjust the headband, the clamping force is also just nice, i wear glasses sometimes and i don’t have any issue with the fit or clamping force. Very comfortable throughout the listening session, the earpads are also soft and don't really cause my ears to feel warm nor hot even when I'm not listening in an air conditioned room.

Gears used for this review

• Earmen Tradutto DAC + Earmen CH-Amp
• Hiby R6 II DAP Mid/High Gain
• Earmen Colibri
• Hifiman Ananda Nano Stock cable and Earpads

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression
Ananda Nano has a slight emphasis on the upper treble based on my listening impression, hence it has a very detailed sound and at the same time, contributes to a fairly large and airy soundstage. In terms of tonality, Ananda Nano is definitely on the brighter side, and in no way it is harsh. Let’s take a look at the break down below:



Bass

• Starting with the bass, it’s safe to say the bass has very good speed, very very fast and tight, and punchy as well, Slipknot’s People = crap!, especially during the intense drumming during the opening, Ananda Nano has no sweat in keeping up
• The sub bass has very good extension, although it doesn’t extend that deep, but considering it being an open backed, it is really impressive
• The bass response is not basshead kind of presentation, but to my ears, they are sufficient and will present themselves well when the track calls for it
• Bass has good texture overall and doesn’t sound thin
• The bass doesn’t bleed into the mids at all

Mids

• The mids are quite detailed and lush
• Vocal for both male and females has good enough textures
• Female vocal has a bit more energy compared to male
• Upper mids are generally safe to my ears and not shouty

Treble

• Treble response has plenty of energetic yet it is not harsh nor sibilant, but do bear in mind that everyone has got different level of tolerance for treble, to my ears, they are not harsh nor anywhere near sibilant
• Fast and snappy transient response
• Very good resolution
• Good detail retrieval, micro details can be picked up easily

Soundstage/Imaging

• Soundstage is very wide and has good depth and height perception
• Instruments can be picked up easily where it is coming from
• Excellent separation and layering
• Very good soundstage and imaging overall

Driveability

• The Ananda Nano is not hard to drive, i am using it with the Earmen’s ST-AMP with 1.8w from 4.4 headphone out, the Ananda Nano sounds like it is being driven to its optimum performance
• When i switch over to ST-Amp’s bigger brother, the CH-AMP, i am greeted with the Ananda Nano that has better control on the bass, and much more dynamics
• I would say it does scale with amplification as well as source

Final Thoughts
The Ananda Nano is definitely one of my favourite planar magnetic headphones that i have tested from Hifiman, and I'm really surprised by its capability in terms of the sonic performance as well as its technicalities. Not to mention that the price is highly competitive as well given what it has to offer. It doesn't require a beefy amp to sound good yet it does scale with better source and amplification, the only downside is that some might find the lower treble a little too forward which can then be perceived as bright on certain tracks, but other than that, at 599$, this is a highly recommended headphone from me!

*The Hifiman Ananda Nano was sent over by Hifiman for the purpose of this review, I received no monetary compensation nor was I influenced in any way to produce this review.

If you are interested in getting a pair, head over to their official store to grab one now! It is currently available for 599$

Hifiman Ananda Nano - Non Affiliated

General/Packaging/Build
ddHifi is a brand that I believe needs no introduction. Most of the audiophiles should be familiar with their adapters as well as cables. The brand produces a wide range of products ranging from adapters, cables, portable dongle dac/amp, and even IEM. Packaging is taking on the minimalist approach, very straightforward yet premium looking at the same time. The box contains the dongle that is terminated with the brand’s premium Nyx series silver shielded cable.

Specifications (Grabbed from the product page)


Gears used for this review

• Letshuoer EJ07M
• ddHifi Janus 3
• TC35 Pro Eye 2 -> iPhone 15 -> Apple Music/Tidal

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Battery Drain

• TC35 Pro Eye 2 is quite power efficient based on my test, i did not specifically measure the power draw but based on my observation
• TC35 Pro Eye 2 is connected to iPhone 15 at 100% battery, the volume is being set at +- 30% (My usual listening volume) and Letshuoer’s EJ07M is hooked to the 3.5mm out and let it loop through the playlist from 10pm until the next morning 9am (Streaming Apple Music)
• That’s about 11 hours and the battery on iPhone 15 is at 45% when i checked the battery%, that is quite efficient in my opinion based on my observation

