ChiFi Review: ivipQ Shanhai Triple Driver IEM
Today we’re covering the ivipQ Shanhai, a triple dynamic-driver IEM hailing from a lesser-known Chi-Fi brand: ivipQ. I’ve tested many multi-driver IEM configurations over the years — 3 BA, 2 BA + 2 DD, 5 BA + 1 DD, and even 10 BA IEMs, but never a 3 DD IEM. I was intrigued after discovering it — it promised impressive performance at a competitive price. It just so happened to be on sale for $10 off, so I purchased it, expecting its 3 dynamic drivers to be a poorly-implemented gimmick. Astonishingly, I was proven wrong by the Shanhai. Let’s get into the details!
You can find the ivipQ Shanghai for sale on the
official ivipQ Audio Store on AliExpress for $59.30.
About My Preferences: Heads up, I’m a person! As such, these words are my opinion, and they are tinged by my personal preferences. While I try to mitigate this as much as possible during my review process, I’d be lying if I said my biases are completely erased. So for you, my readers, keep this in mind:
- My ideal sound signature would be one with competent sub-bass, a textured mid-bass, a slightly warm midrange, and an extended treble.
- I have mild treble sensitivity.
Source: The Shanhai was tested in the following configurations:
- LG V40 -> earphones
- Asus Zenphone 10 -> Rose Technics RS9039 -> Earphones
- Hidizs AP100 3.5mm out -> FiiO A5 3.5mm out -> earphones
- HiFiMAN SuperMini -> earphones
All music was served as MP3 @320Kbps or as FLAC.
Tech Specs
- Sensitivity: 104dB SPL/mW
- Impedance (1KHz): 16 ohms
- Frequency Response: 20Hz-20KHz
- Driver Configuration: 3x Dynamic Drivers (10mm Beryllium-plated, 10mm composite membrane, 6mm titanium-plated)
- Cable: 2-pin with 4.4mm termination
- Cable length: 1.25m
Sound Signature
Sonic Overview:
The Shanhai’s sound signature is W-shaped. It features an elevated lower register, a small dip in the lower midrange, a lift from around 2KHz-5KHz in the upper midrange, and a balanced treble. The Shanhai’s soundstage is not
that wide, but hardly feels claustrophobic. It’s largely sufficient for mainstream music, only becoming noticeable on tracks that make heavy use of L/R manipulation.
Sonic Breakdown:
Treble: Songs used:
In One Ear,
Midnight City,
Outlands,
Satisfy,
Little One,
Show Me How To Live (Live at the Quart Festival)
The Shanhai has a dedicated 6mm dynamic driver for its treble. Even on first listen, you can tell that this choice paid off — the Shanhai’s treble is shockingly good for its price point. It is even and consistent with good detail retrieval. The Shanhai did a great job resolving soft “fading” treble details during
In One Ear. High hats and cymbals decayed organically and precisely with minimal smudging except in busy parts of the song.
Since the Shanhai doesn’t have an exaggerated treble, it isn’t particularly prone to sibilance. While I
did get the occasional hot “s” sound during
Satisfy, it wasn’t too offensive to my treble sensitivity. Interestingly, the Shanhai’s less-intense treble tuning didn’t reduce the clarity of the background speculars in
Little One, though they were quieter than when compared to some of my V-shaped IEMs.
Midrange: Songs used:
Flagpole Sitta,
Jacked Up,
I Am The Highway,
Dreams,
Too Close,
Little Black Submarines
The Shanhai’s W-shaped sound signature gives it an interesting midrange expression. Generally speaking, the Shanhai is capable of decent midrange detail retrieval and texturing. However, the slightly-recessed lower-midrange does impact the Shanhai’s ability to faithfully tone male vocals, veiling them. This one one of the first things I noticed with the Shanhai and its presence was lessened over time while testing, so this could be a psychological perception/effect of burn in.
The Shanhai’s midrange has no obvious flaws when articulating instrumentation. It captures a wide variety of genres aptly, regaling the listener equally well with alternative rock, EDM, and classical songs. That said, it is not completely perfect: busy rock choruses can occasionally smudge subtle details or drop some fine textures.
Bass: Songs used:
Moth,
Gold Dust,
In For The Kill (Skream Remix),
War Pigs (Celldweller Remix)
The Shanhai’s bass was the most surprising part of its sound signature. I was anticipating the Shanhai’s lower register to be bloated, messy, and and overexposed. It is none of those things. Instead, I was greeted with a tightly-controlled bass with tactile, and at times visceral, mid-bass and sub-bass that demands you acknowledge its presence. The mid-bass is very well integrated with the lower midrange and there aren’t any strange crossover artifacts. In totality, this competent tuning gives the Shanhai’s lower register a firm sensation of cohesion.
Even if you don’t listen to bass-heavy electronic music, the Shanhai’s bass has plenty to offer. Rock songs such as
Moth benefit tremendously from the Shanhai’s ability to cohesively stage and articulate bass guitars. Among its price-point peers, the Shanhai has an unmatched ability to faithfully capture bass guitar decay and fade — an impressive feat.
As for electronic music, the Shanhai is a wellspring of bass performance. The Shanhai heartily portrays a plethora of electronic bass lines with ease, from the sloppy wet tunes of
Gold Dust to the dusty dry bass of
War Pigs (Celldweller Remix). The Shanhai does not overwhelm its listeners with bass, instead tip-toing on the razer’s edge to bring you as much bass as possible while retaining control and order.
The Shanhai’s sub bass performance is excellent. It reaches clearly and precisely all the way down to 20Hz. Even in demanding songs such as
In For The Kill (Skream Remix) the Shanhai remained composed, haughtily delivering its sonorous and haunting bass lines. The Shanhai experiences minimal roll-off in its sub bass and can truly be considered a bass-friendly IEM.
