VSONIC VS3

VSONIC VS3 REVIEW :



SOUND: 8.5/10
CONSTRUCTION: 8/10
DESIGN: 7/10
VALUE: 8.5/10

INTRO :

From what I read on the minimalist VSONIC official page, this audio company exist before I was born, since 1980 to be precise. However, its hard to find more information about them, as lot of chinese brand, they are very mysterious about their whole company story.

What make them know internationaly and gain lot of respect from audiophile is their legendary GR07 earphones, but they get quite good reception from all other iem models as well. Personally, I only own the GR06, wich is a V shaped but well tuned iem.



Today I will be reviewing the VSD3S successor : the VSONIC VS3.

Its a single dynamic driver in a BIG universal custom housing. Again, not a lot of info about driver compenent or size. This UIEM have a detachable cable and is priced at very affordable 55$ price. Housing is all plastic, connection is 2pin.

When you look at housing size, you expect a big soundstage and your are right to expect that as this VS3 have an immense around your head soundstage. Vsonic describe the tuning as mid centric, again : true words. Well, now that everything is say do I need to review it more?

Yep, I like practice my english writing so I will do a full review and explain how I find the VS3 sound, construction and value.

LEND ME UR EARS is the official distributor of Vsonic as well as other great chinese company like Alpha & Delta, please give a look at this great store with great price HERE.


DISCLAIMER : This Vsonic product came at my door without warning, it just appear as an abandonned baby left in a basket, I take care of it and decide to review it (yeah, I review babies too). I wanna thanks Lend Me Ur ears for this offering from the sky, and as always I will fully stay objective in my subjectivity.



Specification:

• Drivers: 11mm CCAW drivers
  
  
• Impedance: 35Ω +/- 10%
  
  
• Sensitivity: >108dB (@ 500 Hz)
  
  
• Frequency Response: 10Hz- 28kHz
  
  
• Channel Balance: <1dB @ 500Hz <1.5dB (at 20Hz~12.5KHz)
  
  
• Distortion: <1% 105dB
  
  
• Rated Power: 10mW
  
  
• Maximum Input Power: 30mW
  
  
• Plug: 3.5mm 24K gold plated stereo plug
  
  
• Cable: 1.30m

Accessories:

• 3 pairs of silicon eartips
  
  
• 1 pouch

Warranty: One year by Lend Me UR ears





ACCESSORIES, CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN :




UNBOXING is a funny experience, the cylinder shaped box do a great impression. When I receiver the package I was very puzzled by the shape of it, craving my mind to know if I order a slinky or small telescope to finaly discover its the VS3! When you pop the box open, these nicely shaped earphones are the king of the show, but that’s about it as there is not alot of accessories included, just the minimal, wich is a particular mmcx cable and some eartips.




CONSTRUCTION is nice for it’s price range, but not particularly impressive as its all plastic. The housing is quite big but very light and have a curvy diamond shape. Its a 2 piece plastic stock togheter and have a little space between those 2 piece, wich make me question if its vented or just badly stick togheter. The 2pin female connector is well integrate to the body and look sturdy, its is mean precisely for connecting with included cable, wich is a 4 cores brainded cable with a particular look and mate finish and pre-shaped ear hook.




DESIGN make me mitiged, especially because of the very cable we should use. The shaped ear hook is too tighly curved so it tend to pull out the housing from my ears. But that’s not all, due to little connection space, the pin aren’t enough solidly connected and can disconnect easily, it happen that while I was walking the VS3 fall on the ground….was becaming quite mad about this so I change for other 2pin cable I have with longer pin and connection was tigher and problem solved. Still, this cable is wortheless and a big design flaw.



As said, the housing is very big, its about 2.5cm from nozzle end to back housing and 2.5cm long...but as its strangely shaped its impossible for me to measure exact size. Let’s just say its quite enormous even for my gigantic ears. But this do not mean its uncomfortable, at least for me once I change cable its very comfy and will not hurt my ears or fall from it. Due to light weight, and organic shape VS3 fit tighly and naturally in my very ears.

Passive noise cancelation is above average and sound leakage minimal.


SOUND :

OVERALL SOUND IMPRESSIONS is quite positive and stand appart typical unbalanced tuning we find with overall bassy, mid centric or trebly earphones in this price range. Here, Vsonic show there great experience in tuning, offering a near neutral soundsignature leaning towards a lightly bright approach without any of the agressivness or harshness we would expect with this level of fowards carity.

What hit me at first listen is how spacious and out of your head the soundstage is, it very wide and deep and give a kind of open headphones presentation. Like open headphones, the bass isn’t really authoritative, but it dig low and have great control even if on the thin, dry side of timbre. Mid bass isn’t very punchy but have good grip and clarity due to a bright approach while the mid range is again quite linear and well resolved, with light but bright timbre that offer good details in texture but not a full thick timbre. The treble extract good details in a natural way, finding its place between smooth and analytical signature, we have above average details retrieval with sharpness, but the attac-decay is neither fast or very lively, it offer crisp highs that can struggle with cymbals in the extension, making them sound a little splashy sometime.




