EDIT 2020-10-20: From 4/5 to 3.5/5. Just mesh mod the Blon BL-03 and you get something better in basically everyway, the E2000 is too average and too close in price to the E3000.
EDIT 2021-07-11: demoted the rating from 3.5/5 to 2.5/5 due to the GS Audio GD3A.
Disclaimer: Bought at my own expense at Amazon japan.
Price: 33 usd at amazon japan (Have no idea why the price at amazon.com is 38 usd and the price at hifiheadphones.uk is 47 usd)
Specifications:
Housing: Aluminum alumite
Driver: Dynamic 6.4mm
Impedance: 16Ω
Sensitivity: 102 dB/mW
Cable: 1.2m oxygen-free copper cable
Weight: 13g
Accessories:
Type E tips SS/S/M/L/LL
Silicon ear hook “adapters”
Pouch
Cable: Let’s get the worst thing about the E2000 out first, the cable is thinner than a noodle. Doesn’t feel like it will last long due to thickness and everything on it is made out of plastic. It has a working chin slider and very little microphonics so that is the saving grace for it. Non-replaceable though so you have to be careful with the cable.
Build: Made out of aluminum and has a matt silver finish so it looks nice without being shiny. It is very light weight and small. The nozzle is plastic but has a lip for the tips. Vent at the back of it.
Fit: Fits like a normal bullet-style iem so nothing special here. It stays in place once you put it in but not secure enough to use while training or anything like that.
Comfort: Being a bullet-style iem and small it is comfortable because it doesn’t generate much heat (since it doesn’t come into contact with your ears that much). Although in the winter it might be very cold at first since it is made out of metal. Since it is very light-weight you might even forget you have them in your ears.
Isolation: Below average, being a bullet-style iem and with its vent hole on the back.
Setup: Fiio M11, Stock Type E tips LL, Stock cable (what else, can’t change it anyway)
Lows: mid-bass focused over sub-bass (not that much rumble either). It has average tightness and speed (for a DD-driver). Not muddy nor clean the bass in general is very average.
Mid-bass: quite a bit more mid-bass than Sub-bass, makes it a bit more fun and not neutral because of that. Although because of the more quantity here versus the sub-bass it is a bit less clean.
Sub-bass: Tighter and therefore cleaner bass than the mid-bass but it doesn’t extend that low and because of that the rumble is a bit lacking.
Mids: Balancing between male/female vocals is very good and hard to tell if one is actually more forward than the other. But since the mid-bass quantity is pretty high it does make the sound have more body for the male vocals, so the male vocals are better than the female vocals. (female vocals don’t have that much clarity either, due to the warm tuning.)
Female-vocals: As mentioned above female vocals doesn’t have that much clarity to it, this does make It a very relaxed set since they aren’t as forward as most others are. The only exception to this is that some songs like Evanescence -bring me to life have a bit sharp female vocal (although this song is sharp on almost all the iems I tried it with…).
Male-vocals: Male vocals however is a bit better than female vocals since the mid-bass adds some body to the sound in general and that helps the male vocals too.
Highs: Treble quantity is a tiny bit above neutral for me. It isn’t a bright iem but leaning more towards warmth, so you can listen to it for long sessions due to that. Clarity is average here but on songs with a lot of things going on it gets a bit muddy (that’s due to the mid-bass and the instrument separation which I get into later).
Soundstage: average soundstage here, not much depth at all but pretty good width.
Tonality: It is a bass-boosted neutral iem that leans towards warmth due to the bass-boost. Not analytical sounding but more fun and timbre is excellent here (not top-tier timbre though).
Details: Average details across the range.
Instrument Separation: Below average separation and is most felt at songs with a lot of things going on. On those songs the separation is so bad it makes sound very muddy and the high mid-bass quantity doesn’t help with that at all.
Songs that highlight the IEM: , , , ,
Good genres: Very versatile
Bad genres: Songs with a lot of things going on such as orchestral music and maybe classical (I don’t listen to classical so this one is a guess) since it has a lot of bass.
Comparisons:
Final Audio E1000: Bass quantity is much lower and quality isn’t on the same level (cleaner bass because of the lower quantity though). Mids are kind of similar but not really since the male vocals on the E1000 doesn’t have as much body as the E2000 so the female vocals are perceived as more forward here.
Female vocals on the E1000 has better quality as it has more clarity and detail (probably due to the bass) while the E2000 has better male vocals.
Treble has quite a bit more clarity and details but here again it is probably due to the bass being much lower in quantity.
Soundstage is similar, while details, timbre and instrument separation (doesn’t have the same weakness as the E2000 has) are better on the E1000.
The E1000 is a neutral iem so if you want a neutral iem it is better (also if you want better technicalities). The E2000 does have a bit better Sound quality in general but the high mid-bass quantity and bad instrument separation is very bad and fatal for some. E2000 is better If you want a bass-boosted set that has neutral mids and treble.
