FiiO EM3 Open Earbud Earphones with In-Line Microphone (Black)

Disclaimer
I received these earbuds from Fiio as a review sample in exchange for my honest opinion on them. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.
 
Intro:
Today’s audio market is kinda like a corporation. Big fat executives in expensive suits calling in meetings to pat themselves on the back and discuss million dollar audio equipment as if it was weather. Young employees with outfits and hairstyles straight out of Vogue suck up to their bosses, exclaiming their eternal love for 512x DSD and cable holders. And then there is Fiio, with his tats and ponytail quietly sitting in the back, refusing to participate in this giant circlejerk. Well, at least that’s how I like to imagine their position on the market. As the voice of reason in a world that descended into madness a long time ago.
Fiio’s latest product, the EM3 is exactly that - a voice of reason. Let’s take a look.
 
Package:
The EM3 comes in a plain, white, cardboard package that aside from the earbuds themselves, contain the warranty card, three pairs of foam covers, and a little bit of clear plastic for additional protection. I’m glad Fiio didn’t spend any more money on additional accessories or an elaborate box. 10$ is not a lot of money to go on and it was clearly spent on the earphones and not the package. Good job Fiio!
 

 
Build
Simple black housing, short cable ending in 4-pole minijack and an inline microphone. It’s easy to mistake the EM3 for earbuds that come with a smartphone or an mp3 player. I’d like Fiio to include their logo somewhere on the earbuds to make them stand apart more but that’s just a minor gripe. They sit comfortably in my ears and have only fallen out twice, which I consider a good score. Aside from that nothing bad can be said about them. Okay, let’s move on to the sound quality.
 

 

 

 
 
Highs
The EM3 does an okay job as far as the highs go. They’re not bad or awful by any means, I just feel like they’re lacking extension. This became apparent the most when I listened to Ne Obliviscaris’ “And Plague Flowers The Kaleidoscope”. As this is one of my favourite songs of all time, I’ve heard it hundreds of times and pretty much have it memorized. The two minute violin intro is, to me, a thing of beauty and could be used to evaluate the performance of much higher-priced equipment. Naturally I played it on loop in order to test the quality of the EM3. Sadly, I was a little bit disappointed. It’s as if part of the appeal of the violin was gone when listened to through the EM3. The notes sounded just dull and lifeless. The same can be said about Mina Spiler’s voice in Laibach’s We Are Millions And Millions are One. Totally listenable but not really engaging. Reproduction of percussion instruments is also pretty mediocre (most audible in An Infinite Regression and To Sirius). Drums and cymbals sound artificial and caused me to check whether something was wrong with the earbuds the first time I heard them. Overall, I’d rate the highs as 6/10.
 
Mids
You have no idea how surprised I was when I heard the mids coming out of these little things. They aren’t just great as in “great for a 10$ earbuds”, those are actually great mids. Most of my evaluation playlist is composed of rock and metal music and after going through it all I was left deeply satisfied. Tosin Abasi’ guitar in The Woven Web was tight and engaging. Every note was clearly defined and, something I did not expect whatsoever, sounded better on the EM3 than Koss Porta Pro, which are my current portable headphones. Synthesizers on Wild International were just splendid and a joy to listen to. I had no idea something so tiny can produce sound so nice. Great work Fiio!
All things considered I can give these earbuds a well-deserved 9/10 for the mids.
 
Bass
Bass is the trickiest part of the audio spectrum to reproduce on dynamic earphones. Small driver enclosed in tiny plastic housing has a much harder time reproducing those lower frequencies than a full-size driver in a big earcup. In order to challenge the EM3 I decided to use Leonard Cohen’s Popular Problems album. A while ago i’ve noticed that Mr. Cohen’s voice on this album is so low that turning the Bass Boost on in my E18 actually makes the vocals seem louder. Naturally I wanted to check how the EM3 will handle such amount of bass. Unaltered, both the bass guitar track and vocals sounded rather thin and lacking, without a proper punch. The situation changed the moment I decided to turn the Bass Boost on. With Bass Boost engaged both vocals and the bass track sound meaty, with proper impact throughout the entire album. As I feel that all EM3’s deficiencies in the bass region can be corrected with an EQ and are not an inherent driver issue, I’m fine with rating the bass as 8/10.
 
