TONALITY: 8.2/10
TECHNICALITIES: 8.2/10
TIMBRE: 8.2/10
SOUNDSTAGE: 8.5/10
IMAGING: 7.8/10
VERSATILITY: 8.5/10
COHESION: 8.5/10
MUSICALITY (subjective): 8.5/10
CONSTRUCTION: 8.5/10
ACCESSORIES: 9/10
SOUND VALUE: 8.5/10
Intro
Juzear is a rather fresh IEM company from China that I don’t know much about apart from the fact that they seem to have a solid fan base for their hybrid IEMs like the 61T Butterfly.
Today I will review the very first IEM from them, the Defiant, which is a collaboration with influencer-hyper audio enthusiast Zeos. He is well known for being an exuberant audio reviewer with a sense of humour, as well as being a bass lover, perhaps a basshead.
Priced 100$, the Defiant is a hybrid using 1 dynamic driver and 3 balanced armature, apart from KZ, it’s rare to see such drivers configuration in the sub-100$ market.
Let's see in this review if the Defiant is just one more mediocre IEM with X Collab name stick on it’s shell (like a lot of HBB collab) or truely deliver valuable musicality and sound performance.
CONSTRUCTION&ACCESSORIES
The construction and design is surprisingly excellent and surpass what we can expect in this price range, its shell is made with DLP 3D printer using thich durable resin plastic, and the back plate is made of mesmerizing jade green mother-of-pearl-like material with nickel accent pattern that captivate the eyes. Each IEM has a unique look as well, and it comes in 2 versions: Rainbow color and Jade green which is the one I have.
The 2 pin connector aren’t recessed and a bit slippy, as well they are very tight so be cautious to align well the male 2 pin connector.
Angled nozzle is long enough for deep insertion. Shell is smooth and very comfortable.
The included cable is surprisingly excellent, this wasn’t expected at this price range and it’s one of most unique cables I ever get with any IEM in any priced range. It’s a 6N silver plated OCC copper cable with a total of 260 strands, as well it’s modular with 2 interchangeable plug, one 3.5mm single ended and one 4.4mm balanced. Braids are thick and smooth, flexible and free of microphonic. Sound transmission is effortless, macro dynamic is properly awakened and their no gain imbalance. This cable is plenty good enough to unlock full potential of this IEM and it’s quite a looker, which sure fit better the Rainbow version than Green one yet, i can’t complaint, i can easily imagine this cable being sell 40$usd. (in fact i see similar one selling for 100$)
Whole package is nicely presented and very generous in accessories, all of good quality beginning with a solid leather carrying case that is very elegant. Then you have 3 eartips models, 3 pairs of black silicone eartips, 2 pairs of white silicone eartips and 1 pair of white memory foam eartips. 2 other accessories were hidden, some kind of Z review figuring and a cleaning cloth. Add the excellent cable and you're in for very good price value goodies.
All in all, very impressive construction and accessories.
SOUND IMPRESSIONS
To say I have big expectations for anything Zeos collab would be a big lie, for the Defiant i was expecting to get a warm muddy basshead IEM and I was wrong all the way since these are quite laid back and docile all arounder. Sure, these are bassy but in smoothly balanced way where it’s more about sub bass boost that big hard mid bass punch, it’s overall relaxed and open sounding, non edgy at all, even if packed with 5 driver this isn't a technical sounding set, it seek for a musical cohesion and in that regard it sure achieve its goal.
Overall tonality sits between warm U and W shape, a softened way where bass, mids and high are all buttery sweet and don’t challenge each other, they act hand in hand for a smooth but weighty macro dynamic. The sub bass seems to be the most boosted part of the spectrum since it has warm releases that boost lushness of mid range, cream and dark treble too.
The bass is more about mellow warm slam than fast thumping textured mid bass, it’s not what I would call super well rounded or defined punch, but it’s not thin nor lacking in slam authority. This slam has wide vibrant release decay that warms the overall sound background and boosts soundstage stereophony.
Bass lines are thick and juicy, wide and warm in presence which can slip on kick drum, it’s not clean in layering and a bit slow in sustain-release which show a lack of control and speed in transient but oddly, this is part of musical charm of the Defiant too.
Cello sounds forward, wide and lush in presence, not edgy in definition, smooth and weighty in attack which is quite charming to hear.
