INTRODUCTION
About a couple of weeks ago. Thomas from Edifier contacted me to review another one of their new products. I accepted the offer and chose the M815 because of the legacy that the M850 introduced. It seems that I was right to pick it. The M815 is quite interesting. So I give my gratitude to Thomas and everyone else on Edifier for giving me the opportunity to review the M815. I will now go into detail of the M815. First the Build Quality.
BUILD QUALITY
The way the M815 was designed seems quite average. The thing that troubles me is the small strain relief at the bottom of the left ear cup. It's not thick. Neither is it stiff. It moves a bit. So I suggest to be very careful when handling with the cord. The housing of the headphones are made of a thick and lightweight plastic. It feels somewhat sturdy, along with a very thick and rubbery cable and the auxilary jack is also fairly sturdy. So it should last for a long time. Although the M815 is not very flexible. So don't twist it. Now for the design/fit and specifications.
SPECIFICATIONS
What's in the box
M815 Headphone x 1;3M Cable;User Manual x 1
M815 FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz~20kHz
IMPEDANCE: 40Ω
CONNECTOR TYPE: Straight
SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL: 101dB
CABLE LENGTH: 1.3m
WEIGHT: 0.19KG
CONNECTOR: 3.5mm
INLINE CONTROL: Included
DESIGN/FIT
The M815 lacks the ability to fold near the ear cups. Due to the lack of folding. It would be wise to get a headphone case that's big enough to store it. The M815 has the cable on the left side. Which also contains a volume slider and a mute switch. I tried the volume slider and it works like a charm. You can adjust the volume for anything to your liking. Only up to maximum volume the device is on or what the device is generally capable of. I tried the mute switch and it only works on phone calls. It doesn't work on my ASUS Zenfone 2 when it comes to music playback. I used Poweramp and Neutron and it was inconclusive. The fit is quite good. I have a lot of hair, bit it's not and issue to get a secure fit. BTW, the comfort for these are amazing and I hardly get hot ears from wearing the M815 for hours at a time. The noise isolation is decent. Not the best out there. I find myself turning up the volume at noisy environments. Not at noise deafening levels though.
Before I go on to the SQ. I should mention that I used my ASUS Zenfone 2 with the Poweramp and Neutron apps. With at least 25 hours of burn in. Along with the Topping NX2 and no EQ for proper feedback.
The results.
SOUND QUALITY
BASS
It's fast. Around the same speed as my Ultrasone HFI-450. It's well controlled and can extend the shallow regions of subbass. The texture is quite good too. You can hear various tones of bass. Which leads me to believe that the M815 can do well with Trap, Chillstep and Trance. I tested that out. I listened to Fighting For Freedom (Nish Remix) by StripE (MP3: 320KBPS Hard Trance). The bassline in that track demonstrated very good speed, control and depth. The great thing about the midbass is that it's kind of muted. So it will not bleed into midrange. Speaking of which.
MIDRANGE
This is where it gets good. It's amazing. The midrange is so transparent, detailed and slightly warm. It reminds me of my DUNU Titan 1. It's generally around the same level in clarity and detail. The M815 demonstrates forward vocals quite well. I listened to Young by Vallis Alps (FLAC 771 KBPS) on my Zenfone 2. It's like the lead singer was singing really close to me. Her vocals was very clear and distinct. I can hear her. Word for word. The guitars sound quite well rendered in this song. No sibilance to speak of either. Which reminds me.
TREBLE
It's also forward. Very forward and bright. No hissing. Just sparkly and extended treble. It also provides an airiness to the sound. As a result. The music can sound pretty lively with the right track. For example. The track Silvery Wings (Short Version) by Onoken (MP3 320 KBPS) demonstrates the liveliness of guitars. I just love that track even more now. Thanks Edifier. Now about that airiness.
SOUNDSTAGE/HEADSTAGE
The sense of space is pretty good for a closed back headphone. It's not like my Beyerdynamic DTX910, but it's close. The width is a couple of centimeters past the dynamic drivers inside the headphones. The depth is above average for its' price point. The M815's depth is a slightly scaled back version of the Beyerdynamic DTX 910. The height is very good. The M815 can push the air as high as the top of the ear cups. Pretty similar to my Ultrasone HFI-450. Before I end this review. There are a couple of more things to mention....
ACCURACY/IMAGING
Another great aspect of the M815. The accuracy is pretty decent. It's good at portraying the recording of the music at a decent level. Due to the bright and neutral qualities of the sound the M815 and the great accuracy. The imaging is pretty vivid. You can hear what the image of the instruments and vocals very clearly. The timbre also sounds very natural. The vocals and strings do not sound artificial at all. Unless if they are suppose to be artificial.
SEPARATION/LAYERING
It's pretty impressive what the M815 is capable of in these categories. The instruments and vocals keep themselves away from each other pretty well for most soundtracks I listen to. Mostly. In very fast tracks they may stumble a bit. For what it's worth. It's very satisfactory.
AMPING
This is the tricky part. I used my Zenfone 2 and it seems that Neutron was the most capable. I found myself turning up the volume near the max with Poweramp. Now with the NX2. The only music player I could use with the USB DAC was Neutron. Otherwise the amp was more than enough for both players. The volume was 50/50 on both devices. It's probably because of the higher than average impedance of 40 ohms from the M815.
CONCLUSION
In the end. It seems that the M815 was close. I do not own the M815, but in comparison to my other headphones. It held it's own quite well. For those of you that are looking for a balanced and neutral sound with fast bass and a slightly above average soundstage. The M815 is for you. If you demand lots of bass and the lack of portability bothers you. Then look elsewhere. Otherwise for $50. It's hard for me to say no because the pros slightly outweigh the cons.