Isolation
If You’d like to isolate yourself from the rest of the world and just listen to music without being bothered then boy, you’re in for a disappointment. The EM3 will stand aside and do nothing while outside noise penetrates your ear canals. Moreover, it will let your music escape said ear canals, and annoy people in your close proximity. Seriosuly, it's bad. The isolation/leakage is the only major gripe I have with these earphones.
They are clearly designed for mobile use and mobile users most commonly use earbuds while commuting. I can’t really imagine people using these buds in the comfort of their own home, where bigger and better gear is readily available for them (lol, that’s exactly what I’m doing as I type this but that’s an exception). The majority of the prospective buyers will use them outdoors and guess what happens if you use them outdoors?
 
Amazing mids I’ve mentioned?
GONE
 
Nice bass?
GONE
 
Mediocre highs?
That’s all you’ll be able to hear on your way to work.

 
I don’t know how loud the public transport in Hong Kong is, but in Warsaw it is pretty bad. As in “sometimes I can’t hear what people standing 0.5m away from me said”. Most Polish people use closed-back headphones for this very reason, to isolate themselves from our noisy buses, noisy subway and noisy streets. Headphones with nice isolation are simply mandatory here and that’s where the EM3 disappoint the most. And it kinda makes me sad because I genuinely like how they sound. But I only like them when I’m alone in my room, not when I’m on my way to work and that’s where they are supposed to be used the most. When I raised my concern about the isolation of these earbuds, the Fiio rep suggested covering the vents with a piece of rubber. I've tried that and found that it helped a little but did not solve the issue, moreover the mid-range sounded as if someone smothered it with a pillow.
Okay, I may be blowing the leakage out of proportion. After all, these are open earbuds so poor isolation was to be expected. I just hate the fact that 90% of the time these buds will perform in sub-optimal conditions that may cause the buyers to misjudge them.
 
Conclusion
All in all, I really like the EM3 earbuds. Despite the isolation problem (which may or may not be such an issue in “quieter” cities) I do enjoy listening to them. I have a small list of improvements I’d like to see in future/higher-priced models if Fiio ever decides to make them:
 

1. For the love of God, please make them closed
2. Over-ear sleeving or hooks would help as they fell out of my ears once or twice
3. Another variant without the microphone and with a regular 3-pole jack

 
And I have a feeling that Fiio will make a higher-priced earbud model. After all, if that’s what they can do with 10$, imagine what they will be able to do with a 100$.
 

Earbuds in general have fallen out of the public eye in recent years. The lack of a seal as well as ample amounts of sound leak have left this product sitting on your table at home while you take out your in-ear earphones instead for portable use.
 
Though there are caveats to this design, I also believe there are benefits to wearing an earbud in place of an in-ear earphone.
 
The EM3 is the new ‘budget friendly’ offering from Fiio. If you’re not familiar with Fiio as a company, they hit well above their price bracket for the majority of their products including portal and desktop amp/DACs as well as dedicated DAP devices and a few earphones to balance out the mix.
 
This low cost earbud give no reason for you now not to replace your default phone and ipod earphones. They are amazing value and the review below will discuss their qualities in more detail.
 
Just a disclaimer: This product was sent to me by Fiio to conduct an unbiased review. I have not been given any information to convey from them and will give my honest personal opinion
 
Specs:
 

 
 
Packaging:
 
For such a cheap product they actually do come with decent packaging. The box is solid, is structurally very sound (since there are things inside to hold it’s shape). The material is a recycled-paper feeling box with standard card folded inside to house the earbuds and extra foam cushions.
 
I will provide a picture only for the sake of it. In my opinion for a product of this price range, I couldn’t care less about the packaging. Of course it has to look decently appealing to the consumer, but I’d like the majority of the cost to go into the sound quality and the build of the product itself.
 
The inclusion of 3 foam cushions in total is a good touch though. They do wear out/ stretch and fall off over time I’ve found from other earbuds. So spares are a must.
 
 

 
 
Build Quality:
 
When I first unboxed these earbuds, after thinking ‘hmm, that’s pretty good packaging’ is ‘damn, these don’t feel hollow like other cheap earbuds’
 
That’s exactly it. They don’t feel cheap at all. They are weighty for an earbud and there is no hollowness or rattling at all. Very good build. Even when I flick them with my fingernail it doesn’t make a hollow noise. This either means they used pretty thick plastic for the housings or the insides are jam packed. The drivers inside are 14.8mm in diameter so there must not be much room left in there.
 
The cable is a mix between a rubbery feeling cable and a smooth plastic one. It’s got a rubbery texture, but it isn’t as soft and flexible as a full rubber wire if you know what I mean. I don’t think of this as a bad thing. Overly soft cables tend to tangle easier, and these I’ve not yet had an issue with tangling.
 
