HIDIZS MS5 Dark Angel

𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐈𝐙 𝐌𝐒𝟓 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥: 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭


|| 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ||

HIDIZ, a company known for their wide range of audio gear offers from and not limited to dongle DACs, DAPs and IEMs, just released this new midrange set named the MS5 Dark Angel.



Coming at under $400 and sports a 4 Sonion BA + 1 Liquid Silicone DD configuration, tuning nozzles and a wide arrangement of included tips, the MS5 aims to take the reign of the ever so competitive and packed mid range price bracket.


|| 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 ||

I don’t fancy confusing lingo, therefore, the reviews will simple without too much confusing terminologies

This set is sent in exchange for an honest review. There is no material or financial incentive for me to do this review and I guarantee no exchange has been done by both parties to influence or sway our opinions on this product.

My thoughts and opinions are of my own. My experience will entirely differ from everybody else. The contents of this review should not be considered factual as this hobby heavily leans on subjectivity. YMMV.


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𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 Hidizs 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐙𝐨𝐢𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐁𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐒𝟓 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐌𝐒𝟓𝐑𝐓𝐕𝐈𝐏𝟓𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐈𝐙 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨
𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐒𝟓. 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤.

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| 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 |

The MS5 comes in a big black box with an illustration of the IEMs themselves along with branding and text. It’s packed pretty well and the bulky box is to accommodate the sheer amount of other things included in the box.



| 𝗨𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 |

The unboxing is straightforward with a simple slide, and with the IEMs themselves greet you and is encased with foam.



Underneath that layer lies the assortment of accessories included in the package that being an included faux white case, 3 sets of special eartips and 2 sets of tuning nozzles placed on a metal plate, an included 2-pin cable, and of course some paperwork.



The included cable is quite thick and stiff but it was never microphonic or memory-prone. A generous amount of extra accessories coming from HIDIZ.




𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻:

Paperwork
IEM Drivers
Faux leather white zipper case
6N Single crystal copper silver-plated 2-pin cable
3 sets of bass, vocal and balanced tips (S,M,L)
2 sets of tuning nozzles(Red = Bass, Silver = Treble)


| 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 & 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 |

The MS5 is built using an aluminum alloy cavity that feels great on the hand and with a nice amount of heft. You can clearly feel that it is built well with no sharp edges and no coarse spots.



The faceplate of the MS5 has this rose gold trim around it while the rest of the body is a matte black in color and an open grill design. I have yet to see a design like this on an IEM, it’s a nice mix of subtle but still unique design cues that looks good.



Overall shape of the MS5 is universal with no pronounced curves and angles. The MS5 only has this big vent on the rear for alleviating the pressure and a nozzle that can definitely sit real deep in one’s ear.



One of the highlights of the MS5 is the tuning nozzles with the rose gold(balanced) being the default. They can be easily removed by rotating counter-clockwise and don't come undone easily.



HIDIZ packed the MS5 with 4 Sonion BAs + 1 Liquid Silicone DD to produce good sound that has both the benefits of BAs and DDs.


| 𝗜𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 |

These isolate well, probably because I was able to get it really deep inside my ears. Passive isolation here can be comfortably used to block out sounds from things like daily commutes.


| 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 |

The MS5 being a universal fit makes it really comfortable to my ears. However I do find myself taking a breather from time to time after a few hours because of how deep I put these on and the fact that the nozzle feels quite chonky. I suggest using ear tips that don't have stiff stems.

Occlusion effect on this is nothing special, it’s not exceptionally bad nor exceptionally good either.


** 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒚 𝑬𝑷-𝑬𝑿11 𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒔(𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎) 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝑰𝑫𝑰𝒁 𝑿0 𝑫𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝑫𝑨𝑪 𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅(𝑩𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅) 𝒏𝒐𝒛𝒛𝒍𝒆**


|| 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 ||

I find this set overall engaging with great coherence and clarity and exceptional bass performance on the default Rose Gold(Balanced) nozzle. However after a while, I find that the treble of the MS5 is too much for me to handle comfortably as I’m really sensitive to that region.