Sound Impression
Tonality wise, The TC35 Pro Eye 2 does add a slight tinge of coloration to the signature, i would say it is sprinkled with a slight hint of warmth for the signature. I have tested several dongles with CS41313 but they don’t sound the same at all. That pretty much explains implementation and tuning is the key, considering the TC35 Pro Eye 2 is using a different amp chip. Don’t be fooled by the low power figure, for most of the IEMs, it is actually sufficient, Letshuoer’s EJ07M, the brand’s Janus 3, both of it sounded good off the TC35 Pro Eye 2, and i don’t even need to push the volume to 50% mark, background noise is well handled as i don’t hear any hisses or noise. However, i do notice that there’s some static sound every time the track changes, be it forward or backward, even pausing and resuming the track produces the static noise as well. Hopefully this can be addressed with a firmware update.

Listening Impression with the following gears
ddHifi Janus 3

• Janus 3’s tuning is with reference to Harman, hence the mids are slightly recessed, with this pairing, Janus 3’s mids seems be a tinge forward
• Mid bass has slightly more impact
• With the lower mids being pushed a little forward, male vocal has better texture and sounds fuller
• Female vocal is full sounding as well
• Not so much changes in terms of detail retrieval
• Overall, a very good synergy pairing the Janus 3 with TC35 Pro Eye 2

Letshuoer EJ07M

• Letshuoer EJ07M is a very balanced and neutral set to my ears, sub bass focused
• Mid bass has good punch to it, sub bass however sounds a little loose and not as controlled as it is on source with more power
• Soundstage is slightly smaller
• Not much changes on the detail retrieval as well
• Female vocal is slightly more forward
• Treble sounds a little warm, just a little, overall a very smooth presentation
• It may sound like the TC35 Pro Eye 2 is not good enough for the EJ07M, but if you take into consideration of the price for TC35 Pro Eye 2, it is actually good enough unless you are solely seeking to listen critically, then you might need something else

Comparison (Fiio KA13)

• Tuning of the Fiio KA13 is more on neutral bright
• Has more power output
• It has a “desktop mode”, which is Fiio’s way of saying it as the high gain
• It terms of sound, the bass and mids doesn’t change much except for the highs, which can be a little messy sometimes especially when it comes to complex track (a little harsh especially when desktop mode is switched on)
• It may seem like the KA13 is a better buy, but that is not the case, depending on your use case, if you mainly use IEM, the TC35 Pro Eye 2 is a better choice in terms of build and sound quality, if you have some headphones or power hungry IEMs, KA13 is your choice obviously if you don’t mind the slight energetic top end

Final Thoughts
After weeks of using the TC35 Pro Eye 2, i’m actually very happy with the performance and the size of it, the cable and the type C jack is very solid and it doesn’t wobble when it is attached to my phone. While the specs on paper may not please the crowd, however, the sound and the power output is actually very sufficient for most IEMs out there that’s not power hungry. The background is dark and no audible hiss, however, as I mentioned earlier, there are some static noise whenever the track changes, be it forward or backward, pausing and resuming the track, hopefully it will be addressed with a firmware update.
The tech within the dongle and the asking price, i’d say it's fair and i have no issue recommending this dongle if you’re in search of a dongle that has good performance and very portable without breaking the bank.

*A big thanks to ddHifi for sending this over for this review. I thank them for the support as always.
Head over to their official AliExpress Store and official website if you are interested in getting one:

ddHifi TC35 Pro Eye 2 - Non affiliated

General/Packaging/Build/Comfort
I have tested various ddHifi products, most of the time is the dongle, cables and adapters, i have heard of the brand’s IEM Janus back then but there isn’t any opportunity to test it out, fast forward to today, i have the Janus 3 with me, as expected from the brand itself, the build quality is solid, a half see through shell with mmcx connection, some seems to have a love hate relationship with mmcx, i personally am okay with either 2 pin or mmcx, but if i were to pick one, because i cable roll quite often mmcx will be a better choice although it does spin like a “helicopter” after some time, but it will not be unplugged from the IEM itself like 2 pin connection when it is loose.
As with other ddHifi products, the packaging is solid and the unboxing experience is very positive, this time around, they have decided to use “waifu” on their packaging. The bundled accessories are very good in my opinion, a hard storage case, three sizes of the ST35 eartips, a very solid modular cable (3.5,4.4,2.5), the cable itself is very soft and does not tangle up, very minor to no microphonics.
In terms of comfort, i have no fit issue with it and they literally just disappears in your ears when you are wearing them, the cable itself is very very soft as i have mentioned and it does not seem to be pulling down/weighing down the IEM which is very good, you can either wear it straight down or over the ear if you prefer.



