I have said this elsewhere but I really do not understand all the hype for the iBasso IT00. I got a pair from the Amazon seller. The first cable was defective; seller replaced it (but I had to send it back first, at my expense). The lower edge, where it reads iBasso, is straight and might even have a seam IIRC; I don't know about you, but my ear is curved and that edge made them uncomfortable almost immediately. There was serious driver flex unless I gave up a good seal (and good bass response). Yes, they do have a plush sound but what's the point if they make your outer ear hurt. Luckily I could get a refund.
In that range you should try the ISN Audio D02. They look clunky but turn out to have a super comfortable fit, great bass/drums and timbre that's equal or superior to the iBasso IT00 across the spectrum. And if you want to up the outlay a bit, check out reviews here and elsewhere for the Tri I3, which is my go-to at the moment. (I'm selling the ISN D02 but still believe they are the <$100 champ.)
Bro we warned you in advance about the BLON BL-03's infamous fit issues. The BLON BL-03's stock nozzle is very short, so most westerners or those with larger ears have an issue with the stock tips. Also, the stock cable's plastic earhooks are very stiff and they have a tendency to yank the IEM out of the ear.
Well there are a few options now for fixing the eartips:
1) Try a longer nozzle eartip (eg KZ starlines, Spinfit CP 100/CP 145) may help.
Options fix the stiff cable plastic earhook issue:
1) Buy aftermarket cable which is more supple. Sub $10 can get u a good set on Aliexpress eg NiceHCK 8 core copper cable.
2) Use a scissors to cut the plastic sheath of the earhooks (do at own risk, be careful not to cut the actual cable).
3) Use a hairdryer to heat the plastic sheath and shape it to whatever fits your ear.
Well I've tried the above options and while they do work, my personal fix for the fit issues on the BLON BL-03 ----> reverse the earpices and wear it cable down instead of over the ear. Switch the left and right earpieces, but maintain the cable sides (I use an aftermarket cable without plastic sheath earhooks). The BLON will look like a earbud and the stem of the IEM will be pointing downwards.
I've also noticed the BL-03 fits a bit better upside down. I think I'm going try cutting off the plastic sheath on the stock cable so I can wear it both ways.
Edit: Definitely recommend an aftermarket cable because cutting plastic was a pain in the butt.
So my BLON BL03's arrived today and im gutted, when im holding them into my ear they sound so good, exactly what im looking for, but no matter what I do they just don't fit. Tried all the included tips, tried some I have lying round, following the guide, nothing. Any tips or is this just the case with these being hard to fit?
To add to @baskingshark 's thorough response... Symbio Mandarines helped for me. It also helped to go up to a larger size than I normally wear. That and the memory foam in them keeps them locked into my ears. Compy foams also work well.
As important, I think, is the cable. The stock cable tended to pull them out of my ears. Something without formed hooks for the ears reduces that issue. I use a pretty thick cable on mine without a problem, so really it's just finding a cable that's not molded.
They are worth the effort, by the way. Once you get them sorted out you'll forget all about this nonsense with the fit.
I grabbed the Moondrop SSP as I was looking for something that I could wear to bed and rest my head on the pillow without any discomfort.
These worked great, very comfortable ...I will keep them for this purpose.
I would not pick these based on sound alone and the bass is lacking for my preferred sound...I like a sound with alittle more weight and meat on the bones.
The build quality is nice... a tad harder to drive than my others, but not an issue at all.
I am fairly new to iem's and have been enjoying them in the evenings at bed time. I have found out while lying in bed...comfort trumps sound.
I wish there were more iem's this size to pick from.
I grabbed the Moondrop SSP as I was looking for something that I could wear to bed and rest my head on the pillow without any discomfort.
These worked great, very comfortable ...I will keep them for this purpose.
I would not pick these based on sound alone and the bass is lacking for my preferred sound...I like a sound with alittle more weight and meat on the bones.
The build quality is nice... a tad harder to drive than my others, but not an issue at all.
I am fairly new to iem's and have been enjoying them in the evenings at bed time. I have found out while lying in bed...comfort trumps sound.
I wish there were more iem's this size to pick from.
I hear you there. Some of these "universals" have gotten so big they are uncomfortable. The killer sound doesn't matter if you can't stand to wear them.
I hear you there. Some of these "universals" have gotten so big they are uncomfortable. The killer sound doesn't matter if you can't stand to wear them.
I hear you there. Some of these "universals" have gotten so big they are uncomfortable. The killer sound doesn't matter if you can't stand to wear them.
Havent been here for abit and i just gotten my KZ DQ6 which was an impulse buy. I told myself i will cancel the purchase if i could still do it the next day, however i was too late. Perhaps it was fated as my **** **** died on me 2 days before i received this.