Kick drum has weight, mid bass isn’t fully scooped here, just not as dynamic as lower than 200hz region where it’s more about sustain of attack than hard thumping lead, this mean their no mid range veil too, thanks to multi driver setup that permit to surpass limitation of single dynamic driver setup which would need more mid bass scoop to make mid range as open and well layered. Thiskinda bass, while versatile since it’s in intersection of mid and sub bass, not over compromising dynamic of each, still excel with slower music type, like Trip-Hop, rap, R&B and pop, listening to Pip Millet, Raven Lenae ,Jamila Woo or even Greentea Peng is pure slow banger joy.
This mid range is the center of the show, making the Defiant a near mid centric set because from lower to upper mids I don’t feel it lacks anything. Instruments and vocals are wide and lush in presence, warm in timbre, dense and tactile in layer but not sharp or edgy in definition. Sense of openness is there too, completing a W shaped macro dynamic which is very immersive and holographic, but slightly dark in resolution too. This is anti clinical mid range, it aims for smoothness and fullness presence as well as good note weight which compensate for the slight lack of attack lead bite and presence texture to delimitate properly instruments and vocals. It’s mids that have relief and flesh, naturally colored tone which avoid timbre spike so their zero sibilance, zero shouting without going plain lean or dull sounding. Mids embrace the listener closely yet not violently in loudness. Sure, it’s not the cleanest air around an instrument but multi layering is very good, effortless for multiple instruments with wide presence floating inside wide and tall spatiality.
Male and female vocals are fully bodied and not recessed, piano has proper note weight but not a long clean decay, still unlike with IEMs lacking lower mids it doesn't sound recessed or think and blossom in sustain with shortened release.
Violin sound lush, not thin nor metallic nor aggressive, attack lead is soft and multi BA permit good layering for chamber orchestra while it’s not suggested for big symphonic orchestra due to darkish nature of Defiant.
The treble is a less dynamic part of the spectrum, while slightly dark it’s not dull nor feel lacking details, but don’t expect to find secret micro details you’ve never heard before since this isn’t analytical nor crisp sounding IEM. Treble heads should look elsewhere, which include sparkle and brilliance lover, because there are barely none, and even super trebly IEM with BAs rarely if ever deliver true shimmer and sparkle, it’s more DD, EST and some planar than can offer this 10-15 kHz shiny energy.
Nope, this treble is lean, smooth and docile yet has a lively micro dynamic that adds richness to macro dynamic.
Acoustic guitar in fact sound very nice, attack is well define enough without feeling scooped or masked, sure it’s not snappiest attack but it’s well separated, has air around note, and energy in attack lead which permit good definition of presence which is full sounding, not too euphonic in sustain but has a short release and this is where brilliance should mix its energy.
Lower treble is more energetic, this permits good definition of violin, this adds some texture to guitar too, both don’t sound metallic as some rougher BA do.
Percussions is where darkness hit the most, since their wide range of metallic cymbals, hit hat etc, this isn’t very sharp or snappy in attack, it’s often hard to precisely follow complex speedy percussions, some will get lost in the mix, drum rolling will be slippy in snap, but this avoid splashing or spiky dynamic impact that could fatigue listener, it’s smooth overall treble that favor macro dynamic energy over micro dynamic precision and sharpness.
The soundstage is above average and sounds quite open, it’s wide and tall, holographic and immersive, not super deep nor super clean.
Imaging is OK, but Defiant can’t be used for monitoring purposes, it’s more about warm effortless multi layering, dark yet realistic positioning that surrounds the listener in open hazy spatiality. You pinpoint the impact of the instrument before being able to precisely spot its presence delimitation.
Overall Defiant is to my ears 65% musical and 35% technical in sound experience balance, it’s an immersive set that while open sounding isn’t seeking for analytical rendering nor high fidelity one, it’s one of those IEM that can please both casual audio enthusiast and audiophile seeking for musical engagement and immersivity above cerebral critical listening. With the Defiant, you can easily get lost in music for hours due to it’s spike less tonality that tend to put forwards bass and mids before highs, which are there to had extra multi layering to enrich an holographic atmosphere, both bass and mid licious, and forgiving of bad recording since it don’t reveal noise artefact or background hissing.
