Tin T3 Plus, BQEYZ Autumn, Aune x1s GT, Cat Ear HITAM - Another Quadruple Review
One of these is severely overhyped IMO
Tin HiFi T3 Plus -
$69usd, 1DD. To sum up the Tin T3 plus in one sentence, it is: "Great Harman tuning, cheap driver, underwhelming technicalities". The Tin T3 Plus is yet another Harman tuned IEM in this market oversaturated with Harman tuned IEM. Is it better than its more expensive competitors though? In my very honest opinion, not really. However, let's start by stating what's great with the Tin T3 Plus. Smooth Harman tuning, good bass quantity, natural and open mids, smooth treble, wide soundstage, and $10usd cheaper than the Aria.
Although Tin T3 Plus has good tuning, I find its technicalities to be below average. Soundstage here is good. With good width and decent height, but transients are smeared and soft, imaging is a bit hazy, bass lacks any sort of texture or definition (one-note-y bass), extensions on both ends isn't the greatest, and detail retrieval is meh at best. For those that have tried the Aria, just imagine the Tin T3 Plus as a level below in terms of technicalities. Overall, pretty underwhelming as these are hyped to the moon (with some reviewers giving them 5/5). Sure, the tuning here is good, but Tin HiFi could've opted for a better driver as the LCP driver inside the T3 Plus sounds "cheap". With mediocre technicalities, bass/treble extension, and the biggest issue of them all, its bass… as the bass here lacks any sort of definition and texture.
With Aria only being $10usd more, I don’t see any reason why would you want to save that $10usd. With $10usd more, you are getting a similarly Harman tuned IEM with slightly better technicalities, slightly better bass, slightly better extension and much better accessories. The thin stock cable, soft eartips, and carrying pouch of the Tin T3 Plus is pretty bad, especially when put side to side with the Aria.
If Tin HiFi priced the Tin T3 Plus around $55usd, I would've given this a higher score. But at its retail price of $69usd, I'd rather spend $10usd more for the Moondrop Aria. Sorry Tin Hifi, use a better driver or price your products lower next time.
- 3.5/5
BQEYZ Autumn - $199usd, 13mm 1DD driver. I'll start off this review by saying that I love the BQEYZ Autumn. With 3 interchangeable tunings (treble, normal, bass), a huge 13mm 1DD driver, great fit, great tuning, and above-average technicalities, the BQEYZ Autumn is an absolute beast.
Let's start by talking about the interchangeable tuning. BQEYZ uses magnets for their interchangeable bass ports, and I have to say that this is hands down the best execution of an interchangeable filter I've tried and seen. Changing the filters are so effortless and easy, it makes me ACTUALLY wants to change filters for once. In terms of sound, with "normal" mode, the tuning here is Harman-like, with a slight added sparkle up top in the 4kHz treble region. With "bass" mode, I'd describe it as Harman-warm… imagine KBEar Aurora but with better technicalities. With "treble" mode, I'd describe the sound as neutral bright…. Imagine HZSound Heart Mirror, but with a much bigger driver and a more open presentation. Keep in mind that the slight 4kHz peak will be there no matter the tuning mode you choose. So if you are sensitive to lower treble, the Autumn might not be for you.
Out of the 3 tuning choices, my favourite is "normal" mode as it is the most balanced of all. "Bass" mode adds note weight, warmth, thickness and punch to the bass; but it can be too bassy at times. "Treble" mode tames the bass, "tightens" the bass with better-perceived bass texture, makes midrange open and transparent; but vocals can be a bit too forward and the 4kHz peak becomes quite noticeable (and peaky at times). "Normal" mode is like the perfect medium: with good note weight, good bass texture, good warmth, warm natural midrange, and sparkly treble without any hint of peakiness.
In terms of technicalities, the BQEYZ is no slouch too. BQEYZ Autumn has a huge presentation thanks to its big 13mm 1DD driver. With a huge expansive soundstage, "out of your head" imaging, and above-average detail retrieval. Now, in terms of resolution, I personally find the Tanchjim Oxygen to be a notch above, and KBEar BElieve to be a lot more resolving than the BQEYZ Autumn. However, those IEMs aren't without their own issues too. I'll compare them in my BQEYZ Autumn full review so stay tuned if you are interested.
The BQEYZ Autumn isn't perfect too. The 4kHz peak, microdetail retrieval isn't the best, and imaging although wide, isn't the most accurate and sharp. However, the pros outweigh the cons here.
I have been using the Autumn for almost 2 weeks now, and I have to say… I really like the Autumn. Although not perfect, it got a lot of things right. With great OOTB tuning, interchangeable tuning, great soundstage, above-average technicalities, the BQEYZ Autumn is hard to hate and easy to love. Great job BQEYZ.