The Silver(Treble) nozzle tightens things up and makes the sound overall leaner but at the cost of severing my issue with the treble by boosting it.
I find the Red(Bass) nozzle to help tame the treble I’m so uncomfortable with at the cause of making the bass a bit more forward and less tight. I prefer this over the other two but I still opted to use the default Rose Gold(Balanced) nozzle to get the best of both worlds.


| 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 |

These are really efficient and easy to drive so it’s almost an issue using them with more powerful sources like the XO Dongle DAC and even the VE Avani Dongle DAC.

This becomes an issue as you’ll be limited with control the volume down especially if the said DAC or AMP of yours don’t have physically hardware volume control, leaving you to the hands of digital volume management.


| 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘀 |

The bass is really great especially with the Rose Gold(Balanced) nozzle but the bass performance of the Red(Bass) nozzle is just a tad bit more warm. Hits are fast and are meaty with an ample amount of rumble for those who like their sub-bass. Texture is great with nice grit while not being too in your face.

Definitely one of the best I’ve tried with its great mix of quality and quantity of the low-end.


| 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝘀 |

Another great performance coming from the MS5. Instruments have their place and sound great and clean execution. Vocals don't sound too intimate and have good enough space to breathe.

Both vocals sound full bodied and caters both equally as per my experience. Sibilant voices may be an issue on the MS5 even with the Red(Bass) Nozzle, harsh “Sss” and “Tss” was still audible with the current configuration but it never sounded shouty in my experience.


| 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘀 |

I went through a lot of mixing and matching to find something to fix the peaky treble(Do note that I’m really sensitive to treble). While it still has good extension, amazing detail and clarity, It made me feel uncomfortable while listening especially on high volumes.

The Silver(Treble) nozzle boosts my issue on this further but to those with high tolerances that want something more bright then that will definitely deliver. Transients are great still and air is abundant on the MS5 too.


| 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 |

Great in every aspect, amazing even, layering, imaging, and staging, all of those aced by the MS5. This is probably due to the treble performance and clean bass execution. You can easily pinpoint audio sources in a breeze. Instruments have their place and never overlap with each other. Sources have a clear boundary which is which and where they’re positioned.

Things like analytical listening and even competitive gaming may find the MS5’s technical performance to fit their needs but maybe not so much for movies and more story driven games.


|| 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 ||

The MS5 Dark Angel is still a great set for what it offers, from the sheer amount of accessories and tunable nozzles, to the really clear and detailed presentation, the MS5 will definitely cater to someone out there and sadly I’m not one of them. Everything else is great with the MS5 and the only glaring issue is the treble performance being harsh during my experience.

Now, we all have different ears, tolerances and preferences, this set is simply not for me but it will definitely be the perfect set for someone out there. But me not liking it due to my own preference invalidates the great things the MS5 does. I would still recommend this to someone looking for a midrange set with an amazing array of accessories and customizable sound but warn them still about the treble.

As some of my 18 readers may recall I am kinda impervious to hype and quite inelastic on sidegrading. It’s with such unchanging mind that I approached the assessment of the hype of the day – Hidizs’ new take to the mid-tier IEM market.

These MS5 have been heavily anticipated and are supported by a very energetic marketing campaign (nice job there, it must be said). Priced at $499 list, they are currently on promo at $399 + freight, and you can buy them here.

Test setup and preliminary notes​

Sources: Questyle QP1R & QP2R / Sony NW-A55 mrWalkman / Questyle M15 / Questyle CMA-400i – JVC Spiraldot tips – Stock cable – lossless 16-24/44.1-192 FLAC and DSD64/128 tracks.

Signature analysis​

Tonality

MS5 come with a modular screw-in nozzle system intended to offer easy access to tuning alternatives.

Default nozzles are colored “Gold” and are supposed to offer the most balanced presentation – whatever that means in the manufacturer’s mind.

