Preamble:
Recently, I was contacted by Penon Audio who cooperated with PMV to supply the PMV A 01 to me (
http://penonaudio.com/PMV-A-01). I have no affiliation to either and as always, this review reflects my honest opinions on the product without any personal bias.
The PMV A 01 is a hybrid triple-driver in-ear, utilising one dynamic 10 mm woofer for the low frequencies and two Balanced Armature drivers for the mids and highs. I have no idea whether there is a specific three-way crossover or if both BA drivers are running in parallel, but nonetheless, at $69.99, they are coming rather cheap.
It was a few years ago when I coincidentally first heard that hybrid in-ears even exist. Back then, they were still niche products without much awareness, but not long ago, something that I’d even consider as hybrid boom has started, with many new hybrid in-ears showing up, getting more and more awareness. And I surely cannot deny that there are some hybrid IEMs I thoroughly love, although being a Balanced Armature preferring person. Yes, hybrid in-ears are really cool and I find myself using them quite often (mainly for in-between and mobile listening, not for stationary stuff where Balanced Armatures are still and will always be the way for me to go (yes, I am such a freak that most of my stationary listening is done with BA in-ears instead of my full-sized headphones although I have some not-so-bad models in my inventory with giants like the HD 800, HD 600, DT880 Edt. 600 Ohms or LCD-X to name some, but models like the StageDiver SD-2, Pai Audio MR3, UE900, ER-4S or UERM to mention just a few get clearly more play time at home)).
Anyway, this is usually the part where I tell you something about the manufacturer, but in the case of PMV, I haven’t found anything out so far except for that they are Chinese and very new on the market.
Technical Specifications:
Price: $69.99
Driver: 10 mm dynamic + 2x BA
Frequency Range: 10 – 25000 Hz
Impedance: 13 Ohms
Sensitivity: 110 +/- 3 dB
About Hybrid In-Ears:
As you can read from the technical specifications, the PMV A 01 is a little different from most In-Ears and doesn’t only use dynamic or Balanced Armature transducers, but combines both in one shell.
Most In-Ears use dynamic transducers for audio playback which have the advantage of covering the whole audible spectrum and achieving a strong bass emphasis without much effort. Valuable dynamic drivers are often said to have a more bodied and musical bass that has a more soft impact and decay and lacks of the analytical character that BA transducers are known for. On the downside, in contrast to headphones with other driver principles, dynamic transducers often have a lower resolution.
Higher-priced and professional IEMs mostly use Balanced Armature transducers, which usually have got a higher resolution than dynamic drivers, are faster, more precise and have got the better high-level stability, which is important for stage musicians that often require higher than average listening levels. On the downside, it is quite hard to cover the whole audible spectrum with just a single BA transducer and strongly emphasised bass is only possible with multiple or big drivers. Some people also find In-Ears with BA transducers to sound too analytical, clinical or cold (in several active years in a German audio community where I wrote multiple reviews, gave dozens of purchase advice and help, from time to time I heard people that got into BA earphones for the first time using these attributes for describing BA earphones, especially their lower frequencies).
Hybrid IEMs unite the positive aspects of both driver principles and use one dynamic transducer for lows reproduction and at least one BA driver for covering mids and highs, wherefore the often as “musical” described bass character remains and the BA transducers add resolution and precision to the mids and highs – and that’s what the A 01 does with its technology. It is addressed to those people who perceive the clinically-fast character of BA transducers as unnatural, but want to keep the mids’ and highs’ resolution, speed and precision.
Delivery Content:
“Have you seen updog?” – “What’s updog?!” – “Not much, how ‘bout you?”: The appearance of the black package is very minimal – the front solely shows a shiny silver PMV logo and the sides have nothing more than “A 01” printed on them. The technical specifications can be found on the blue back and are printed in Chinese plus English (do you find the translation error? Small hint: the notation left to “3.5mm” is surely not in English
).
Inside, one will find the in-ears and carrying case, securely covered in black foam, as well as silicone ear hooks and a total of four pairs of silicone tips (3x single-flange, 1x double-flange).
Looks, Feels, Build Quality:
The shape of the in-ears which are made of matte silver aluminium on the outer side as well as (typical, rather cheap appearing) black soft-touch plastic on the inside strongly reminds me of a plectrum. The faceplates each show a PMV logo as well as side markers. Both the y-split and straight 3.5 mm connector are made of black aluminium. The nozzle is made of shiny silver aluminium, too, and has got a built-in mesh that keeps out dirt.