COMPARISONS
VS KINERA FREYA 2 (1DD3BA-260$)
Freya 2 is less warm and bassy, has more mid bass focus, texture and punch definition.
It’s less open sounding, brighter mids and treble wise.
Bass has less sub bass rumble, which is more rolled off and compressed, it’s not as wide in release nor as fully bodied in presence. Sustain is less warm, so it feels more speedy but less dynamic, more recessed in overall more congested macro dynamic.
Mids are dryer and more aggressive, more prompt to shout, presence is more compressed, vocals are less lush but sharper in definition, instruments are brighter but not as well layered, more centered and there is less space between them.
Treble is edgier, fuller and thicker, there are more micro details but less air on top, it’s still cleaner in transient response which is snappier and speedier, less euphonic. Overall treble of Defiant is darker but more open in its smoothen micro dynamic still.
Soundstage is notably wider and taller with Defiant, while slightly deeper with Freya2.
Imaging is sharper with Freya but more congested-compressed in layering.
All in all, Defiant is more laid back, bassy, lush and musical with fuller more focused but not as sharply define mids and textured kick drum, it’s warmer nature is more versatile and notably more open and big soundstage is more immersive, timbre is less grainy too making it a more polished and well balance tonality, notch less technical even if less congested in layering. I prefer those way more than Freya which have more rolled off sub bass, more recessed yet brighter mids and overall less cohesive drivers implementation.
VS ORIVETI Lowmaster (1DD2BA-150$)
Lowmaster is like an inferior side grade of Defiant for 50$ more, it feels more W shape, less warmed by rumble and slam which is more compressed but has more bite for bass line, it’s less warm overall as well.
Bass don’t slam as heavy, but it’s cleaner in punch, sharper in definition of presence.
Mids are a bit thinner, not as wide and open in presence, more prompt to slight sibilance, brighter overall and more centered in stage. Defiant is overall more mid centric, lusher, denser, smoother for vocals and instrument.
Treble is less well balanced, more spiky and prompt to metallic sharpness for percussions that while snappier are less cohesive in timbre and dynamic, again Defiant is a bit warmer but more spacious on top, more holographic and stereophonic, less all in center stage. Micro dynamic is crisper and sharper with Lowmaster.
Soundstage is way wider, taller and slightly deeper with Defiant.
Imaging is superior with Defiant even if less clean and bright, layering has more space and position of instrument is more accurate while for Lowmaster it’s mostly percussions that will be easy to accurately pinpoint, with Defiant you need to be active listener to position the instrument but more spacious stage permit easier pinpoint apart for darker percussions which has less sharp transient and less boosted presence brightness.
All in all, as said, even if notch warmer and darker, the Defiant feel like a more polished and better balanced Oriveti lowmaster, with deeper, chunkier, more vibrant bass, more focused wide and lush mids and less sibilant, spiky treble as well as way bigger soundstage.
CONCLUSION
While the Defiant doesn’t reinvent the wheel it does achieve an impressively well rounded musicality that is both immersive and versatile, bassy and lush, smooth without being lean and dull.
This is the type of musicality that will appeal to a wide mass, from audio enthusiast listening mostly to pop to audiophile that favor warm laid back sound over more clinical and austere one.
Some might expect basshead IEM from Zeos, but here it’s a well balanced warm U shape musicality you get, with mellow yet authoritative and weighty bass slam, forwards sweet mids and smooth treble. Here the bass isn’t that Defiant or dominant, yet it’s never lacking apart perhaps for those seeking very hard punching mid bass
If you want to be engage in wide bassy holographic macro dynamic sound experience that don’t force micro details on you nor go sibilant, shouty or trebly, the Defiant is in fact more docile and permissive that one might think, it’s cozzy smooth head banger, perfect for Trip-Hop, R&B, Soul, rap, electronic and even jazz. Which means it’s a great all arounder that offers very good value for the whole package, not only its sound that is competitive for its price too.
Well Done Juzear and Zeos.
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PS: I want to thanks Hifigo for sending me the Defiant as review sample. I'm not affiliated to this audio shop and as always I keep (and protect) my independence of opinions, which are subjective and non negotiable.
You can order the Juzear Defiant for 100$ here:
https://hifigo.com/products/juzear-x-z-reviews-defiant