- 4.5/5
Aune X1s GT -
$319.99usd, desktop DAC/Amp. The 8th Generation of the Aune X1s series. Sabre ES9038 DAC, 4 special filter ("drive") modes, PLL (Phase Locked Loop) Technology, with a maximum output power of 1200mW at 32 Ohms (BAL) and 320mW at 32 Ohm (SE)… its no surprise that the Aune X1s GT is a very powerful DAC/Amp combo.
In terms of sound quality, I would describe the Aune X1s GT to be warm-neutral, musical yet resolving. Soundstage is very wide, instrument separation is great, transients are sharp and clean, bass is tight and punchy, midrange is neutral and transparent, and treble is really well extended with no hints of harshness or sibilance. Overall sound signature I would describe as neutral, with a slight hint of warmth - or some might call it, warm neutral. It is pretty dynamic too, maybe just a hair under the Zen CAN. Imaging is pretty spot on and accurate, and it images wide.
Now, depending on the filter that you chose (there's 4 in total), there will be some slight differences in terms of SQ. There are 2 modes, each with 2 different algorithms: Standard Mode (general / headphone) and Pure Mode (general / headphone). Since my testing is done mostly with headphones, I find that setting the x1s GT to "headphone" just sounds better than "general". Dynamics are better, bass is punchier, overall sound isn't as flat nor dull.
In terms of the difference between Standard Mode and Pure Mode, Standard mode sounds like a "slow roll-off filter". It is smoother more natural sounding, edges are slightly rounded off and smoothed, not as sharp, bass not as tight. However, to my ears, sounds like there is a hint more mid-bass, which can make bass come off as punchier and "bloatier" depending on how you want to see it. Vocals just a hint more relaxed, not as tight sounding.
Pure Mode, on the other hand, is probably a faster filter. Edges are sharper, punchier tighter bass, speedier transient…
After testing out all 4 filter ("drive") modes for a week, my personal favourite is Pure Mode (headphones). However, I can also see myself using the Standard Mode (headphone) too with headphones like Sennheiser HD600 and KBEar BElieve. As long as you are using the "headphone" algorithm and not "general", you're fine.
In terms of power, the Aune X1s GT is no slouch too. It is able to drive everything that I throw at it, including the Final e5000 in balanced mode. Keep in mind that the Tri TK2 (BAL) and iFi Zen DAC (BAL) both failed to drive the Final e5000.
Overall, I am very impressed with the Aune X1s GT. In my full review, I will go through each of its outputs, specs, filter modes, and compare the Aune X1s GT with other sources like the iFi Zen DAC, iFi Zen CAN, Tri TK2, and many more. Stay tuned! In the meantime, here's my rating - 4.5/5
CatEar Hitam -
$25usd, 1DD. Some might recall that I've already reviewed this like a month ago. However, it was DOA (Dead On Arrival), with very bad driver flex and channel imbalance. CatEar Hitam saw my review and was kind enough to send me a new pair immediately. The representative on AliExpress also told me that they have "enhanced the stability of all CatEar Hitam and retested them at the factory". Even though my first unit came with very bad channel balance and driver flex, I am glad that CatEar took action immediately and sent me a new pair.
They also retuned the HITAM after my evaluation. As you can see from the FR graph below, they drastically reduce the bass, making the HITAM much more balanced sounding. Bass isn't as boomy dark and dull, and midrange now is much clearer. Technicality wise, it is still pretty bad. With hazy imaging, bad detail retrieval, and below-average instrument separation. Soundstage is average.
However, with everything fixed now, is the CatEar Hitam finally good enough for recommending? Sadly, the answer is still no. At $25usd, it seems like the CatEar Hitam is more of a "consumer-grade" product rather than an "audiophile-grade" product. The 5kHz peak is still very much present, the $5usd TRN MT1 is much better tuned, and the $20usd Tanchjim Tanya is miles better than the CatEar HITAM in comparison at around the same $25usd price.
Thank you CatEar for listening to feedback and taking the initiative to fix what needs to be fixed. However, it is still not good enough. I can't really recommend the CatEar Hitam to anyone other than cat lovers, thanks to the pretty presentation and packaging. Other than that, I can't recommend the CatEar Hitam.
- 2.5/5
Thank you for your time and thanks for reading. As usual, all FR graphs are shown below. If you guys have any further questions, feel free to ask and I will answer them to the best of my ability.
Huge thanks to Tinhifi, BQEYZ, Elle Zhou, Aune audio, CatEar for sending these out for review. The Tin T3 Plus was heavily discounted and the Aune X1s GT is a review tour unit. Others I received free of charge. I am not at all compensated by them and all thoughts and opinions are my own. Purchase links here (non-affiliated):
- Tin Hifi T3 Plus - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_pulldZb (link provided by Tinhifi. I do not get any kickback)
- BQEYZ Autumn (Hifigo) - https://hifigo.com/products/bqeyz-autumn
- Aune x1s GT (Hifigo) - https://hifigo.com/products/aune-x1s-gt-dac-with-headphone-amp
- CatEar Hitam (Aliexpress) - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...=a2g0o.store_pc_home.hotSpots_6001935610397.0