Red nozzles are supposed to offer a bassier alternative, and they do, but just indirectly: they mainly tame trebles between 3KHz and 5KHz, and quite substantially so, while leaving the bass line pretty much unaltered in elevation, just a bit tamed in terms of transients.

Lastly, Silver nozzles are supposed to offer a brighter, more treble-accented presentation, which they indeed do – even too much so.

Which one to choose?

Let’s start from noting that on Gold nozzles MS5 offer a “reasonably” coherent presentation. The Dynamic Driver in charge of the bass is well harmonized with the BA also in charge of the same segment, and that’s very good. Not the very same however happens when we consider the 2 BAs in charge of the trebles. The end result is decent in terms of timbre homogeneity but not much more than that: MS5’s timbre is on average lean-ish, a bit better bodied towards the bass, and oppositely quite anemic towards the treble. The general tonality is bright although not excessively so (treble exaggerations are a separate discussion, see below).

So much for Gold nozzles. As trebles are MS5’s most prominent Achille’s heel (again, see below), Silver nozzles furtherly enhancing treble are a quite obvious no-no. I guess that will stand for die-hard treble heads too, however personal tastes are sacred of course, so…

Red nozzles sound (pun intended) like a viable alternative to Gold ones: they change the general timbre making it “woolier”, and make tonality much less bright, mure like “bright-neutral” indeed, but the presentation gets definitely duller.

Long story short, MS5’s nozzles remind me a “pick your poison” scenario: Gold nozzles for a bright tonality on overly thin timbre. Red nozzles for a less thin, less bright but also less engaging experience. Silver nozzles… just bin them. In the end I “preferred” the Gold poison option, which is then what all the following notes refer to unless, where explicitly otherwise indicated.


Sub-Bass

Rumble is very present and not excessive, thanks to the good deeds of the Dynamic Driver


Mid Bass

The midbass is arguably the best part of the product. Here a very good job has been made in making the BA and the DD drivers work together coherently, resulting in mid bass notes which are at the same time snappy, punchy, textured and bodied. No overshadowing of the mids ever takes place, and a correct balance is also kept vis-a-vis the sub bass rumble.

On Red nozzles the entire timbre gets a perceivable bit less sharp, more “wooly” so to say, which files off some of the bass thumpness. Not wonderful but not a tragedy either.


Mids

Mid frequencies are uninspiring, mainly due to a definitely lean timbre making them lack body and credibility. They are clean, and that’s a plus of course, but highmids tend to be often too prominent, and sibilant in many occasions.

On Red nozzles the tonality situation gets sensibly better, whereby mids come across a bit (not much) more bodied and natural, and highmids cease being sibilant and excessive in most occasions, however clarity gets a severe hit.


Male Vocals

Male voices partially benefit from the good deeds of the low-range BA (and possibly of the DD too?) so in terms of tone they come across as reasonably organic more often then not. Microdynamics are however basic if even present, and texturing is meh.

Red nozzles make them a bit better, if a tad softer.


Female Vocals

MS5 is not the driver you want for female voices, that’s clear as the sun in the sky. Too lean, even ethereal, very often sibilant, and totally inorganic. Red nozzles make them less tragic, almost viable.


Highs

Trebles are a mixed bag of very diverse stuff. On one end there’s some good energy, a lot of detail, and a lot of speed. On the flip side there’s way too thin body, and a sharp and frequent tendence to get unresolving and even messy, screwing layering and in the worst cases imaging too.

On Red nozzles the situation gets miles better, thanks to a quite dramatic taming of the frequencies between 3 and 5 KHz. Imaging comes out much more organic and credible, and that’s another plus. The downside however is that the positive energy is almost entirely gone, and Red-tamed trebles make the entire MS5 presentation much more “ordinary”, almost “dull” – a true pity.

Technicalities​

Soundstage

Soundstage projection is not more than average for this price class, mainly focusing on horizontal and vertical axes, and hardly any depth.


Imaging

Macrodynamics (imaging) are not bad in general on MS5, and they would be even very good if it weren’t for the mids and most of all the trebles too often paddling in the wrong direction. Red nozzles make the situation better on this chapter.