The mic and controls are decent feeling too. Less so than the earbuds themselves but nowhere near cheap feeling.
 
Lastly the cable is terminated in a right angled, gold plated 3.5mm plug. There is ample strain relief on both the earbuds and especially the right angle connector. I don’t see myself fraying this.
 

 
 
Design/ Comfort:
 
The EM3 has a dual ported design. One port directly behind the driver facing out of the ear. As well as a skinny long port down the shaft of earbud, above the Left and Right indicator letters. The lower port definitely makes less of an impact on sound.
 
This design gives the EM3’s more of an open listening experience as well as a very good bass response. But I’ll go delve further into that later.
 
In terms of style. It’s a plain black earbud. It has some styling on the back to look not too plain. For me it’s inconspicuous, which I like.
 

 
 
The comfort of these is great in my opinion. With earbuds you can’t really go wrong unless you make an oblong shaped bud. As long as it’s round and not too large, it’s going to be comfortable. The EM3 is no exception. It’s very comfortable and I forgot I was wearing it after a little while.
 
Sound Quality:
 
What everyone has been reading these reviews for. Now for sound quality I will be comparing these with the earbuds that accompanied the Galaxy Note 5, and the Sennheiser OMX 980 (yes I know this is not fair).
 

 
 
 
 
I assume, may it be wrong of me or not, that these earbuds will be a doorway to the audiophile world for many unsuspecting people who just want to replace their standard phone earbuds and get a little more sound quality without paying the big bucks. This is why I’m comparing them to the Samsung earbuds that came with a recent high end flagship, the Note 5. Bear in mind that I am only comparing sound. Nothing else.
 
Hands down the EM3 trumps the Samsung earbuds. They were more open. Strangely they actually even sealed better. Also the bass and was much smoother and boomier. The treble and mids were quite similar. Both slightly more in the background compared to the bass. But the soundstage on the EM3’s were considerably better than the Samsung. One thing to note on the Samsungs is that I heard distortion. Not even at a loud volume, but just standard listening volume. I could hear echos. This means the EM3’s are much better designed and dampened internally.
 
EM3 vs Samsung earbuds - EM3 Wins!
 
Now a toughy. Dethroning a top of the line earbud (currently on Amazon for 500USD)... Sadly it’s not happening. The extension, imaging and separation on the OMX 980 is just superb in comparison. The difference is definitely there. I got my GF to try both (she doesn’t know much about earphones/ headphones at all). She was like ‘These (OMX 980) are way better’.
 
The thing is. Is the difference worth 490USD. The answer is no. Here is how I put the difference. The OMX 980 is just an all round beast. Treble, mids and bass are spot on. Very musical but also very clear and open. Everything is extended to give punch but also separate very well.
 
The EM3 on the other hand has very comparable bass response. However the mids and trebles sounded veiled in comparison. I mean veiled as in through a sheet of sponge. This can be alleviated by taking the foam off. However the OMX 980’s manage to push through while also having them so I don’t know…
 
EM3 vs OMX 980 - OMX 980 Wins! (Big surprise)
 
Treble:
 
Laid back and smooth. Not to the point of no highs, but they tend to take a back seat to the bass. No spikes that I can hear up to this point.
 
I’ve found that removing the foam really opens up the top end. However the bass is just gone as a result.
 
Mids:
 
Sadly similar to the treble. Takes a back seat unless the volume is turned up quite high. Luckily there is decent separation between the highs and mids. Very good effort.
 
Bass:
 
The earbuds time to shine. The bass is just wonderful. It’s smooth, has punch and rumble. Also it is never overbearing or inflated. Sounds great with pretty much all modern music.
 
Soundstage:
 
The soundstage really did surprise me on this. It’s really great. Much wider than I was expecting. The earbud in general is very musical and listening to jazz was very enjoyable. This is to be expected since this is an open earbud. Comparable to many open headphones.
 
Imaging:
 
Quite accurate. Not as much as a closed earphone. But it does very well even compared to the OMX 980.
 
 
 
One thing I will mention is that I wish Fiio included some donut shaped foam covers. Like another reviewer stated. I cut the centre out of one of mine and the sound is definitely improved. The highs and mids are more extended while the foam around the edges still seal enough to give very good bass.
 