Gears used for this review

• ddHifi TC35 Pro Eye 2
• Hiby R6 Pro 2020
• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-Amp
• ddHifi Janus 3 stock cable and JVC Spiral Dots

Sound
I would describe the Janus 3 as having a harman derived tuning as when I unbox it, it does mention that the Janus 3 is co-tuned with Moondrop. Depending on whether you like harman derived tuning or not, it can be enjoyable/bad depending on preference. I personally am enjoying Janus 3, tonality is not too cool/nor warm sounding, timbre sounds quite natural to my ears, after all, Janus 3 is a single DD IEM.

Bass:

• Sub bass has got good rumble and extension,but to my ears,it is nowhere near basshead level
• Mid bass has got good thump and punch,it does occasionally bleeds into the mids as it is not fast enough during complex track
• The bass’s texture is quite decent for the asking price

Mids:

• The mid is slightly recessed
• Vocal positioning is slightly laid back and definitely not intimate
• Male vocal has got good texture and doesn’t sound thin at all
• Female vocal sounds thicker than male,Adele and Kate Bush sounds fantastic on this due to the slight upper mids boost
• Using the Janus 3 with Spiral Dots eartips, the mids are slightly pushed forward and the mids sounds a little fuller overall

Highs:

• The treble is energetic but never sibilant or harsh, i wouldn’t say its smooth as that would mean the Janus 3 is warm sounding
• With the Spiral Dots eartips, the treble is smooth, for those who are sensitive to treble, perhaps can try it with this eartip
• It has good extension and detail retrieval is average,some details are hard to pick up but this is purely nitpicking especially at this price point

Soundstage/Imaging

• Choices of eartip will affects the perceived soundstage fyi, using the stock ST35 eartip, the soundstage is quite in your head, just slightly out of your head in terms of width, i am using it with the JVC Spiral Dots and it does open up the soundstage a little, better depth, width and height perception
• Imaging is good enough for the price,instruments can be picked up easily,but it does struggle a little when playing back complex track such as Slipknot’s Duality

Driveability

• Very easy to drive,decent volume out of smartphone’s 3.5mm jack
• Doesn’t benefit much from amping
• Does scale with better source in terms of soundstage reproduction, bass and treble control
• Dongles such as the TC35 Pro Eye 2 has more than enough power to drive the Janus 3, so, if you have any other dongle which is around the price point, you’ll be fine

Final Thoughts
Having tested and listened to Janus 3 for several weeks, do I think they’re competitive or relevant at the asking price? It depends on how you’re looking at it, my opinion is that, Janus 3 is not a set that’s focused on technicalities, for those who are looking to listen critically, Janus 3 is not for you, however, if you are someone who just want to listen to your music and not care about the technicalities, Janus 3 is something that you can consider, am i saying the Janus 3 is bad? Not at all, sure, it does not have top tier technicalities, but once you start listening to it, i’m sure you’ll be tapping your foot along with the rhythm, after all, this is what matters the most when we’re listening to music isn’t it?



Janus 3 is sent over by ddHifi for the purpose of this review. I thank them for the opportunity as always.

Head over to their store if you’re interested in getting a pair:
ddHifi Janus 3- Non affiliated

General Info (Packaging/Build/Comfort)
BGVP has been in the community for quite some time and I believe everyone reading this review doesn’t need any further introduction, in case you don’t know them, feel free to read up about them here in this link. I have the P05 with me today, which is their entry level IEM with swappable filter, what makes them different from the usual IEM with swappable filter is that, the nozzle is swappable, to either bass or treble nozzle, on the back of the IEM’s shell, the filter is also swappable, so you may swap around and figure out which combination works best for your library or preference.
The unboxing experience is quite positive, the packaging doesn’t look entry level at all, more like a midrange kind of packaging to me. The wearing style can be over ears or straight down depending on your preference, build quality is very solid as well and it doesn’t feel heavy, hence it is very comfortable wearing it even for long period of time

Equipment and Softwares used

• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-AMP
• Earmen Collibri
• Hiby R6 II
• Apple Music/Tidal/foobar2k

