I have the Infinity X1. I don't have any other cheap CIEM. I haven't used the X1 much, due to a bad fit on the left side, that gets painful after a while. I had to contact the BBB to finally get an answer from Kozee (I'd been trying for several months), but when I did get an answer and they offered to take care of the problem, I was very sick (inflamed lungs, throat, nose, and ... ears), so there was little that could be done.
My sickness lasted for months, with numerous hospital appointments (five in a week being my sad record), with the result that I'm now very late in my projects and have been too busy (and weary) to get in touch again with Kozee. I should, though. The right side of the X1 fits like a glove and, having also an acrylic IEM, I can tell you that silicon offers slightly better sound isolation. Acrylic and silicon are equally comfy when you don't move your jaw; if you do, silicon makes it harder to lose your seal.
I can't call the X1 good looking, if that matters to you. They protrude a lot more than, let's say, the T1 from ACS. They even protrude significantly more than my Heir Audio 4.A. So if you thought about sleeping on your side with them, just forget it.
Okay, what matters most: the sound. I'll quickly listen to some of my reference tracks again to share some impressions, but since it's 1:30 AM here, I won't spend too much time on it. I've got a
lot to do tomorrow.
- Virtual Barbershop. Not bad. Decent spatial illusion ... with binaural recordings (also with a binaural recording of crashing waves I've just listened to). With the simple stereo tracks below, on the other hand, its headstage is rather constricted.
- Riki Maru (Japanese drums). Not bad. Decent bass impact. The drums sound a little artificial; the Etymōtic HF5 beats the X1 when it comes to timbre, though it falls behind in bass quantity.
- Beethoven, Moonlight Sonata. Timbre matters a lot here, and the X1 doesn't shine. The piano, like the drums, sounds a tad artificial. Clearly reproduced, rather than "Who brought a piano in my room??"
- Beethoven, Ode to joy. The X1 sounds very constricted. The whole orchestra occupies a very small space between my ears.
- Jean-Michel Jarre, Chronologie 3. It's a track I use to judge if the highs will hurt my ears (as those of the HD 800 can), and the X1 is just at the limit, but okay. On the other hand, while this track has one of the most beautiful female voices I've ever heard, the X1 doesn't make it sound that great. According to this test, the X1's highs are strongly accented around 2 kHz and drop sharply between 8 kHz and 12 kHz.
- Robert Miles, Dreamland. The bass has decent impact, but won't satisfy a bass-head. The X1's slightly artificial timbre doesn't matter here as much as with the drums track, but the small size of the headstage does.
- Anjay Carney-Stoltys Jazz Quartet, Monkirk. Intimate jazz, so the headstage sounds intimate rather than constricted. The best track for the X1, among those listed here.
- Audiobooks. I've tried a few different ones. I thought the X1 would shine there, but no. The sound is very constricted, and the timbre of the voices very artificial. It doesn't make sub-par recordings sound worse, but it brings good ones nearly at their level.
- Queen, Gimme the prize. Just okay. Like listening to a very good radio. The sound is clear but constricted and clearly reproduced.
- Axelle Red, Je t'attends. More spacious sound, for some reason, but still this slight impression of artificiality that makes it obvious you're listening to a recording.
Enough. I'm just repeating myself. Overall, the X1 is warm, with decent bass impact (for a balanced-armature CIEM) and highs that are on the sweet side, but don't extend very far (they're
not airy). Is it a good deal?
Yes. In spite of my lukewarm assessment of its sound, it's a pretty good deal for what it is: a real silicone CIEM with great isolation and a cable that is both sturdy and non-microphonic. In situations when isolation or comfort is critical, it's a winner. At the very worst, it's still a jaw-droppingly cheap introduction to the world of silicone customs. If Kozee's customer service weren't a little iffy, the X1 could even be called a
great deal.
I bought both the HF5 and the Atrio for a bit less than $100. Both have better sound, but the HF5 is nowhere near as practical or comfortable, has less bass (amount and impact) and thin mids. The Atrio isolates surprisingly well, yet less than either the HF5 or the X1 -- and I think the X1 beats the HF5 with Shure black foam "olive" tips. I also find the Atrio very comfortable. Its bass is better than either the X1's or the HF5's. Its highs don't extend as high as the HF5's, but are sweeter than the X1's. Its headstage is wider than the HF5's, which is wider than the X1's. The HF5 is faster than the Atrio, manages busy passages better, and its timbre is more true-to-life; but its thinness makes voices (notably) sound more real on the Atrio. Same with drums: the HF5 has better timbre, but the Atrio has more weight and impact, and thus ends sounding more
real. Finally, the cable of the HF5 is very microphonic and the straight jack is going to fail, sooner or later, as it did for me. The cables of both the Atrio and the X1 are a lot less microphonic, and are more solid; both sport an angled jack. The HF5 can boast of two-year warranty, though, which is better than the one year of the X1 and Atrio both.
And now, to bed. This short review took me one hour to write. >_<