LOWER BASS is well extended, slightly elevated compared to mid bass, have average body to it with transparent timbre instead of thick one. Not extremely weighty, it have good energic dynamic anyhow and can deal with fast electronic as well as jazz or classical. Level of control and separation is impressive, as sub is quite tigh and well definite. Just enough bassy to satisfy fan of U shape sound, VS3 aren’t mean for basshead but more for audiophile that search a versatile sounding iem.

MID BASS have just enough punch to not fall into hollow smoothness that will lack impact, sub bass drop a little to let the mid bass breathe, but I would not consider VS3 as a particularly punchy earphones. Here, the focused timbre help the kick to have more presence than powerfull impact, it can deal with fast track and do not bloat mid range at all but still the lack of weight could be a drawback for rock or hard hitting music lovers.

MID RANGE is quite fowards, wide and engaging, Vsonic do not lie when they describe the VS3 as mid-centric ,even if we are in W shape territory, the mid frenquencies is full covered, rich, detailed and quite clean even if a little grainy. Vocal take first seat and have good body to it, it will take your whole attention and shadow instrumentation slightly, in the sens this is opaque vocal. Imaging isn,t the biggest quality of VS3, but still, its details rich. This type of mid range do very well with signer-songwriter, soul, folk, indie and instrumental music.

TREBLE is well extended, with an emphasis in mid level, giving crips, crunchy highs that extract easily microdetails. Beacause of opaque mid range, I feel the highs are tweaked to pass thrue a wall of sound, wich stole sparkle and decay and can make cymbals sound splashy time to time, but at same time, make it for a very revealing and lush listening experience. Yep, we are in bright territory with the VS3, but its a well tuned one that do not create sibilance in upper mid range, still, for treble sensitive people perhaps its a risky bet.


SUB : 7.5/10


MID-BASS: 7/10


MID RANGE : 8.5/10


TREBLE : 8/10


TIMBRE : 8/10


ATTACK : 7.5/10


SOUNDSTAGE : 9/10


COMPARAISONS :



VS TINAUDIO T3 (70$) :



T3 is an Hybri dynamic+balanced earphones while the VS3 only use one big dynamic drivers. Right off the bath, we can conclude that construction is way superior with the T3, now let’s see about the sound.

SOUNDSTAGE of VS3 is wider and more around your head, while T3 is more intimate and have deeper clearer spaciality.

BASS is sub emphased fo VS3 and mix a little with the smooth mid bass while T3 is more controled, have more punch and mid bass energy, overall faster presentation but less rich timbre and less sub rumble.

MIDS are more fowards with the T3, clearer as well, with better separation and fast attack-decay, they have thin timbre tough wich stole some body. VS3 is brighter but little more recessed, imaging is less accurate but timbre is richer and thicker.

TREBLE of T3 give more sparkly and crisp highs compared to VS3 that have emphased in mid treble and can make sound cymbals splashy, attack-decay being more controled with T3, it give an overall cleaner and more detailed presentation with better control. Still, the VS3 sounding less liquid feel more balanced, just less capable with very crownded music.


VS BQEYZ BQ3 (58$) :



BQ3 is a dual Dynamic driver+3 balanced armatures, again, we can think its unfair, but it would be underestimating the phenomenal potential of well tuned single dynamic driver.

SOUNDSTAGE again is wider with VS3 but less deep than BQ3 wich have as well a more holographic presentation of spaciality.

BASS of both is sub emphased, but BQ3 have as well more mid bass punch and overall more energic and fast bass, but timbre is transparent and not very detailed compared to brighter VS3.

MID RANGE is more recessed and dark with BQ3, here the VS3 feel really mid centric compared to it, but strangely, less prompt to sibilance in upper mids wich. Timbre is brighter and less well separated in imaging, it sound more opaque compared to sharp transparent mid range of BQ3.

TREBLE feel more mid treble emphased with VS3, but highs do not have lot of sparkle, they are more in the crunchy type and as said before, can be a little grainy or splashy, BQ3 have upper treble emphasis and more coloured highs where it tend to give extra brilliance and sparkle, giving a more airy sound, but not fully cover, so you got more micro details but a less rich whole frequency range.

Construction of BQ3 is from another league and put to shame all plastic BQ3.



CONCLUSION :



Vsonic proove again its a very mature and capable audio company when it come to tuning a single dynamic driver. I would like to say the same for earphones design but this isn’t the case as the cable disconnection and ackward fit is sure a drawback to note.

Anyway, its far from a deal breaker, as with 80% of the chi-fi earphones I buy or test, I finish to use the cable as a toy for my cat so he can enjoy it more than me.

Once you change the cable, fit became great and 2pin are tighly connected, but be sure to look your ears into a mirror before buying the VS3, if you have minuscule ears, perhaps it will be problematic.

But enough about housing design, here, if we only talk about SOUND, the VS3 is a very competitive one in term of well balanced tuning that cover whole frequencies range beautifully. With it’s W shape soundsignature leaning toward mid-centric, you have a slightly bright but lush and wide sounding audio experience.

If you are searching for a universal custom that offer immense soundstage, bodied sub-bass and wide, detailed and musical mid range; the Vsonic VS3 are a masterfully tuned earphones that stand appart in sub-60$ price range and merit applause in term of sound value.



PS: For more reviews and audio impressions, please give a look at my very active BLOG