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression (Balanced Nozzle (Gold and Red)
Upon first listen on P05, it has got a relatively smooth tuning with plenty of details yet it remains safe sounding and not harsh sounding. Timbre sounds quite natural to my ears. The nozzle is swappable to either bass or treble nozzle, and also the rear filter is also swappable as I mentioned earlier. The default one will be balanced which will be the primary sound impression that i’m sharing now,

Bass

• Bass is punchy and has good extension to my ears, but not too much to the point where it over power other frequency, adequate amount for the fun factor if you ask me
• Good texture on the bass and the speed is adequate for most genre unless you’re talking about insanely high speed heavy metal, but it is adequate to handle anything you throw at it
• The sub bass does rumble when the track calls for it, but i wouldn’t say it is up to basshead’s expectation, but personally i’m fine with it as it is good enough for my library and preference
• Slight bleed into the mids when the track gets overly complex but it is fine most of the time

Mids

• The mids are neither too recessed nor forward based to my ears, the details in this range are nicely presented
• Both male and female vocal has good enough texture to it, they don’t sound thin nor very full, good for the asking price i’d say
• The upper mids are never shouty, in fact it’s rather safe sounding, at least to me, as it ultimately depends on the individual’s hearing as well as tolerance

Treble

• P05’s treble is never offensive and yet it doesn’t sound dull and quite musical to my ears, enough energy but never harsh sounding
• Not as revealing in terms of detail retrieval but good enough for the price point, certain instruments can be picked up easily when listening to Hans Zimmer’s Why So Serious
• The treble is never sibilant even when you turn up the volume, or even on some sibilant prone track
• Average air and presence, but if you are a treblehead, feel free to swap the nozzles around to achieve desired sound

Soundstage/Imaging

• The soundstage i’d describe it as slightly out of your head, width is good but not so much on the depth and height, which is expected at such price point and i’m purely nitpicking
• Imaging is good but not exceptional, instruments can be pin-pointed easily and the left and right transition and vice versa is easily noticeable, but it does gets a little challenging for the P05 to handle when the track gets complete

Driveability

• P05 is not hard to drive, you will be able to push out decent volume from Macbook Air M2’s 3.5mm jack
• It does scale with better source and amplification as with most planars, in terms of dynamic and more controlled bass, and slightly more open sound in terms of soundstage

Sound comparison with different nozzles
Gold+Silver

• On this config, the low end is lifted and due to the seesaw effect, the treble is tamer and less exciting, this in turn made the overall listening experience a little more laidback with slightly more warmth and body
• Soundstage is slightly smaller imaging capability remains more or less similar
• Still it is nowhere near basshead level, but overall very fun sounding

Silver+Red

• This config offers experience which sounds very similar to the stock config (Gold+Red)
• Bass sounds more or less similar all the way to the mids, with the exception the treble is slightly more subdued compared to the stock config, this in turns also affects the soundstage which made it doesn’t sound that airy

Silver+Silver

• The bass performance is very similar to Gold+Silver config, even the mid range
• What i do noticed is that the upper mid is slightly, just a tinge more forward compared to the Gold+Silver, the treble however lacks energy and it just sounds subdued, not entirely a bad thing as this is more of a preference kind of thing, hence the existence of this filters and nozzles which you can customise the sound yourself

Final Thoughts
Given that the P05 is an entry level IEM, the performance that it offers is not entry level at all. Why is that? Because you get to customise the sound you want based on your preference or library with the nozzle and rear filter. There are also some IEM out there that offers the ability to swap out the nozzle but they cost a lot more, not to mention only the nozzle is swappable but not the rear filter, hence it’s pretty impressive that BGVP has done it and introduce it to the community at entry level price point.
At the time of writing, the P05 is priced at 45$ which is fair given the features that came with it. I have no issue recommending this to people who are looking to get their first IEM, seasoned audiophile however might not want to consider this as this will probably serve as a side grade to them.