A must I’d say when getting these. But learn from me and cut the holes slightly smaller
 

 
 
Conclusion:
 
Fiio is onto a winner in my opinion. Another product that manages to punch above its weight. Sure it doesn’t beat an earbud 50 times it’s price. But who really expected it to. You should really be marvelling at what 10 bucks can get you now. It is considerably better than both the Apple earpods (compared in another EM3 review), as well as the Samsung equivalent. This gives absolutely no excuse as to why you shouldn’t get these to replace your stock earbuds for pleasure listening.

If you’re commuting on a train or public transport of another kind. I’d say these don’t isolate too well. But for home, office or general indoor use it’s a done deal

Introduction – 

Once seen as cheap throwaways, earbuds seem to have become the new phenomenon in the audio landscape. Since they don`t produce a strong seal and have a very loose fit, they are seen as having very limited uses, but these attributes can also permit a unique sound that`s not too dissimilar from the in-ear equivalent of open back headphones. As such, we are seeing a rapid increase in the number of quality earbuds on the market, mostly from upcoming Asian brands employing innovative technologies such as hybrid driver setups commonly used in much more exclusive and much, much more expensive western flagships.



 
Fiio is probably the best recognized Asian Hi-Fi company, and constantly impress with affordable and innovative products. The Fiio EM3 is a high performance budget earbud with an RRP of $10 USD that represents Fiio`s first step into earphones using their experience with sources and amps. They use a custom Fiio designed driver and an extensive filter system to deliver a sound that is “warm and full-bodied”. Fiio have specifically aimed these earphones at the pop loving mass market with an integrated mic and multi-function button and sound signature focused on vocals. In this article, I`ll be looking at the Fiio EM3`s, which were sent to me by Fiio for review (thanks so much!) however I`ll try to be as objective as possible in my verdict. For reference, I`ve owned my Earpods for about 2 years and my E100`s for just under 1 year.

 

Accessories – 









The EM3`s come in a minimalist box with well designed graphics, authenticity sticker and basic specifications. Inside is a slide out tray, manuals and a small box containing three foam covers. A matte film incites allure with the earphones lying behind the frosted cover.











I would have preferred for Fiio to include at least one pair of doughnut foams since they have a lower impact on midrange clarity, but the stock covers are easily modified with a hole punch.

For $10 I wouldn`t expect much more, Fiio did a great job  and I`m glad they invested more in the earphones themselves which are of great quality. The packaging is a step above other Chinese buds such as the Baldoor E100 Earbell`s but it is still less refined than the Apple Earpods molded cable winder, they are almost five times more expensive however.

 

Design – 

Fiio hasn`t used generic earbud housings like Yuin and Venture, instead they have designed a custom shell that seems like a shallower fitting Earpod with larger vents. The bold mesh fascias tease the audio prowess of the 14.8mm drivers they protect and the housings leave a positive impression both visually and kinaesthetically with a matte finish and gloss accents. The Earbells also use custom housings, but they are large and not particularly well shaped which is why many resort to the rotated fit.

Thicker plastics and less creaks result in a better feel than both the E100`s and Earpods. They are also lacking the long stem of the Earpods and protruding housings of the E100`s, making them more ergonomic to use when sleeping (lying on the side). They are not very stable in the ears, but no earbud is without foams or rubber wings. This loose fit will benefit those who do not like the sensation of iems, and they work very well at home or in a quiet area.

The cables are the nicest I`ve seen on a budget earbud, avoiding the tacky feeling and springiness that most low quality cables possess. They are noticeably thick below the y-split and still generously thick above it, all the while remaining decently supple. The highlight is the particularly well relieved right angle plug. All junctions are solid, well molded and thickset, the plug is gold plated for less crackling and is case friendly. I don`t see the EM3`s failing any time soon but the remote and y split could be better relieved. The Baldoor E100`s by comparison have a cable that resists tangles well with a triangular design, but is tacky and quite springy, refusing to accept a case or stay put in my pocket. And despite having the thickest cable of the lot, minimal strain reliefs on the earbuds and jack produce spots of tension (the jack failed on mine after a few months). The Apple Earpods are even worse. The cable by far the thinnest and has a very rubbery texture. It is prone to splitting and the strain reliefs are too soft to adequately alleviate stress (Mine have a sheath over them due to splitting). The jack is a very common point of failure so Fiio have put in extra effort to make sure you won`t have to re-terminate down the road.

All EM3`s have a mic and multi-function button that works with  both android and ios, it looks to be a three button controller but there is only one. Only the E100 "a" model has a remote, it is of the three button with mic variation but only works on android, and for some reason the muti-function button doesn`t work reliably on ios. Moreover the triangular remote is hard to distinguish as all sides are smooth and the buttons are all part of a single piece of plastic. The Earpod remote is similar design wise to the EM3`s but has volume buttons too. Through the single button on the EM3 you can play, pause, skip forwards and backwards. It`s a nice feature to haveFiio knows their target demographic well.