I recommend experimenting with different ear tips in order to get the best seal possible — doing so will reward you with
even better bass quality.
Packaging / Unboxing
There was no packaging for this IEM. It arrived in a simple bubble mailer with the case loose inside. The IEMs, cable, and eartips were all neatly packaged in individual plastic bags inside the case with no sign of wear or damage.
Build
Construction Quality
ivipQ went with a standard acrylic shell for the Shanhai. It features polished metal nozzles with a fine metal mesh inserted within.
The Shanhai’s 2-pin mounting point is a standard plastic block insert. It feels sturdy and is slightly recessed below the surface of the shell.
The Shanhai is only sold with a 4.4mm terminated cable. One one hand, I understand — a triple dynamic driver IEM has higher-than-average power requirements. But, on the other, there’s not a ton of people out there with 4.4mm-compatible sources. I’d like to see ivipQ offer a 3.5mm cable option with the Shanhai.
As for the construction of the cable, you can tell that ivipQ has experience building IEM cables. They went with a loose 8-core braid coated in a flexible black plastic. The cable is weighty, though not cumbersome. Its furnishings, such as the 4.4mm housing, the 2-pin shell, and the Y-splitter, are all finished in a semi-glossy black paint. Fit and finish are good, with the cable not showing any obvious physical flaws in construction or design.
Comfort
As a disclaimer, comfort is a highly subjective metric that depends entirely on the anatomy of the individual. My experiences might not add up for you, especially if we have very differently-shaped ears. Preamble over.
The Shanhai’s shells are fairly large. The inner-face of its shell is sculpted to be more ergonomic, but unfortunately that didn’t completely eliminate ear irritation for me on long listening sessions. My ears are fairly average in size, but they have slightly-higher crests that can make contact with IEM shells. Multi-driver IEMs with their larger shells usually require a little more fine-tuning with tips and cable guides for me, and the Shanhai is no exception. In order to get to a comfortable configuration, I swapped to Rose Technics micro foam eartips and the standard braided Simgot 2-pin cable from the original EN700.
Accessories
The Shanhai’s accessory package is sparse. Purchasers are provided with:
- 3x pairs of silicone eartips
- 1x 4.4mm 2-pin cable
- 1x semi-hard carrying case
While it would be nice to see a little more included with the Shanhai, I’m not sure how much more one can expect from a product with such aggressive pricing. I quite like the case though — it is roomy and feels plenty sturdy to protect the Shanhai from almost any day-to-day danger.
For the record, I was even able to fit the Shanhai, its cable, all of its eartips, and a 4.4mm USB-C DAC in the case without any crowding. Great choice, ivipQ.
Comparisons
It has been a while since I entered the Chi-Fi arena, so I don’t have many great comparisons to throw at the Shanhai. So, I’ll leave you with some points-of-reference comparisons with some popular, but older, ChiFi IEMs.
1:
Simgot EN700 Bass ($110 in 2017)
Simgot released the original EN700 in 2016 to mixed reviews. The EN700 Bass was its first revision, with Simgot catering its tuning
explicitly to the bass-loving crowd.
The EN700 bass has a warmer, thicker, sound signature than the Shanhai with a more forward lower-midrange, but similarly-forward mid-bass. The Shanhai does a better job at controlling its bass, with the EN700 Bass sounding bloomy by comparison. The EN700’s midrange is stereotypically V-shaped, making its placement of vocals slightly more predictable than the Shanhai. The Shanhai’s treble is better at resolving fine textures and details, with the EN700 Bass struggling to maintain separation in songs that the Shanhai does not struggle with at all. The EN700 was great when it was new, but its age is slowing it down here.
2:
Alpha and Delta D6 ($95 in 2018)
The D6 is a hotter, more treble-focused IEM than the Shanahi. It many ways, they sound like opposites. The D6 feels like a more analytical, high-strung IEM than the Shanhai. The Shanhai is warmer, fuller, and more even than the D6 with a much more pronounced lower register.
While the D6 does trade blows with the Shanhai is terms of clarity, I much prefer the warmer and bassier presentation of the Shanhai.
3:
Whizzer KYLIN A-HE03 ($150 in 2019)
The KYLIN A-HE03 is the most expensive IEM in the comparison, by far. It is also the newest. Back when the KYLIN was new, it was largely considered to be a winner, both in terms of performance and price. Revisiting it all these years later make it clear why — it packs a punch and is easy on the ears on the initial listen. It is a 3-driver IEM, just like the Shanhai, though it used two balanced armature drivers for its midrange and treble.
The
KYLIN is more V-shaped than the Shanhai. It has a looser, freer bass and elevated treble. It has that light-touch feeling to its treble that is characteristic of balanced-armature drivers — something that the Shanhai trades for more organic decays. Ultimately, these two IEMs perform closely, with listeners who crave a more mid-centric and cohesive sound signature likely to prefer to the Shanhai. Its better-controlled bass will also appeal to bass-heads.
Summary
The ivipQ Shanhai has single-handedly revived my interest in ChiFi. After suffering a series of disappointments from ChiFi products back in 2020, I focused on better-known brands from the west. It seems that the four years since then were productive ones for the Chinese market. The Shanhai has genuinely wowed me. It is an incredible proposition value at a mere $59.30 (and often less when on sale). ivipQ showed incredible restrain while tuning it to ensure its bass was well-behaved at all times and fully leveraged its triple-driver setup to deliver compelling audio performance.
While I strongly suggest that ivipQ ship the Shanhai with actual packaging (even a simple cardboard box would suffice), it’s hardly enough of a negative to prevent me from enthusiastically endorsing the Shanhai. Bassheads and W-shaped enthusiasts rejoice, we got another great IEM!
As always, happy listening!