The rubber strain relief is visually subtle but effectively built into the cable at all relevant parts but I wouldn’t mind if it was a bit longer directly at the in-ear bodies.
The cable is pretty flexible but doesn’t allow for tiny bending radii. I don’t really get why the lower part of the cable is coated by some sort of plastic fabric mesh, as although it looks visually appealing, it is impractical and frays over time.
A chin-slider is unfortunately not present and the cables are non-removable although they look as if they were.
The carrying case is made of felt, not much reinforced and seems a bit cheap but is really nice to look at (I simply love the interior’s green colour) and protects the in-ears sufficiently (from dust and dirt).
Comfort, Isolation:
The in-ears aren’t super large but my ears are and therefore I don’t have fit/comfort issues with the vast majority of in-ears – unfortunately that’s not entirely the case with the A 01, because its short nozzle and bulky shape nearby force me to insert it slightly deeper than usual which causes uncomfortable pressure on my tragus after wearing the in-ears for a longer period of time (with somewhat longer single-flange tips, one can get a bit around that).
As the in-ears are worn with the cables around the ears, microphonics show just little presence but could be even more reduced if there was a chin-slider. Nonetheless they are clearly less present than with in-ears that are worn with the cables straight down, which is the more common case with models in that price range.
Noise isolation is rather moderate to average.
Sound:
For listening, I used the LH Labs Geek Out IEM 100, iBasso DX80 plus DX90 as well as HiFiMe 9018d.
For critical testing, the largest included single-flange tips were used and I, just in case, burnt the in-ears in for 50 hours although I am not really into the burn-in theory with headphones.
Tonality:
A 01’s sound is highly depending on fit, ear anatomy and the consequent covering of the inner facing vent. That is one thing I don’t really find welcome – in some ears, the in-ears will sound very balanced, in some they will be moderately bassy and in others, they will be very bassy. With my large ears and quite wide, straight ear canals, I can take influence on that pretty well (for the avoidance of doubt, seal was identically good with all insertion depths): inserting the in-ears really deep so the vents are pretty much covered by my auricles, bass is quite present (~ 12 dB in midbass). Without that deep insertion, the vents are more or less freely sitting, almost as free as in my measurement coupler, wherefore the sound was pretty neutral in the lows.
Ensuing is a measurement plot of entirely free and entirely covered vents (so who wants a lot of (esp. mid- and sub-) bass can just do a tape mod, probably with a small pinhole):
(About the measurements:
http://frequency-response.blogspot.de/p/about-measurement-graphs.html)
For listening, I decided to go a middle way – not too freely inserted but yet somewhat deeper than average, the in-ears sound v-shaped warm with evenly rising treble and mids that are slightly brighter than neutral
in my ears.
The lows’ emphasis begins slowly and evenly rising at ca. 800 Hz, reaching the climax at about 80 Hz with around 8 dB north of neutral (Etymotic ER-4S as reference point) (just as said, the intensity varies +/-, depending on the closeness of the vents to the auricle). That level is kept upright in the entire midbass and also remains in the sub-bass which however can’t keep up with sound pressure. Although the climax is reached pretty low in the frequency spectre, the lows are on the warmer side because the emphasis starts (slowly rising but nonetheless) pretty high, beginning at 800 Hz. Though, compared to similarly bassy in-ears, there is less fundamental bloom into the lower mids. With free vents, the bass is even pretty neutral, but only when there is some space between the ears and in-ears.
From 1 to 3.5 kHz, midrange level climbs evenly in my ears wherefore vocals are somewhat on the brighter side. Towards 5 kHz, level decreases in my ears (here, the in-ears have a dip) and then climbs back to form a rather narrow-banded peak at 8.2 kHz. At 10 kHz, level is less distinctive and rolls off above 12 kHz.
As the emphasis of the upper midrange extends somewhat higher, tonal balance in the mids is still present, without too much colouration or tendency to the bright side to the extent of amplifying sibilance. Altogether treble is free of any sharpness, despite the evenly rising emphasis (the dip at 5 kHz makes up for the emphasis of the lower and upper highs), and without sibilance or any annoying/steep peaks. A timbre shift to the somewhat brighter side with violins, trumpets and piano is there due to the rising lower treble, but not too drastic. With Rock, Pop and Electronical, it doesn’t stand out and even cymbal splashes don’t sound harsh or sizzling.
The tuning is quite well made and engagingly fresh, but not too obtrusive or artificial.