About a couple of weeks ago. Thomas from Edifier contacted me to review another one of their new products. I accepted the offer and chose the M815 because of the legacy that the M850 introduced. It seems that I was right to pick it. The M815 is quite interesting. So I give my gratitude to Thomas and everyone else on Edifier for giving me the opportunity to review the M815. I will now go into detail of the M815. First the Build Quality.
BUILD QUALITY
The way the M815 was designed seems quite average. The thing that troubles me is the small strain relief at the bottom of the left ear cup. It's not thick. Neither is it stiff. It moves a bit. So I suggest to be very careful when handling with the cord. The housing of the headphones are made of a thick and lightweight plastic. It feels somewhat sturdy, along with a very thick and rubbery cable and the auxilary jack is also fairly sturdy. So it should last for a long time. Although the M815 is not very flexible. So don't twist it. Now for the design/fit and specifications.
SPECIFICATIONS
What's in the box
M815 Headphone x 1;3M Cable;User Manual x 1
M815 FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz~20kHz
IMPEDANCE: 40Ω
CONNECTOR TYPE: Straight
SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL: 101dB
CABLE LENGTH: 1.3m
WEIGHT: 0.19KG
CONNECTOR: 3.5mm
INLINE CONTROL: Included
DESIGN/FIT
The M815 lacks the ability to fold near the ear cups. Due to the lack of folding. It would be wise to get a headphone case that's big enough to store it. The M815 has the cable on the left side. Which also contains a volume slider and a mute switch. I tried the volume slider and it works like a charm. You can adjust the volume for anything to your liking. Only up to maximum volume the device is on or what the device is generally capable of. I tried the mute switch and it only works on phone calls. It doesn't work on my ASUS Zenfone 2 when it comes to music playback. I used Poweramp and Neutron and it was inconclusive. The fit is quite good. I have a lot of hair, bit it's not and issue to get a secure fit. BTW, the comfort for these are amazing and I hardly get hot ears from wearing the M815 for hours at a time. The noise isolation is decent. Not the best out there. I find myself turning up the volume at noisy environments. Not at noise deafening levels though.
Before I go on to the SQ. I should mention that I used my ASUS Zenfone 2 with the Poweramp and Neutron apps. With at least 25 hours of burn in. Along with the Topping NX2 and no EQ for proper feedback.
The results.
SOUND QUALITY
BASS
It's fast. Around the same speed as my Ultrasone HFI-450. It's well controlled and can extend the shallow regions of subbass. The texture is quite good too. You can hear various tones of bass. Which leads me to believe that the M815 can do well with Trap, Chillstep and Trance. I tested that out. I listened to Fighting For Freedom (Nish Remix) by StripE (MP3: 320KBPS Hard Trance). The bassline in that track demonstrated very good speed, control and depth. The great thing about the midbass is that it's kind of muted. So it will not bleed into midrange. Speaking of which.
MIDRANGE
This is where it gets good. It's amazing. The midrange is so transparent, detailed and slightly warm. It reminds me of my DUNU Titan 1. It's generally around the same level in clarity and detail. The M815 demonstrates forward vocals quite well. I listened to Young by Vallis Alps (FLAC 771 KBPS) on my Zenfone 2. It's like the lead singer was singing really close to me. Her vocals was very clear and distinct. I can hear her. Word for word. The guitars sound quite well rendered in this song. No sibilance to speak of either. Which reminds me.
TREBLE
It's also forward. Very forward and bright. No hissing. Just sparkly and extended treble. It also provides an airiness to the sound. As a result. The music can sound pretty lively with the right track. For example. The track Silvery Wings (Short Version) by Onoken (MP3 320 KBPS) demonstrates the liveliness of guitars. I just love that track even more now. Thanks Edifier. Now about that airiness.
SOUNDSTAGE/HEADSTAGE
The sense of space is pretty good for a closed back headphone. It's not like my Beyerdynamic DTX910, but it's close. The width is a couple of centimeters past the dynamic drivers inside the headphones. The depth is above average for its' price point. The M815's depth is a slightly scaled back version of the Beyerdynamic DTX 910. The height is very good. The M815 can push the air as high as the top of the ear cups. Pretty similar to my Ultrasone HFI-450. Before I end this review. There are a couple of more things to mention....
ACCURACY/IMAGING
Another great aspect of the M815. The accuracy is pretty decent. It's good at portraying the recording of the music at a decent level. Due to the bright and neutral qualities of the sound the M815 and the great accuracy. The imaging is pretty vivid. You can hear what the image of the instruments and vocals very clearly. The timbre also sounds very natural. The vocals and strings do not sound artificial at all. Unless if they are suppose to be artificial.
SEPARATION/LAYERING
It's pretty impressive what the M815 is capable of in these categories. The instruments and vocals keep themselves away from each other pretty well for most soundtracks I listen to. Mostly. In very fast tracks they may stumble a bit. For what it's worth. It's very satisfactory.
AMPING
This is the tricky part. I used my Zenfone 2 and it seems that Neutron was the most capable. I found myself turning up the volume near the max with Poweramp. Now with the NX2. The only music player I could use with the USB DAC was Neutron. Otherwise the amp was more than enough for both players. The volume was 50/50 on both devices. It's probably because of the higher than average impedance of 40 ohms from the M815.
CONCLUSION
In the end. It seems that the M815 was close. I do not own the M815, but in comparison to my other headphones. It held it's own quite well. For those of you that are looking for a balanced and neutral sound with fast bass and a slightly above average soundstage. The M815 is for you. If you demand lots of bass and the lack of portability bothers you. Then look elsewhere. Otherwise for $50. It's hard for me to say no because the pros slightly outweigh the cons.