Saoshyant
Headphoneus Supremus
Well, a month after mailing my defective pair back to Penonaudio, I got a response and they're mailing me a new pair.
ES100: New Earbuds from HIFIMAN
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shak85
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mochill
Headphoneus Supremus
they are the bed earbud I heard so far , second being the dasetn mc5 only for my taste which is balanced and natural but with high resolution 
Deni5
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Received the Hifiman ES100 today so here is a mini review.
Treble
Not superdetailed and not veiled. Not fatiguing so it's great for long listening sessions. I'm not missing any treble and consider it quite neutral.
Mids
Good. Nothing special (not wow) but it's neutral and good - gets the job done.
Bass
Deep bass is missing so not amazing bass reproduction. This means some music genres like Hip Hop/Reggae/EDM are not reproduced optimally.
Soundstage
It's great. Airy - like listening to an open headphone, but nothing strange here as it is an earbud and it is expected to have this soundstage reproduction.
Overall
Very neutral earbud except bass reproduction. Small hint of warmness. This I like as it provides musicality and doesn't sound thin/dull. Works great for most music genres (for example Dire Straits sounds great). Wouldn't recommend if your main listening is Hip Hop/Reggae/EDM or music where great bass reproduction is crucial.
Build quality
Seems OK. You can see that paintjob and assembling is not perfect but it doesn't bother me at this price range. Construction seems sturdy and they should hold up for some time if you don't misuse them. Cable seems fine but I don't like the rubbery feeling coating on the cable as it tangles easily. As this is an earbud you don't hear cable microphonics.
Comfort
Great. They sit ok in the ear. You almost don't feel that they are there.
Isolation
Non existant. But I want this in an earbud so that is great for me. Great to use at work when you have to hear if someone is calling you.
Amp/Dac
They are efficient even if they have 150 ohm impedance. Can be run without any problems from my iPhone 5 at 50% volume. Same with computer audio output, no problems at all. I don't think they benefit from using an amp. Connected them to my Meridian Explorer (usb amp/dac) and they sound better, but this I think is because of a better dac not the amp itself. Anyway, the better the source the better they will sound.
Volume
Works fine at low volume but works best at higher volume so make sure you crank the volume up.
Conclusion
Overall a great earbud as it is neutral and works good with most genres. Earbuds have their pros and cons and this applies to this earbud as well. If they would adopt the form and shape of apple's new earpods, bass reproduction would be much better I think. You can hear that bass reproduction is good if you press the buds more towards your ear canals, so the driver they use is capable but most of that is lost as it sits losely in the ear. I have medium sized ears but think people with small ears maybe have bad fit with this earbud, but if Yuin PK-series fit well then you'll not have any problem at all. I'm happy with the purchase of these and I think the price is right.
Treble
Not superdetailed and not veiled. Not fatiguing so it's great for long listening sessions. I'm not missing any treble and consider it quite neutral.
Mids
Good. Nothing special (not wow) but it's neutral and good - gets the job done.
Bass
Deep bass is missing so not amazing bass reproduction. This means some music genres like Hip Hop/Reggae/EDM are not reproduced optimally.
Soundstage
It's great. Airy - like listening to an open headphone, but nothing strange here as it is an earbud and it is expected to have this soundstage reproduction.
Overall
Very neutral earbud except bass reproduction. Small hint of warmness. This I like as it provides musicality and doesn't sound thin/dull. Works great for most music genres (for example Dire Straits sounds great). Wouldn't recommend if your main listening is Hip Hop/Reggae/EDM or music where great bass reproduction is crucial.
Build quality
Seems OK. You can see that paintjob and assembling is not perfect but it doesn't bother me at this price range. Construction seems sturdy and they should hold up for some time if you don't misuse them. Cable seems fine but I don't like the rubbery feeling coating on the cable as it tangles easily. As this is an earbud you don't hear cable microphonics.
Comfort
Great. They sit ok in the ear. You almost don't feel that they are there.
Isolation
Non existant. But I want this in an earbud so that is great for me. Great to use at work when you have to hear if someone is calling you.