Final Audio E3000: Treble quantity is similar but because of the bass quantity of the E3000 being higher than the E2000, you might perceive the treble quantity to be lower than the E2000 (at least on bass heavy songs). It extends a bit more, is more natural and it doesn’t have the tiny peak that is present on some songs on the E2000 (it also has a similar organic sound as the E5000 has).
Mids are similar but as mentioned with the treble, you perceive the female vocals to be just a bit more forward on the E2000 due to the bass quantity. Quality on the E3000 sounds more refined and better, being both more natural and more detailed (especially male vocals, being clean and the bass doesn’t bleed into it, not that the E2000 bleeds either but cleaner nonetheless).
Bass quantity on the E2000 is lower than the E3000, the E3000 extends lower and has more rumble at the low end. Quality wise the E3000 is tighter and faster especially at the mid-bass, so the bass overall is cleaner which is surprising since the quantity is higher.
Soundstage is a bit bigger than the E2000, more details (not that much, most likely due to the cleaner bass) and much better instrument separation on the E3000 (doesn’t have the big weakness that the E2000 has).
Overall, the E3000 sounds more refined and of higher quality, but they are still different in tuning so personal preference is the one that decides which one is better for you. E2000 for a more Balanced and brighter tuning (bass boosted neutral) and E3000 for a Warmer L-shaped sound. (I prefer the E3000 over the E2000.)
Final Audio E4000: Bass on the E4000 has more quantity and quality is just a bit better (tightness and speed) Mids are a bit more recessed on the E4000 since the bass and treble quantity is higher, but quality wise it is very comparable.
Treble quantity is a bit higher but also much better quality here on the E4000 since it has better clarity and also removes the tiny peak that can be sharp sometimes on the E2000 (Evanescence – bring me to life isn’t sharp on the E4000…well the singer herself has quite the sharp voice though).
Soundstage and timbre Are comparable while details and instrument separation are better on the E4000.
The E4000 isn’t really an upgrade to the E2000 as the tuning is different, with the E4000 being more of a V-shaped iem (light V-shape) than the Bass-boosted neutral E2000. While the general sound quality is definitely on a higher level on the E4000, I cannot recommend it at all due to its much worse Value (price/performance).
Final Audio E5000: Bass has massively more quantity on the E5000, The E2000 has a tighter, faster bass and is cleaner. The E5000 extends much deeper than the E2000 and can rumble on a high level.
Mids quality on the E5000 is better especially the female vocals. The male vocals have some bleed from the massive bass on the E5000 so because of that it is comparable to the E2000. Quantity is similar.
Treble is more relaxed on the E5000 and better quality with higher extension (no sharpness, that can be found sometimes on the E2000). Quantity on the lower treble is a bit more but pretty similar otherwise, although on bass heavy songs that difference is pretty much gone.
Soundstage, details, timbre and instrument separation is much better on the E5000.
The E5000 suits people that want a warm, relaxed and bass heavy iem. The biggest downside of the E5000 is that with the massive bass (and not very clean bass) it isn’t a very versatile iem so it depends on what songs you are listening to and that it is power hungry so if you are going to use it with a phone then you probably shouldn’t have the E5000 in your list of candidates. The E2000 is a much easier recommendation because of that (also much cheaper) but sadly the non-removable cable on it can be a deal-breaker for many.
KZ ED9 (Balanced filter): much more bass quantity and quality is lower since it isn’t as tight as the E2000 (it also has quite the muddy bass too). Mids are recessed but quality is similar.
Treble is sharp on the ED9 and on Evanescence – bring me to life it is sibilant and unlistenable for me. Quality is not on the same level on the ED9.
Timbre is much better on the E2000, soundstage is similar, details and instrument separation are better on the E2000.
While the lower priced ED9 is a very good value for that price, I do not believe that it can match the E2000 in Sound quality. ED9 is therefore suited for you if you want a very low cost and bass heavy iem (it is less versatile in what it can play due to the bass quantity though). The ED9 is easier to drive though.
Blon Bl-03 (mesh mod): The 03 has a much tighter, textured and cleaner bass while also having more bass quantity. Mids are more female vocals focused than male, but quality is much higher here on the 03 (also much more natural).
Treble quantity is higher so if you are very treble sensitive the 03 (mesh mod, the stock 03 doesn’t have as much treble quantity) might not suit you. But quality is also much higher here.
Soundstage, details, instrument separation and timbre on the 03 is above the E2000.
The 03 in general has a much higher sound quality and it can compete against much higher priced iems, while the E2000 is also a very good valued iem it can’t really match the 03 in quality so it is more up to preference if you like the brighter, more powerful (also cleaner) bass in the 03 or the more relaxed but still fun E2000.
Conclusion: The E2000 is a good iem with a good value to it, but it doesn’t really have anything that makes you go “WOW” at it. It would have been a great beater set though if it only had a replaceable cable and/or thicker stock cable as with the cable right now it would only be a suicide mission for it to be taken to the gym/training/physical activity. Not a bad iem but nothing great (still a much better value and also recommendation over the E4000). Thanks for reading.