As a second post, I will leave my impressions of the Urbanfun YBF-ISS014, mainly because the review turned into a comparison to the Blon's more than anything else.
Again, this review is available in English and Spanish on my blog:
https://achoreviews.blogspot.com
It is also part of the second episode of Acho Reviews on YouTube (in Spanish):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDgjgW4BKkT2PmNCGAqLs7Q
Here is my review...
Shortly after receiving the Blon BL03, which I just reviewed recently (you can find that review here:
Review - Blon BL03), I received the Urbanfun YBF-ISS014, which is a name I can’t remember without looking it up each time, so I’ll just refer to them as the UF. Due to receiving these at more or less the same time and dividing listening time between the two, it is understandable that I will compare them directly to the BL03, especially after reading some comments that said that the YBF were a better version of the BL03 with the problems resolved.
Build...
At first glance, they look nearly identical to the Blon’s but they are in fact very different, both in comfort and sound.
The general consensus on these is that they are more comfortable than the BL03 due to having a longer insertion, however, personally I preferred the comfort of the Blons, although these are not uncomfortable, I just find that the right side has a habit of moving even when using foam tips. Saying that, each person's anatomy is completely different so it will all be down to personal preference.
The shells of the UF are also made of metal, are quite light and are of a similar size, except for the length of the nozzle, but in my opinion that is more or less where the similarities end.
The cable that is included is not the worst, it is acceptable, although there are much better cables out there. For connections the UF uses MMCX style connectors and that is one of its biggest flaws appears. There are many complaints about the QC of these, with people reporting defective connectors upon arrival and also the connectors breaking when swapping the cable.
In my case, I haven’t has this issue but it is something to definitely be aware of.
Sound...
As I said, in my opinion they are quite different to the BL03.
The bass is a lost less present which creates a much more balanced sound in the lower registries. They do not lack bass, it is there when it is needed, it is just not as dominant as on the Blon’s and does not seem to leak into the lower mids.
Due to this, the mids, especially male voices, seem clearer and better presented.
When reaching up into the treble, I have not noticed any sibilance except on tracks that are really harsh themselves, and I would say that the treble is the part that is most similar to the BL03 although a little tamer. These are not harsh IEMs, at least in the treble.
The details of the UF are pretty good, with decent speed and separation when dealing with more congested and intense parts of songs.
However, the timbre, in my opinion, is a long way from being good.
EDM...
As I spent some time listening to EDM on the Blon’s and it seems that this review is more of a comparison than anything else, I feel it is only fair to give them a try with the same music that I reached my conclusions with regarding them.
I will repeat that I am not a great fan of electronic music but I have given the UF a few hours with some boom boom.
My impression is that they are very clear but do not represent the bass in enough quantity or quality for this kind of music. After listening to EDM on the Blon, with the UF it is as though someone has turned down (or off) the subwoofer. I did not find myself having fun with EDM on these at all.
Hip-Hop...
With Hip Hop, specifically the “2001” album by Dre and the “All Eyez On Me” album by Tupac, I found them much better than the Blon. Due to the fact that the lower mids are much cleaner, it is much easier to appreciate the details. While the timbre is again not correct, as this music does not feature many real instruments (at least on these albums) it is not as noticeable. If you have listened to these albums as many times as I have, then you will notice that they sound different but it is not something that makes you feel they sound wrong.
Acoustic...
Moving on to what is probably my favourite genre, at least for general listening, this is where the UF fail for me.
With acoustic music, referring to mainly Spanish guitars, acoustic guitars, acoustic basses, female vocals etc. the clarity and details are more than acceptable, there is a general cleanliness and separation of the instruments that is great, but the instruments themselves sound lifeless.
It is not that they sound bad, as I said, they are very clean, but the timbre is completely off, resulting in hollow sounding stringed instruments, missing the body that makes them sound real, as though a filter has been added or the wrong mic has been used.
The voices are again clean and well defined but missing the life that is needed in this kind of music. There is no warmth to speak of.
Seeing this problem, I spent some time listening to someone who, in my opinion, is one of the best non amplified guitarists in history, Paco De Lucia.
Unfortunately the result is the same. Even though every note is presented with perfect clarity, it is missing the body that makes the Spanish guitar the great instrument that it is.
Modern Pop...
With modern pop they do seem to do a little better, depending on the song. As long as the track in question is not based on stringed instruments and pianos, on other words, not acoustic, the sound signature of the UF actually presents the music in a way that I like.
As they have a more neutral signature than others, such as the Blon, they do not exaggerate the V shape that is already baked into so much of the modern releases, making it feel a little more relaxed.
At no moment do they seem to loose control or clarity, even in tracks that are overly bass heavy, and the bass does not have a negative impact on the mids at all.
Measurements...
Taking a look at the measurements, it shows how the UF are pretty neutral, or are at least aimed that way. The graph does show a peak around 12kHz as it is rolling off, however, that is not something I noticed while listening, maybe due to the fact that although it shows as a peak, it is actually lower than the rest of the frequencies.
If we look at the UF in comparison to the Blon BL03, it is very easy to see how the bass is much more exaggerated on the Blon, in fact, all the way up to around 2kHz the Blons are more exaggerated. The frequency curve is very similar between the two except for that last peak as treble rolls off which is about 1kHz higher on the UF.
This goes to prove that the frequency response is just a small part of judging the sound of an IEM, as I would say that the sound is from two different worlds.
*These measurements are taken on my own system that is in no way calibrated to match the systems of any other person. My measurements must not be compared to any other measurements taken on any other system and are only presented as a guide to compare between different IEMs I have measured. For more info on how I do my measurements, you can visit this link: https://achoreviewsenglish.blogspot.com/2020/06/acho-reviews-measurements.html
My conclusions…
While the Urbanfun YBF-ISS014 (yes, I looked it up) have some things going for them that I had not yet found in any IEM of this price range, such as their detail, separation of instruments and in general their capability to deal with even the most complex passages, they also lack some things that I find neccesary in an IEM, especially when listening for pleasure.
Their soundstage is not excessively wide and their imaging is ok but not great, this can be noticed by using the typical tracks like “Letter” by Yoshi Orikawa and “La Luna” by Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra.
The incorrect timbre, that results in the life that is missing from guitars and other acoustic instruments, is something that, at least for me, stops me from enjoying the music.
I think that they would be great for editing purposes, or even mixing, as long as you already know what the music sounds like before you mix it. In fact, I could quite easily use these as monitors on stage, where it is important to hear what is going on around me, replacing the ZS10 Pro that I have been using until now, but I find the ZS10 Pro more comfortable.
But for music listening purposes, which is the main reason for purchasing these, I prefer the Blon BL03 (even with the dirtiness in the lower mids), the ZS10 Pro or even the Sony MH755 which cost me 1/6 of the price of these.
)signature that the BL03 have and how the bass is elevated. To be honest, the graph shows the bass to be more exaggerated than it really is, at least to my ears.