Amp/Dac
They are efficient even if they have 150 ohm impedance. Can be run without any problems from my iPhone 5 at 50% volume. Same with computer audio output, no problems at all. I don't think they benefit from using an amp. Connected them to my Meridian Explorer (usb amp/dac) and they sound better, but this I think is because of a better dac not the amp itself. Anyway, the better the source the better they will sound.
Volume
Works fine at low volume but works best at higher volume so make sure you crank the volume up.
Conclusion
Overall a great earbud as it is neutral and works good with most genres. Earbuds have their pros and cons and this applies to this earbud as well. If they would adopt the form and shape of apple's new earpods, bass reproduction would be much better I think. You can hear that bass reproduction is good if you press the buds more towards your ear canals, so the driver they use is capable but most of that is lost as it sits losely in the ear. I have medium sized ears but think people with small ears maybe have bad fit with this earbud, but if Yuin PK-series fit well then you'll not have any problem at all. I'm happy with the purchase of these and I think the price is right.
Saoshyant
Headphoneus Supremus
Mine have left Hong Kong and are en route to the US. The first pair didn't take long after shipping, so probably early next week. The month and a half wait since originally ordering is almost over. I truly hope this pair isn't defective too.
Saoshyant
Headphoneus Supremus
Ok, finally getting my first real listen to the Hifiman ES100, which just came in today after having to return a defective pair to Penon Audio. Comfort is certainly there, given I cannot feel them unless I move my ears (something I had actually forgotten I could do because why would I ever have need to) and they're certainly the prettiest ear buds I own with a black/blue/silver design to them. That's probably the aspect of ear buds I enjoy the most, they disappear even when you're aware of them and thinking about them.
Without hesitation my first choice to listen to on them on my Fiio X5 is Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto, due to it be a remarkably fast paced piece at times (and quite beautiful too) that immediately captured my attention the first time I heard it. It performs the first movement admirably with no complaints I can muster. I'd have to compare them side by side, but I think these will win me over vs my Etymotic HF5 and Hifiman RE-0.
Second song selection is Foo Fighter's Stranger Things Have Happened, primarily due to my love of the instruments in this track. The individual plucks of the guitar have good clarity, reminding me at least somewhat of the quality the HD700 brings to this aspect of the song. The vocals don't strike me as being outstanding, but are certainly present, clear, and enjoyable.
Third song choice is Radiohead's No Surprises due to me liking the background bass line and what I'd assume is a xylophone in the track. The bass line can disappear into the background at times, but I was never expecting bass to be a strong suit of this ear bud. The bass line is still certainly present, as it's an aspect of this song I typically find myself paying more attention to. As far as the xylophone, the individual notes are clearly distinct, only sometimes being drowned out by the rest of the song. I don't have any treble sensitivity, but I could understand how some people might be bothered by the treble presentation here, but do not take this as the treble needing to be EQ'd, because I am by no means a good judge of treble.
On an interesting note, with Moby's Blue Paper, on the initial notes before the song really starts, I could really start to hear some imperfections with the notes that might be attributed to it being mp3 instead of flac. I think it's in 320, but I'm not sure enough to say. Once the song really begins, the song is portrayed without any flaw I could discern. It's a very soft and flowing instrumental song, and is quite enjoyable on these ear buds.
I'd say on initial impressions the ear bud does well with classical and non-bass oriented alt rock. I haven't tried out anything particularly bass oriented, but I don't expect that to be it's strong suit.
Without hesitation my first choice to listen to on them on my Fiio X5 is Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto, due to it be a remarkably fast paced piece at times (and quite beautiful too) that immediately captured my attention the first time I heard it. It performs the first movement admirably with no complaints I can muster. I'd have to compare them side by side, but I think these will win me over vs my Etymotic HF5 and Hifiman RE-0.
Second song selection is Foo Fighter's Stranger Things Have Happened, primarily due to my love of the instruments in this track. The individual plucks of the guitar have good clarity, reminding me at least somewhat of the quality the HD700 brings to this aspect of the song. The vocals don't strike me as being outstanding, but are certainly present, clear, and enjoyable.