Details

Detail retrieval is, together with bass, where MS5 show their best. Both bass and highmids+trebles do deliver tons of good details


Instrument separation

MS5’s proweness on detail retrival on one end turns into outstanding resolving power. The down side – very common on not particularly sophysticated BA-sets, and MS5 is not an exception – is a quite dramatic lack of microdynamics, mainly on the high registers. So MS5 offer very good instrument separation but at the high cost of too cut-out notes which is particulary detrimental on acoustic music of course.


Driveability

Thanks to their 104dB sensitivity MS5 are not difficult to drive, but beware their superlow impedance in case your source has an output impedance of 1 ohm or more – that might result in some unwanted midbass pushup

Physicals​

Build

Housings are realised as a one-piece aluminum container, which appears at time solid and very elegant. Very stylish is the faceplate (its appreciation of course depends, even more then the rest, on personal tastes).


Fit

MS5 housings are quite bulky and they don’t sit properly into my concha: in spite of their quite long nozzles their shape and size are such that they keep protruding quite a bit towards the outside, which makes their firmness somewhat wonky.

MS5 also are quite tip sensitive, and (not uncommonly) none of the 3 different types of bundled tips are ideal for my tastes. After the usual long rolling session I decided that best match are JVC SpiralDots as they tend to tame the treble excesses while also offering a bit more tightness to the bass.


Comfort

Their shape and size make MS5 fit only “partial” as described above, which generates some light discomfort over medium wearing time for me


Isolation

Passive isolation is light, in my case mainly due to the housings not “filling” my concha appropriately


Cable

The stock cable is – like the housings – no doubt very nice to look at. Not the same I can say however in terms of practical use. Its creative 2-pin plugs can be annoying (they are in my case). The cable structure is very thick and wont be liked by those preferring smoothly flexible chords. Last but not least, I see no excuse at this date for offering a 499$ MSRP set (even if 25% discounted upon launch) bundled with a non-modular termination cable.

Specifications (declared)​

Comparisons​

Penon FAN2 ($280)​

FAN2 offer an almost neutral presentation with a punchy bass emerging off of it without however warming it all up too much. The timbre is quite bodied although south of lushy – however miles more solid than MS5’s. Most of all, FAN2’s timbre is coerent across the entire spectrum, while MS5 is far from that target.

FAN2 bass is very good, punchy and somewhat rumbly, yet MS5 is better on both counts. Mids and moreover trebles are totally obviously better on FAN2 in terms of timbre, tonality, texture and organicity.

Detail retrieval is superior on MS5, microdynamics and layering are obviously much better on FAN2, which also leads in terms of imaging sharpness and realism. Neither is a monster at stage projection however FAN2 has much better distribution especially in the sense of depth.

Fearless S8F ($489)​

S8F are a mid-tier full-BA set. Their main, probably single serious downside (a total turnoff for many, however – me included) is the unforgiving BA timbre and consequent scarcity on microdynamics, which is mostly common to MS5 however.

S8F tonality is well balanced, marginally even better than S8F. In spite of its above-mentioned “imperatively BA” nature, S8F timbre is anyhow less lean and most of all much more coherent compared to MS5’s. MS5 offer a better structured bass line. Vocals are better on S8F, females in particular. Detail retrieval is about on par on highmids and trebles with S8F sounding a bit better thanks the somewhat better control in the presence and brilliance sections. Soundstage is no biggie in both cases, S8F being less wide but a bit deeper.

Tanchjim Darling ($419)​

Darling are based on 1 DD + 2 Sonion BA, in lieu of the 4 Sonions adopted inside MS5. Very simply put, Darling deliver correctly on pretty much everything MS5 fail on.

Darling’s tonality is bright-neutral, with a much more coherent and bodied, acoustic timbre compared to MS5. Darling bass and sub bass are extremely good, fast, punchy yet rumbly and textured – nothing worse than MS5. On Darling highmids and brilliance trebles are wonderfully cablibrated and deliver clarity, detail, sparkles and air while always avoiding fatigue – the polar opposite of what happens on MS5. Female vocals are very good and therefore much better on Darling, male vocals are just marginally better though.

