I just got my Icons early, wasn't expecting them till Thurs/Friday, got them today and I just sat down to try them, keeping my hype at bay, I came in expecting them to be nowhere near the hype.
Well, after playing all my test songs, I have to say.........
WOW!
These things rival $100+ in-ears if not $200 ones. THey definitely destroy my old Philips Fidelio S2s, With stock tips out of the box, and no burn in.
They handle everything superbly. So much detail and range. below are my noobish experiences with the songs I chose. These are all from Google Music, set on High Quality (320kbps) and over WiFi from an iPhone 6s+.
In Order:
# Royals by Lorde -
Chosen for female vocals and bass / modern pop music
--> The sounds was fantastic. Her vocals were clear, crisp, and clean. There was so much accuracy and cleanliness to the sound. The bass was tight and thumpy, also very crisp. Not an ounce of muddyness or bloat within 10000 miles of this sound.
# Pompeii by Bastille -
Chosen for bass/subbass beat with a bit of soundstage and male vocals / modern pop music
--> The soundstaging was decent, and the background pumps were good, but not quite as good on some of my over-ear headphones, but I don't expect these to compete with Oppo PM3s or Fidelio X2s, but they sure do a bang up job trying, and it shows.
# Wandering by Yosi Horikawa -
Chosen purely for sound staging and sound reproduction.
--> So definitely shows the soundstage is not very wide or deep, wasn't expecting it, but needed to test it. But it does a fantastic job still. I can still feel quite a bit of directionality and space. I would say they have a bit of width, but not much depth.
# Enter Sandman by Metallica -
Chosen for Electric Guitar and Cymbals
--> Again everything sounded good. You can hear the strings and the Cymbals sound good. Not much else to say really.
# Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne -
Chosen for Rock and a bit of bass
--> Fantastic work with the bass and all elements of the song. Reproduced everything accurately and I could hear some details that I have only heard on my Over-ears before. Very well done.
# Limit to Your Love by James Blake -
Chosen for Bass/SubBass mixed with high baritone/tenor male vocals, tests the ability to play both at the same time.
--> Did really well. The bass/subbass vibrations were there, and handled very well. Also handled the mix of highs and lows at the same time very accurately with not much bleed.
# Winds of Change by Scorpions -
Chosen because its one of my all-time favorite songs and I have listened to it on like everything.
--> Wonderful job with the song. The whistling was spot on, and I could even hear some of the old recording artifacts in certain parts. Definitely with the file for this song, because I have heard these same artifacts on my other headphones. Great work with the song.
Overall Sound: They are mostly neutral with a very very slight brightness (I listen to only Warm headphones for the most part, so I am more sensitive to treble) but its non-fatiguing even for someone that only listens to Warm sound. The bass is not emphasized but is not recessed, it has a presence and a pleasant thump, but definitely not basshead levels. Mids are present and clear, not recessed. Very nice sound signature.
Comfort: They feel fine in my ear, and are very comfortable, even in stock. They seal well in my ear with stock tips.
Controls: The start/stop and accept call/hangup work fine on iOS, haven't tried volume control yet, but I am skeptical as usually Android designed controls don't volume control iPhones and vice versa.
Microphonics: A tiny bit on the upper part of the headphone where there isn't that woven covering on the cable. I think they should have had it go all the way to each ear, but very minor microphonics, not bad.
Overall I am verrrrrry impressed, and these are now my go to IEMs. My GF who isn't as picky as me, but I have shown her the difference of good vs bad headphones, noticed a huge sound difference, and immediately wanted a pair, so I will be ordering another set shortly.
Well done OnePlus. I no longer have your phones, but fantastic job on these IEMs.
These are now retired by my OnePlus Icons:
- Havi B3
- Piston 3
- Fidelio S2
- Carbo Basso & Carbo Tenore
[Edit] Also have to add, the Faux leather pouch is a nice touch. Feels nice very high end.
+1000 You aren't even beginning to hear the warmth and Bass with the Stock Garbage tips. They are truly awful compared to others.