Third song choice is Radiohead's No Surprises due to me liking the background bass line and what I'd assume is a xylophone in the track. The bass line can disappear into the background at times, but I was never expecting bass to be a strong suit of this ear bud. The bass line is still certainly present, as it's an aspect of this song I typically find myself paying more attention to. As far as the xylophone, the individual notes are clearly distinct, only sometimes being drowned out by the rest of the song. I don't have any treble sensitivity, but I could understand how some people might be bothered by the treble presentation here, but do not take this as the treble needing to be EQ'd, because I am by no means a good judge of treble.
On an interesting note, with Moby's Blue Paper, on the initial notes before the song really starts, I could really start to hear some imperfections with the notes that might be attributed to it being mp3 instead of flac. I think it's in 320, but I'm not sure enough to say. Once the song really begins, the song is portrayed without any flaw I could discern. It's a very soft and flowing instrumental song, and is quite enjoyable on these ear buds.
I'd say on initial impressions the ear bud does well with classical and non-bass oriented alt rock. I haven't tried out anything particularly bass oriented, but I don't expect that to be it's strong suit.
opinion from Russian forum: "...if you know armature (BA) sound,that is ES100 sound.With pro and cons..."
I agree )
I agree )
pekingduck
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ES100i (ES100 + mic and volume control for iPhone) and ES100a (ES100 + mic for Android) are now available in China.
miprasetya
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Uchiya
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So my HE-6's broke. I needed something to hold me over until the HE-1000's come out and decided on these. Got my new pair today, delicious sound stock but definitely missing some body on the bass and lower mids. I used the spare donut foams from Yuin for the OK-series and they fit perfectly. The bass rumbles now and the earbuds hold steady in my ear., however some airiness is lost so a compromise.
Using the HP out from my Galaxy Note 3, these didn't sound much better than cheap earbuds. Amped through a quality portable and dac, the soundstage is truly out of your head; open iem with holographic sound. Very, very good buy. Between 1-5 for earbuds, the Blox M2c's were a 3/5. These definitely feel 3 3/4 - 4 stars out of 5.
*Update* 03/04/2015 - After some mental burn-in, everything remains as clear and spacious. I prefer the earbuds without foams; the decrease in transparency wasn't worth the added warmth or mid-bass ooomph. Though portable these should be driven with an amp as you might as well be using cheaper buds if not using an amplifier: Definitely 4 out of 5 stars for earbuds.
Using the HP out from my Galaxy Note 3, these didn't sound much better than cheap earbuds. Amped through a quality portable and dac, the soundstage is truly out of your head; open iem with holographic sound. Very, very good buy. Between 1-5 for earbuds, the Blox M2c's were a 3/5. These definitely feel 3 3/4 - 4 stars out of 5.
*Update* 03/04/2015 - After some mental burn-in, everything remains as clear and spacious. I prefer the earbuds without foams; the decrease in transparency wasn't worth the added warmth or mid-bass ooomph. Though portable these should be driven with an amp as you might as well be using cheaper buds if not using an amplifier: Definitely 4 out of 5 stars for earbuds.
HiFlight
Headphoneus Supremus
I can vouch for it being better then the pk1 (owned)
+1! I have owned a host of earbuds, including OK1, PK1, Blox TM7 and ANV 3, and the ES100, IMO, trumps them all. The sound is open, spacious with superb tonal balance and accuracy. Hard to believe this is a sub-$100 earbud.
An added plus is that with the high impedance, it pairs very nicely with my Tera-Player.
About the only nit that I have noticed is prominent driver flex when inserting the earbuds. I might also add that if one is using the ES-100 without foams, isolation will
be about nil, as is the case with most buds.
egosumlux
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Looks good! Oh boy oh boy hopefully it can rival the OK1 and MX985
Yes that's exactly was I was thinking about while readind this thread they are on sale at sonix electronics for just 70 USD http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_96159_HiFiMAN-ES-100.html
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