The EM3`s use a custom driver with a filter system that reminds of the renowned JVC FX lineup. They have a 47ohm impedance to prevent sound digression from sources with high output impedance (it should sound the same from all sources). They are using a dual vent system to augment bass and treble response, somewhat like the Earpods, but the vents are much larger and resist blockage better. Fiio is pursuing a full bodied signature and the design elements they have chosen are well suited towards their desired sound.

 

Sound – 

I agree with Fiio 100%, full bodied and mid-centric is an accurate description of the EM3`s sound signature. They sound smooth, organic and rich but slightly veiled. I would not use the included covers as they are already very full sounding and ere on congestion with foams. Doughnut foams provide a happy medium between bass response and clarity but they are still too bassy for me, they sound rich enough without any covers at all. It`s nice to have the option in case you prefer more bass slam

The earphones immediately impressed me with a very spacious soundstage, much more so than the Earpods or E100`s which are already quite good on account of their form factor. They did sound dull and a little too full-bodied at first, but after some listening, they are growing on me. I realize that they sound just good for most genres but downright great for others, they are more specialized than the Earpods or E100`s, and remind me of lower range Westone earphones. The sound is practically the opposite of the E100`s and they should be a good alternative for those who find its sound too fatiguing but want an earphone with similar technical proficiency. While the E100`s are V-shaped with abundant clarity, the EM3`s are more laid-back, full bodied and dark. The Earpods are more neutral than either, but the quality of the sound is only mediocre.

They are actually decently sensitive despite their impedance, about one volume notch less than the Earpods, but the E100`s are quite a bit louder at the same volume. They benefit from amping or at least a decently powerful source; They sound strong from my HTC M8 for example and produce a cleaner sound from my Fiio Q1, but struggle a bit with congestion on my iPod nano 7G.

Bass –

The EM3`s have good bass extension for an earbud, even without foams there is still rumble and slam. They are very similar to the E100`s (w doughnut foams) quantity wise without foams, the E100`s have a stronger sub-bass response and also extend more (with foams they will create decent sub-bass), whilst the Earpods with their half in ear design just about match the EM3`s but roll off stronger. The E100`s are more textured and punchier, they have the best bass quality of any earbud I`ve tested. The EM3`s on account of their midrange focus are a little less direct with their bass, the quality is much better than the Earpods and only slightly behind the E100`s. They have decent slam and punch without foams but far too much even with doughnut foams. They still have very good texturing but decay times are slow. The lower-bass is over-boosted for me whilst the mid-bass is relatively neutral. Elevations in the mid and especially upper-bass responses warm the mids. This signature is befitting of a weak sealing earbud and produces a somewhat powerful sound.

Mids –

Although the E100`s impress with oodles of clarity and detail, the EM3`s overall portray the mids just as well. The Earpods are not even close, they are very grainy and tinny sounding, lacking in refinement, detail and body. The E100`s and EM3`s provide a much smoother listen. However of the three, the EM3`s portray the most detailed listen. Vocals are smooth and detailed, this is their forte. Their large soundstage further enhances the listen; acoustic and string instruments sound fantastic and jazz/pop is well rendered. Rock music is less flattered, sounding a bit overbearing and more suited towards the E100`s. The midrange is slightly too full and warm and will take some adjusting, the cooler, brighter sounding E100`s and Earpods can make the EM3`s sound congested by comparison. The E100`s can also overdo it at times, they occasionally sound a bit harsh and over bright. The EM3`s have a slight recess in the upper midrange which explains the dull sound description. It depends on preference but even for fans of brighter earphones such as myself, they can be an interesting, less fatiguing listen. Ultimately I think they work well for what Fiio has intended and that is pop and vocals which sound superb. Quality wise, they are similar to the E100`s, they just pursue a different kind of sound. They don`t have the typical clean audiophile sound, but it`s not offensive, I think the general consumer will enjoy the sound. 

High –

This is where most earbuds falter, either at the high end, the low end or both. The treble response is the harmartia of the  E100`s and Earpods. Both of their treble responses are brittle and grainy and they do not portray great resolution. The Earpods roll off at the very top whilst the E100`s are more airy and shimmery. Although the E100`s have such a characteristic, the EM3`s are by far the best in the treble region. They can initially sound dull, but their treble, like their mids, is smooth and very textured. It is neutral in quantity and well extended, but can get overwhelmed by the mids. Although it does not achieve the air of the E100`s, they do carry more information. The treble response is top quality for an earbud.

