Introduction
This is a very special and “different” review.
Instead of giving you a review of something “popular”, this time I want to provide you with a pleasant discovery I’ve made before 2021's Christmas Holidays.
Considering the KSC75 from KOSS are becoming a lot harder to find at good prices i Europe (both because of the scarcity of raw materials and because they’re pretty old now) with respect to, let’s say, 2 years ago, I wanted to find a clip-on set that could be a good cheap option while I was waiting to find them at a lower price on the web.
Disclaimer: I have bought the Shini S520 out of curiosity.
At the time of the review, the Shini S520 were sold for an average price of $3 on Aliexpress.
Technical Specifications
- Configuration → 1DD
- Sensitivity → 98dB
- Impedance → 16 Ohm
- Frequency Response → 20 Hz – 20000 Hz
- Cable → 1,2m braided cable with microphone
- Connector type → L-type 3.5mm jack connector
Packaging
Basically no packaging. The headphones came without any box and were just inside a plastic sachet, directly in the packet in which they were shipped.
No other accessories other than the headphones were provided.
Design, Build Quality and Cable
Essentially, build quality reflects the price with low quality plastic and practically no particular refinements on the shells. The design is minimal and the colour I have chosen is very basic (black), but you can also buy them in different colours.
The earhooks are also made of plastic.
The stock cable is braided, and honestly pretty bad, but overall there’s no way I am gonna complain about its quality.
However, I have encountered a relevant issue that is pretty annoying: the jack connector isn’t of good quality and while moving it inside the jack port of the smartphone or the notebook there can be heard a big amount of noise out of the drivers, like some “buzzing”.
Note: the cable has an in-line control with play/pause button and an IP/NK switch.
For those who don’t know, back in the years IP and NK were respectively referred to IPhone and NoKia, as the connection was slightly different between the two: basically, the ground and microsoft connection to the 3.5mm jack connector is inverted between the two standards.
Nowadays, you want to keep the switch on IP, otherwise you’ll hear that the polarity is messy and the headphones will not work properly in terms of audio quality.
Regarding the microphone on the cable, it’s pretty bad, I’d say “usable” but still not really that good (there’s no way I’ll complain given the price).
Comfort and Isolation
The Shini S520 are pretty comfortable although for the first listening sessions you’ll need to find the right position and wearing method.
Isolation is obviously not to consider: they do not insulate from external noise so pick something else if you need something for outdoor listening sessions.
Sound
How do these sound?
This is the real reason you’re reading this review (I guess).
[Personal preference: I listen to almost every genre, even though my main preference goes to EDM subgenres. I always like a bit more energy on the bass and on the highs, leading to a personal preference for Y-shaped sound signatures, but if I have to choose, I’d prefer having many different IEMs with various signatures, in order to choose a particular one of them when I want to listen to a specific genre. I love switching between my IEMs so it’s even better if they’re very different from each other.]
TEST GEAR
- DAC: Topping E30
- AMP: Topping L30
- Mobile phones: Poco F2 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
- Portable DAPs: Benjie S8/AGPTEK M30B
- Other sources: Presonus AudioBox iONE
Do they need an amp?
I can hear improvements when using them out of an amplifier, moreover in the low-end. The amplification also helps with the volume as these need some juice to play at high volumes and not every smartphone output will be enough to power them well.
However, be careful with the output: too much power will cause some distortion as the driver is still cheap and produces distortion when too much power is given.
Sound signature
The Shini S520 have slightly recessed midrange with a little boost on midbass and some emphasis on the upper registers, I’d say a sort of Y-shaped signature.
Lows: tight bass, good punch and speed with nice textures for the price. Sub-bass does not even exist practically as the roll-off is pretty aggressive in the low-end, so these won’t be something to consider if you’re mainly into EDM, hip-hop and stuff that requires some added energy in lower registers.
To achieve good performance I think you’ll need some amplification or the bass will miss some punch.
Mids: I was not expecting so much musicality in midrange from something so cheap. Instruments are reproduced well even though notes would have more weight if the S520 had a little more sub-bass. Vocals are intimate, and female ones shine more than male ones thanks to the added emphasis in the upper midrange. There is some sibilance here and there, although it’s really hard to complain.
Highs: lower treble and upper treble are emphasized and even though I do not have a graph to prove this, there is a lot of air and sparkle. If you’re sensitive to treble the S520 will annoy you with stock pads, and you should maybe try buying new pads and playing around; however, if you love some more “sparkle” in upper registers, the S520 will definitely surprise you with a controlled and energetic treble.
Soundstage width is rendered better than depth (which is still ok), while height is generally not a thing. Instrument separation is honestly great for the price and imaging is surprisingly good, even in games, although highly conditioned by the limited height and depth.
It’s really hard to believe these cost less than 3$.
What is the problem here? Quality control.
Apart from the buzzing noise that sometimes come up when moving the connector into the jack port, the L and R channels are inverted, meaning that every sound that should come up from the right earpiece is going to play on left one and viceversa.
Fun fact (but not really funny): I have spoken with the seller about this issue, and seller asked me for a proof of the problem. Since the two channels are inverted but there’s nothing physically broken that could be seen in a photo, I asked them how would I be able to prove that the two channels were inverted, and the seller replied I should make a video of the problem or they would have simply ignored my report regarding the bad quality control.
In fact, they have ignored my messages and although I wasn’t trying to get refunded (price is very low so a refund is not life-changing) they preferred not answering anymore and proceed with the full refund of the product (which I will maybe use to buy another obscure clip-on set online as I have done it with the S520 and I was pleasantly surprised).
Hence, I will not recommend my seller if you want to buy the S520; you can find the S520 everywhere online, moreover on Aliexpress, so it will be pretty easy for you to find good sellers around.
I do not have any other pair of clip-on headphones to compare, so here you won’t find any comparison.
I hope to get some more stuff of this kind in the future so that I can discover and share some more hidden gems around the market.
Final Thoughts
The Shini S520 were a real revelation for me.
I was searching for a pair of KSC75 and ended up blind-buying a pair of these from an Aliexpress seller that I didn’t even know; and although my expectations were very low I found myself with a unknown piece of tech in my hands that actually sounds amazing for the price. Sure, there are some things that weren’t so pleasant, such as the connector noise, but the overall experience was nice.
I know it’s hard to believe I am speaking well about such a so cheap pair of clip-on headphones (and I know quality control in China is, well, what it is…) but if I were you, I would bet 3$ on these.
I did it and didn’t regret it.