Got it at an amazing price at S$18.25 and i must say at the price they are damn good. I have been using KZ AS10, CCA C10, **** **** and Sony MH755 for a long time (also Koss KSC75 until it died, havent had time to replace the cables), and i must say DQ6 can hang out with the rest of them. It has a slight V-shaped signature which is fairly close to neutral.
For me at this price point, DQ6 is now the one to beat if any other manufacturers are releasing new IEMs.
Smabat X1 Extended Impressions: "Linear acoustics" for around $50? Sign me up!
All testing was done via the balanced output on my Sony Walkman NW-ZX300 running the MrWalkman DMP-300 FEv2 firmware in Classic Mode
Cable pairing: KBEar Limpid 4-core silver cable
Tip pairings: Stock, Tennmak foams, Sony Hybrids, MH755 tips
Introduction
This is my first encounter with a Smabat product of any kind. I was intrigued by these being, to my knowledge, the most affordable IEM on the market with tuning switches, as well as the dual dynamic driver setup on each side. I paid $49 USD for my unit from ShenzhenAudio on AliExpress. These days, I've been listening to a ton of Japanese music, especially music by utaite artists (e.g., Mafumafu, Soraru, Urashimasakatasen, Eve and Sou) and J-rock bands (e.g., SCANDAL, BAND-MAID). I also enjoy classic rock (e.g., Dire Straits, Steely Dan, early U2) and female vocalists (e.g., Hayley Williams, Amy Macdonald, Jessie Ware). I do not listen to classical or jazz. I generally prefer IEMs with neutral-bright sound signatures.
Although Smabat is understandably proud of the tuning switches on the X1 and the notion of offering two sound signatures in one IEM, I assure you that there is only one correct position for the switches to be in, and that is the down position. Configured as such, the X1 offers a bass-light, midrange-focused sound that is fairly uncommon among Chi-Fi IEMs (especially among budget Chi-Fi IEMs in general). This signature is its raison d'etre and the only way that you should be looking to use these. In the default switches-up position, the X1 puts out a bass-heavy, dark, bloated, and low-resolution sound that is virtually un-listenable. In this mode, there is such a rampant degree of mid-bass bleed that male vocals sound muted, off-key and lost amidst a sea of vague thumping noises. It ends up sounding just like the Fail Poppy or a rando drug-store IEM. It's really not worth considering further.
What we're left with, then, is a $50 Chi-Fi IEM with a distinctive, "reference"-style sound signature that emphasizes vocals and acoustic instruments. Easy recommendation then? Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. (note: from this point on, assume that the X1 is always set to the switches-down tuning and all comments pertain to this configuration only)
Sound
The Smabat X1 started out pretty hot-sounding for me. I initially found myself being unable to become relaxed and immersed in my music when listening with the X1 because everything sounded a tad too sharp and fatiguing. In an earlier post, I'd written that listening with the X1 demanded a great deal of attention and really wasn't a set that one could easily chill with, and that still holds true for me when listening to the X1 without any equalization or DSP enabled (i.e., Direct Source mode on my ZX300). The X1 presents vocals that are powerful, detailed, energetic, and almost larger than life, but they are also cold, intense and relentless. The X1 presents even less bass than the Moondrop SSR, with an essentially inaudible sub-bass whatsoever and a muted, barely-there mid-bass section. Although there isn't a massive amount of treble extension on offer (certainly less than a DD-BA hybrid like my KZ ZAX) and no apparent peakiness, the midrange emphasis does still leave the X1 bordering on harshness at times in its out-of-the-box state. Screams and enthusiastic electric guitar riffs (e.g. 罰ゲーム - まふまふ) can get difficult to sit through without dialing down the volume. At the same time, the X1 extracts a substantially greater degree of vocal detail than the Moondrop SSR whilst allowing those vocals to dominate the soundstage, to the extent that I really felt まふまふ imploring me to live my life, just live on no matter what, in his cover of 命に嫌われている.
The Smabat X1's treble is perhaps best described as "adequate". While it features a dedicated 6mm tweeter for high frequencies, cymbals often sound distant and indistinct, as if there is not quite enough "bite" or definition to convey the sound of a cymbal being struck beyond a generic "tssssssss" sound (e.g., Romeo and Juliet - Dire Straits). It is not quite as bad as the Fail Poppy, and there is already enough resolution in the midrange that the X1 really doesn't sound veiled or lacking detail despite the average treble presentation. Nevertheless, the similarly-priced ZAX does wipe the floor with the X1 in this regard.
