So, I picked up my x10s about 3 hours ago from the post office and immediately started to use them. I'll do my best to give you a review here but keep in mind while reading this Ive never done a review before and for the most part have only about 3/4s of an idea what Im talking about.
Ok first off Ill start with the construction of the x10s. Out of the box the first thing I noticed is how unbelievable small they are. I watched some videos about these, reviews and unboxings, and they said they were small as well. But I did not think they would be THIS small. The driver housing is made of machined aluminum and the wire is connected with 2 part molded strain reliefs, which is where the whole splitting issue comes from. Over time I can forsee the 2 halves of the strain relief begin to peel apart from the seem. As I said before this would most likely be caused by misuse, pulling them out of your ear by the cable, laying down with them in your ear, that sort of thing. On tot he cable, it is VERY thin. The only thing I had around to compare it to is a pair of Shure SE215s that I picked for my dad for Christmas. The cable on the X10s is about half as thick as the SE215. Again this should not be an issue as long as they are used correctly, if it were to fail I predict it would happen at the point where the wire splits.
The accessories included in the box are as follows.
Of course the X10s.
1 Hard pleather carrying case with magnetic clasp.
1/4 inch adapter.
Airline adapter.
3 pairs if single flange silicone tips, custom oval shape for the X10s. Small/Medium/Large, the medium pair comes pre-attached.
2 pairs of double flange silicone tips, again custom oval shaped. Small/Medium
Cleaning tool.
Out of the box the medium pair of single flange tips work perfectly for me, the seal is amazing they show no signs of falling out. I shook my head around and everything and they stayed in perfectly.
Onward to the sound, the source I used was a 7th Generation iPod nano with no amp. First thing I can say is that the bass is absolutely brilliant! I listen to alot of bass heavy dubstep and these IEMs gave it a perfect sound. The bass does not bleed into the mids as far as I can hear, and it is still powerful enough to give me that vibration feeling in my ears. The mids and highs were rich and well defined, especially the highs, when playing some of my Dubstep the high parts of the song did not sound shrill at all, but instead very clear.
I also listen to some metal such as Metallica and Avenged Sevenfold. When listening to Metallicas song Sad But True, I noticed that the snare drums were very "in your face" in the intro to the song. But other than that it sounded quite good for my tastes.
I also auditioned the IEMs on a movie, my favorite at that, called October Sky. That movie being a drama it of course had one of those sad scenes where the rain is pouring down, and I swear I could hear every single rain drop as if I was there, same goes for the spoken parts of the movie. If it werent for the fact that I was watching it on a 1x2 inch screen I would say it felt like I was watching it in a theater.
Now the vocals on this IEM is one of the places they really shine. I dont have much to compare to but, compared to my V-Moda LP2s I felt like the vocals were more forward with the X10s, as if the vocals were placed on top of the backround music. With my LP2s it feels like the vocals are smashed in the middle and a little bit recessed.
Thats all I really have to say about them, they are great IEMs, they seem like they would do very well for travel because of their small size and tight, holding fit in the ear. I would definitely recommend them!
Songs used to audition:
- Metallica - Sad But True
- Obsidia - Different
- Christopher Tin - Baba Yetu
- Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire
- Korn - Coming Undone
- Journey - Don't Stop Believing