*The P05 is sent over by BGVP for the purpose of this review, i thank them for the opportunity

Interested in getting a pair, head over to BGVP’s official store to get one:

BGVP P05 - Non affiliated

General/Build/Packaging/Comfort
Celest is a brand which I believe needs no introduction. They made waves back then with the release of the first SPD IEM, the Celest Gumiho, which I have also reviewed back then. Today I have the Wyvern Pro with me, which is a single dynamic driver IEM with LCP diaphragm and also detachable boom mic capability.
The packaging is the usual Celest style which has the myth beast themed packaging style/naming convention, a very positive unboxing experience i would say, it came with a boom mic, a very soft 2 pin cable, three sizes of eartips and the IEM itself, not to mention a bookmark with resemblance of Wyvern is also included.
As for the build quality, there isn’t much to fault at the asking price, resin based, very light weight with Celest’s name on the faceplate, faceplate actually looks quite minimal and clean, as long as you set the right expectation, you’re good, you should not expect the build quality of 1000$ when you’re only paying less than 30$ for the Wyvern pro.
The overall IEM even with the boom mic attached, feels very light and sturdy and it doesn’t fling around with the mic attached to it, thanks to the light build of Wyvern Pro as well as ergonomic shape which gave me a good seal and no discomfort throughout the testing session which ranges from 1-4 hours depending on what i’m doing, music listening, teams meeting, and gaming.


Equipment and Software used

• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-AMP
• Earmen Collibri
• Hiby R6 II DAP
• iFi Go Link
• Macbook Air M2
• Apple Music/Tidal/foobar2k
• Sony Xperia 5 II
• Wyvern Pro Stock cable and eartips M sized

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression
Wyvern Pro is tuned based on harman 2019 target, sub bass focused instead of mid bass, it has quite a bit of energy on the upper mids, but it is definitely not shouty to my ears (do take into consideration that your experience might differ depending on your tolerance). Timbre sounds quite natural and the overall presentation has sufficient body/note weight to it. Tonality is leaning towards slight warmth. Let’s take a look at the break down below:

Bass

• Wyvern Pro’s bass response is no basshead kind of bass response, it is sub bass focused, it does rumble when the track calls for it but it doesn’t go very deep or rumble very hard
• Mid bass is lacking based on my listening impression, it has sufficient punch but lacking texture and impact, the good thing is that it doesn’t bleed into the mids

Mids

• The mids are slightly recessed but still has enough details in this range
• Male vocal does sound slightly recessed due to it normally resides at the lower mid range, female vocal however does sound very energetic and on certain track, it be can a little shouty especially some JPop
• Vocal has sufficient texture and doesn’t come across as overly thin

Treble

• Treble has enough energy and it is definitely doesn’t sound harsh
• Detail retrieval is quite good considering the price
• Good amount of air and presence contribute to a big perceived soundstage

Soundstage/Imaging

• Soundstage has good perceivable width height, slightly lacking in terms of depth but generally it does quite good in music and also gaming
• In terms of imaging, instruments can be pinpointed easily and as far as gaming goes, directional sound is quite accurate and easily perceivable on where it’s coming from

Driveability

• Wyvern Pro doesn’t need any amplification nor it is hard to drive, it can be driven to my normal listening volume even straight out from my Xperia 5 II’s 3.5mm port
• With that being said, it does scale quite well with a quality source, most mid range dongles will do just fine

Microphone’s Impression

• I don’t play online games hence i can’t really share much about the microphone’s performance
• I do however used it for Microsoft Teams meeting and the other party is able to hear me clearly without sounding muddy

Comparison (7Hz Zero)

• Wyvern Pro has better ergonomic compared to Zero due to its shorter nozzle length which might be a problem for certain people
• Bass is slightly leaner on the Zero
• The treble on the Zero might be too energetic for some
• Soundstage is narrower, more like in your head kind of perception
• Technicalities wise, it is better than Wyvern Pro in terms of imaging, dynamics, and detail retrieval
• I wouldn’t say Zero is better than Wyvern Pro vice versa, i would say they’re side grades and different in terms of tuning targeted at different audiences, so, pick your poison

Final Thoughts
Do I recommend the Wyvern Pro? If you are on a budget and in the lookout for a good sounding IEM and also you game quite a lot, Wyvern Pro certainly fits the bill, not to mention it came with a good quality boom mic that’s detachable as well, so you can actually remove it when it is not in use. So yes, I do recommend it and it’s an easy 4/5!

*The unit was sent over by Kinera/Celest for the purpose of this review, I thank them for the opportunity for me to test this out.

If you are interested in getting a pair of this, head over to their AliExpress official store to get one, or even one of their dealers which is Linsoul:

Wyvern Pro Kinera/Celest Official Store - Non affiliated
Wyvern Pro Authorised Dealer Linsoul - Non affiliated