Separation is probably on par on the two sets, but Darling win big on microdynamics and soundstage, and less big, but still have an edge, on imaging.

Final A5000 ($279)​

A5000 represent a possibly even more significant comparison then even Darling are, as they deliver on many counts even better results than MS5 within a very similar bright-neutral base target tuning, all of that by employing just 1 (one) driver, and at a sensibly lower price.

A5000 first of all offer an almost impeccable timbre coherency accross all the spectrum. Their bass is similarly punchy, with even better texture but a bit less rumble compared to MS5. Low mids are somewhat recessed on A5000 and a bit lean too, however their timbre and note body is way more organic and natural-sounding that MS5’s.

Highmids and treble are superbly calibrated on A5000. Certainly detail retrieval is less articulated on A5000, but in exchange microdynamics are all there where they are supposed to be – within a fast driver category, surely – instead of MIA as on the MS5.

From the tonality standpoint a valid criticism on A5000 is that highmids are too enhanced compared to mids. What’s interesting here is that moderately pushing central mids (1 – 2KHz) up with a wide eq filter closes the gap on that transition, delivering a more balanced result free from excesses (shouts, splashes or zings). Not the same happens on MS5 when you try (via the Red nozzles or via EQ) to similarly rebalance: the result is a more fluid tonal transition, yes, but still accompanied by lack of refinement both on the highmids & trebles, and on the lowmids & midbass (read more above).

Instrument separation sounds more detailed on MS5, but much more enjoyable on A5000 thanks to the less arid timbre, and better microdynamics.

Considerations & conclusions​

As I tried to outline, I found MS5 a more than acceptable product, presented in a quite elegant and rich way too. Bass, detail retrieval and instrument separation are surely commendable, so is the adoption of replaceable nozzles to offer pre-defined “tuning variations” to the more curious users.

The timbre, however, is off, both in nature and coherence. Note body is too lean, trebles can obviously use more work upon, so do soundstage projection and microdynamics.

In conclusion MS5 are not disdainable at all, however they don’t seem yet to have what it takes to stand out of their existing competition, sometimes even costing significantly less.

Based on the very plesant communication I’m having with them I can testify Hidizs sounds strongly committed on their IEM program, for which they of course aim at the same market recognition they deservedly conquered on the budget DAP segment. I’m very sure they will come up with better and better proposals on the IEM market too in the near future. Let’s stay tuned.

The review originally appeared on www.audioreviews.org, here.

The Hidizs MS5 Dark Angel is an unusual name for an IEM, and it resembles a bicycle helmet more than an angel but it is very Chi-fi in terms of their naming convention. The MS5 is Hidizs' latest flagship IEM and I am about to get my hands on another amazing IEM. The Hidizs MS5 Dark Angel is currently on its pre-opening sale until May 5, 2023 so grab the chance to purchase this magnificent in-ear monitor while the promo is up.

DISCLAIMER:​

• I have no affiliation with Hidizs and have not received any monetary compensation during or after writing this review. Zoie Hello provided this unit to me in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
• As a non-professional reviewer, I aim to use simple terms that can be understood by both beginners and experts in the hobby.
• Please keep in mind that the opinions expressed in this review are subjective and based on my personal experience with the unit. I encourage you to try the product yourself to form your own opinion.

PACKAGING:​

​

The packaging of this in-ear monitor is the boldest and most impressive I've seen in its price range. It doesn't have any corny random excerpts or flashy anime covers, which I find less appealing and cheap-looking. Instead, the packaging is sleek and sophisticated, featuring a clear product preview, the brand responsible for making it, and a brief description of its features.​

Overall, the packaging exudes a premium quality that matches the product's high-end performance. It's refreshing to see a product that doesn't rely on gimmicks to grab attention but lets its quality speak for itself.