Resolution:
The use of Balanced Armature Drivers can be nicely heard with the A 01 – resolution in the midrange and treble is somewhat higher than many dynamic in-ears in that price range (e.g. SoundMAGIC E80, Brainwavz M3, Ostry KC06A) and the PMV has got the higher speech intelligibility. As entry to the world of hybrid in-ears or even Balanced Armatures in general, the A 01 is therefore a good way to start in my opinion. However, if one is willing and/or able to spend more money for somewhat better hybrid in-ears like the Fidue A73, one gets even better detail retrieval with in-ears that are using two different types of drivers. But for the price, A 01’s detail retrieval is good and can be found more in the upper half. Fine details are audible but very minute ones are still in hiding.
The dynamic transducer fits harmonically into the overall presentation but appears a bit blunt and I don’t really think the body is fully realistic, as the bass is somewhat less detailed and softens towards the subbass in comparison.
Soundstage:
Spatiality is pleasant and the in-ears’ stage has got good width that is about of the space between my ears. A good amount of spatial depth is present as well, however about 20% less distinct than its width.
Instrument separation is good and single elements don’t blend into each other much at all, however there is no air between instruments yet. Layering is decent although the single layers could be somewhat better separated from each other.
All in all and for the price, the soundstage is however better than average although it doesn’t reach the size or precision of the Fidue A73, HiSoundAudio HA-2 or Havi B3 Pro I.
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In Comparison with other In-Ears:
Fidue A73:
In my ears, the A73 is clearly more comfortable.
Tonally, the A 01 is bassier (or thinner sounding, totally depending on the proximity of the vents to the auricles) but A73’s fundamentals are more full-bodied. The midrange of both in-ears is about identically bright, however A73’s peaks a bit earlier wherefore sibilants are a bit more present but don’t appear unnatural to my ears. In the lower middle highs, the A73 shows less level presence, in the upper treble however its peak is steeper wherefore hi-hats show somewhat more sizzle.
More drivers don’t automatically mean a superior sound, and the Fidue makes that clear as well – the A73 (~ $150; as OEM version (UPQ QE50) only ~ $100) is overall audibly higher resolving by quite a bit, revealing very minute details the A 01 is holding back. With fast music, the Fidue also shows the better controlled and somewhat more arid bass response while having more (and more realistically appearing) body presence at the same time.
A73’s soundstage is somewhat better separated and has got a bit more width and depth.
SoundMAGIC E80 (wide bore tips):
In my ears, the E80 is clearly more comfortable.
The E80 has got less bass in my ears (or more, depending on proximity of the PMV’s vents to the auricles), but with the warmer fundamental range. Vocals are brighter with the PMV but in the upper treble, the E80 is spikier with most recordings (here, the A 01 sounds more even and tempered although bright as well).
The PMV’s use of the hybrid technology is an audible benefit when comparing both face to face – in the midrange and treble where the A 01 uses BA drivers, transients are better wherefore sound is more detailed and better controlled with fast music. The higher speech intelligibility as well as the better minute detail retrieval are also noticeable (especially in the upper treble where the PMV doesn’t really have much less level but doesn’t sound peaky because of the higher resolution). The difference isn’t super huge, nonetheless it is definitely a bit more than a subjectively perceived half class in my book. In the bass, both are about on the same level and I wouldn’t be able to say which is clearly better.
A 01’s soundstage is larger and also better layered as well as separated.
Conclusion:
PMV’s A 01 is a good entry to the world of hybrid in-ears but also to the sound of Balanced Armature drivers. The sound is somewhat more on the brighter side in the mids but appears harmonious. Typical for BA drivers, resolution in the mids and treble is better than with most similarly priced dynamic driver in-ears.
What is less felicitous however is the placing of the vents – depending on ear anatomy and proximity of the vents to the auricles, bass is once more and once less present. Comfort might also be a drawback with some ear anatomies (longer than average, deeper sitting single-flange tips like for example the SpinFit Tips will then improve fit and comfort).
For around $70, the PMV A 01 does a really decent job and if there wasn’t the UPQ QE50/Fidue A73 for ~ $100/150, I would say that there is not much competition at that price for a good entry into the world of hybrid in-ears – who is able and/or willing to spend a little more money, I would recommend to go for the somewhat more expensive (than the PMV) UPQ or Fidue which are even higher resolving by quite a bit.
With a 70% price-sound (90) to 30% comfort-build (53) evaluation, I come to a conclusion of good 3.945 out of 5 stars. Apart from the average comfort in my ears, sound quality is pretty good for the price and as mentioned twice, the A 01 is a solid start to get to the world of hybrid in-ears and offers really good value.
@HCK Earphones Thanks!