 

Verdict – 

With the EM3`s, Fiio gives you a lot of product for not a lot of money. Because the EM3 is in house designed (whilst other earbuds are generally much more generic), I don`t see how Fiio could have made them any cheaper. The only problem is that the competition is, in fact the E100`s can be had for under $10 shipped and the VE Monks are even cheaper. Overall Fiio have provided a great alternative to these budget wonder buds, they have a less audiophile friendly sound, but it is a sound with certain appeal and I do think that they Fiio have done a good job. The build is by far the best of all budget earbuds and the added functionality from the remote is welcome. I found that their full sound actually works really well with movies and videos so they make from a great all purpose bud. The combination of build, sound and practicality result in a well rounded product, something that many Chinese manufacturers don`t provide. It may not be the best sounding $10 earbud (it still sounds good), but it very well may be the best. 

My sound ratings do not take into account price, it is on a scale of 1-10 where 1 is un-listenable and 10 is as close to my perfect sound as possible. My final verdict will factor in price and all other qualities. 

 

Accessories - 

EM3 - 9/10, Well done, could come with doughnut foams or a simple case, I wouldn`t even expect that for the price.

E100 - 9/10, Comes with a pair of regular and doughnut foams plus a small storage bag. They are of poor quality but at least they offer the functionality.

Earpod -8/10, No accessories per say, but the packaging doubles as a decent cable winder/case.

Design - 

EM3 - 10/10, Well designed and ergonomic. Visually pleasing everything seems well thought out. The cable is fantastic for a budget bud. Remote is easily found and operated.

E100 - 7.5/10, They may look interesting, but they`re not very ergonomic, the housings stick out from the ears too much and the faceplates pop off too easily which can result in driver damage (irreparable). The cable is thick enough, but strain relief is not adequate. The controller is impractical.

Earpod - 7/10, Ergonomic, but cables are terrible. The remote works well but the mic is muffled. Could do with a gold jack.

Bass - 

EM3 - 5.5/10, Good extension, quality is also good. Decent slam and impact is easily increased with foams. Takes a back seat to the lower midrange presence.

E100 - 6/10, Great extension, amazingly textured and punchy. Foams are a must.

Earpod - 4/10, Good extension. Fast decay times and rounded bass notes work well. Due to the unorthodox design, foams cannot be used, they can be cut to fit but fall off too easily.

Mids - 

EM3 - 5.25/10, Smooth, detailed and focused but on the periphery of being overly warm and full bodied. Works for some things better than others, but are technically proficient. Laid back and dark but still carry plenty of information.

E100 - 5.75/10, Lots of clarity and decent detailing. Can be overly harsh/bright at times.

Earpod - 3.5/10, Tinny and thin, I don`t like the midrange performance at all.

Highs - 

EM3 - 6/10, The highs are top performers for an earbud and best plenty of iems too.

E100 - 5/10, Airy and extended, shimmery but too brittle.

Earpod - 2.5/10, Roll off at the top end, very grainy and lacking detail.

Soundstage - 

EM3 - 10/10

E100 - 8/10

Earpod - 7.5/10

Verdict - 

EM3 - 8.5/10, Very good overall, well balanced between design and sound. Fiio needs to tune the EM3`s a bit more, tone down the upper-bass and increase the upper mid presence very slightly to add more clarity and it`ll be a gem. The build seems strong so far, the cables and strain reliefs are the high points, they are very cost effective. They are my new favourite earbud for podcasts and casual music around the house. At around $20 USD shipped or less, the EM3 are a great earbud you can just impulse buy and add to your collection simply for convenience.

E100 - 8.5/10, The build is good, but they do have points of failure. It doesn`t matter if they sound perfect if they only last for a month. The sound is very strong for a budget earbud but ergonomics are unreliable. My set had slight channel imbalance and the plug broke after a few months which was disappointing. I did like them a lot when they worked. They are about equally cost effective as the EM3.

Earpod - 5.5/10, They are decently ergonomic and have good bass performance, the rest of the sound is lacking however and the build quality is very weak. They are not cost effective at all and there are abundant fakes.

 

This review was taken from my blog, please have a look for more reviews and guides, thanks for reading:

https://everydaylisteningblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/fiio-em3-versatile-budget-bud-review-with-comparisons-to-the-baldoor-e100s-and-earpods/