What's inside the box:​

• Hidizs MS5 Dark Angel
• 9 pairs of eartips
• Cable
• 2 pairs of extra tuning filters (bass and treble)
• Earphone case
• Manuals and other paperworks

BUILD QUALITY:​

The MS5 Dark Angel boasts a sleek and durable design, featuring a lightweight aluminum shell. The black resin faceplate provides a glossy finish that perfectly complements the matte aluminum body of the in-ear monitor, creating an elegant and modern look.

SOUND:​

The MS5 Dark Angel sound profile can be customized by swapping out the tuning filters. I found that the differences between the filters were not significant enough to justify switching from the balanced filters. The sound profile of the MS5 has a U-shaped curve, with a strong bass and emphasized treble. The MS5 Dark Angel makes an impressive job at creating a fun and energetic IEM.​

BASS:
The Hidizs MS5's bass is one of its most impressive features, delivering a powerful and energetic sound that is sure to please bass enthusiasts. The sub-bass has exceptional depth and rumble, which provides a satisfying listening experience without feeling overly heavy or thick. While the MS5's bass is not quite as prominent as some other bass-heavy earphones, it still manages to deliver an impactful and immersive bass response that can be appreciated by both casual listeners and audiophiles alike. The bass is also well-controlled, which means that it doesn't bleed into the mid-range or overpower the other frequencies.

MIDS:
The Hidizs MS5's mid-range is laid-back, providing a relaxed and natural sound signature. The vocals, in particular, stand out and deliver exceptional clarity and precision. The male vocals have a deep and rich quality that brings out the lower register of the voice, while the female vocals have a mature and passionate tonality that is both emotive and expressive. When it comes to the instruments, the Hidizs MS5 does a solid job without necessarily standing out. The instruments are well-defined and articulate, but they do not have the same level of emphasis as the vocals or the bass. However, this is not necessarily a drawback as it allows for a more balanced sound signature. While the instrument reproduction might not be the most outstanding feature of the MS5, it still provides an enjoyable and engaging listening experience that is sure to satisfy most music lovers. Overall, the MS5's mid-range strikes a perfect balance between a laid-back sound and detailed vocal performance, making them an excellent choice for any audiophile.

TREBLE:
The treble of the MS5 is noticeably emphasized, which adds brilliance, clarity, and air to the sound signature. However, I did encounter a few issues worth mentioning. The treble is not always consistent and occasionally has spikes that can sound splashy. This made my experience to listening to the MS5 for extended periods of time uncomfortable and lead to listening fatigue after an hour or two. Personally, this may be a bit hot for my ears. Despite these shortcomings, the MS5's treble extension is still impressive for its price and may be enjoyable for those who prefer a more pronounced treble.

TECHNICALITIES:
The soundstage of the Hidizs MS5 has a moderate width, which may not be as expansive as some other high-end earphones. Nevertheless, the soundstage remains engaging and enjoyable to listen to, with good separation and accurate imaging. The MS5's ability to deliver a clear and accurate instrument separation is commendable, making it easy to distinguish between different instruments and their placement in the soundstage. The overall instrument reproduction is well-suited for various music genres, making the MS5 a versatile choice for any listener. The MS5's sound resolution is also impressive, as it maintains clarity and detail without sounding blurry or muddled. Even though the MS5 is not a clinical in-ear monitor, it still manages to capture both macro and micro-details, adding a subtle but noticeable level of depth and texture to the sound.




In conclusion, the Hidizs MS5 Dark Angel is a fun and energetic IEM that delivers a powerful and impactful bass response, relaxed and natural mid-range, and an emphasized treble extension that may be preferred by some but might cause fatigue for extended listening sessions. The MS5's soundstage, instrument separation, and sound resolution are impressive for its price point and provide an enjoyable listening experience. While the differences between the MS5's tuning filters are not significant enough to warrant switching, the customizable sound profile is a unique feature. Overall, the Hidizs MS5 Dark Angel is a solid choice for anyone looking for an engaging and versatile pair of earphones.