Finally tossed my hat in the ring with this whole Chi-Fi craze after OnePlus sent me their wireless bullets to review. Long story short, they were advertised to have great sound quality, but they're really just all mids. So, to prove a point, I ordered the ES4 along with the BT3 cable and some SpinFits to even out the pricing. More or less, I wanted to show these guys what happens when you pay for branding and somewhat useless features.
Anyway, I ordered my ES4 from Amazon with rush shipping, they came in yesterday, and went straight in the ears. Out of the box, bass impact and extension are massive and the top-end is just a little sharp. After cooking them with tones and sweeps overnight, the harshness almost completely went away and I'm now left with a pair that just about represents my version of a perfect sound signature. I think I messaged my wife raving that they shouldn't sound this good for the price...
Personal preference for now is to use Dekoni Mercury tips and that definitely provides some nice comfort and doesn't seem to require massive insertion to get good bass response. Tonality leans towards warm and laid-back; I'd dare say they sound "cozy." Stage width isn't huge, but it's good enough for most material.
Now here's the problem. I ran them through my
test playlist on Spotify and they get a little overloaded on material with constant heavy basslines (mainly the hip-hop tracks). Tokimonsta's track overwhelmed the ES4, but everything else played out great.
I also picked up the silver cable, but didn't realize the connectors weren't angled, so fit is really awkward.
They look and feel good, though. Definitely a keeper.
Edit - God, is this really my first post? I've been lurking for years.