Where the X1 claws back some ground against the ZAX is in its timbre. Natural and realistic would be appropriate descriptors here, whereas the ZAX is still liable to sound slightly metallic and artificial in certain situations. Acoustic guitar and piano sections sound organic, although note weight is on the light and ethereal side and could do with a tad more body. In terms of imaging and soundstage, the X1 is again adequate. The soundstage is tall but narrow, with only a slight sense of depth on offer. It is no worse than the Moondrop SSR, but it presents everything as if played within a packed club rather than an expansive concert hall. At the very least, the X1 does succeed at making the music appear to emanate from a 180-degree arc around oneself instead of within one's head. Imaging and instrument separation is also at least on par with other similarly-priced offerings, if not slightly better. Certain arrangements (e.g., ふたりぼっち - まふまふ) can come across as somewhat busy and difficult to place, but this is not unique to the X1. In a similar vein as my comments on soundstage, the X1 does at least manage not to merge every element of a track into the center of the sound field as my CCA CST did.
At this point, it might sound like I'm damning the X1 with faint praise, and that I must feel like I made a mistake with this blind buy. Well, the story does get quite a bit better by the end...
Build, Comfort, Isolation and Accessories
Put the Moondrop SSR in a photocopier and zoom by 1.5x, and you basically end up with the Smabat X1. The earpieces look very professional and well-built, and the shells are entirely constructed from lightweight aluminum. The tuning switch is tucked out of the way at the rear of each shell, rather than right on the faceplate (looking at you, LZ). The two-pin sockets have enough friction/resistance to ensure that the cable stays attached even when inserting or removing the IEMs from my ears. I have no complaints about the quality of the assembly.
Comfort, however, is extremely dependent on one's choice of tips. The stock tips that ship with the X1 are complete garbage; they are too soft and don't grab onto the surface of one's ear canal firmly enough as a result. Their stems are also too short, which means that your outer ear would more than likely come into contact with the sharp edges of the X1's shells and cause some discomfort. Moondrop showed an attention to detail by incorporating subtle curves and rounded edges into the otherwise angular shells of the SSR/SSP to prevent this exact phenomenon. Nonetheless, this issue can be alleviated by using longer tips or shallow-insertion tips (hint: you'll want tips with narrower bores for the X1, say around ~4mm to 4.5mm) that allow the X1 to sit slightly further out in the ear. Medium Tennmak foams work great for me, as do the Sony MH755 tips in the largest size. Sony Hybrid tips worked less well as they are a tad too soft and pliable to be able to prevent the shells from shifting and scraping one's ear.
Isolation is not brilliant, but you might have been able to figure that out for yourself. Bass-light + non flush-fitting shell design + dynamic drivers requiring vents are all factors that work against the X1's ability to truly shut the world out without volume adjustment.
The stock cable is actually perfectly decent if you do not require a balanced connection. It drapes nicely, isn't too tangly, doesn't retain kinks, looks pretty good and has sturdy connectors. I'm not sure what else one could want out of a stock cable.
Sound, again
We've established that the X1 does mids and vocals like nothing else I've come across (certainly not in this price range), but that this very trait also contributes to an overall cold and harsh tonality that is difficult to relax to or become immersed in. We also established at the beginning that the X1's drivers are theoretically capable of a voluminous if overcooked bass response, which all but disappears in switches-down configuration due to a tuning choice. Perhaps a midrange that is extremely detailed, resolving and intimate might be easier to listen to if accompanied by a touch of warmth. Perhaps this could be achieved by scaling back the aggressive bass roll-off by a tad, which would also make the overall frequency response more linear and closer to neutral without compromising the X1's strengths.
After playing with the 10-band EQ and DSP on my Walkman over the Lunar New Year break, I've settled on this configuration as being the one that makes the X1 sound best in the greatest number of scenarios, regardless of how much intense or energetic a track gets, without affecting midrange detail retrieval and the seriously addictive, forward, expressive vocals:
31Hz
62Hz
125Hz
250Hz
500Hz
1KHz
2KHz
4KHz
8KHz
16KHz
+3dB
+4dB
+3dB
+1dB
0
0
0
0
0
0
DSEE HX:
On, Male Vocal
Dynamic Normalizer:
Off
DC Phase Linearizer:
Type A High
Vinyl Processor:
Off
This configuration transforms the X1 from being a set that I would, at best, be tepidly positive about to one that I could use and enjoy greatly on a day-to-day basis for the kinds of music I enjoy most. While I typically prefer not to have to use EQ to be able to enjoy an IEM, I'm willing to make an exception for the X1 because it brings me closer to my favourite vocalists than anything else in my collection. I'm even willing to forgive the relatively mundane technicalities and the uninspiring treble response, because they cease to matter once you're engaged in the music and singing along. Considering that the concessions I'm making may not be the same ones that you're willing to make, I give these a cautious recommendation.
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Now they are gone from Ali.
