Swimsonny
Aka: thegardener & ScooterBilly
Undeclared Member of the Trade: Inearspace
writing positive reviews of products he was reselling.
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2011
- Posts
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Fanmusic MS-E1011 Review
Introduction:
Fanmusic are a company who distribute all sorts of Chinese products, worldwide which is a very handy service, as we have access to some amazing and very well priced products. I review the HiFi ET MA9 for them not too long ago and after I did that for them they said they have a new IEM that they would like me to review. It is a dual dynamic with a removable cable and that is enough for me to say yes. This is going to be priced at 200 USD to roughly 120 GBP so a very competitive price. I am not sure who make them, if it is Fanmusic or they are just distributing them like other products they sell and I will update this section with more information if get it but for now I will just be able to give you the specifications.
Rated impedance: 16-15% of the Ω at 1 KHZ
Spirit acuity: 98 + 3 db/mW (at 1 KHZ)
Frequency response: 5 hz - 20000 hz
Distortion : 0.2% or less 105 db (and μ pa)
Rated power: 2 mw
The highest power: 10 mw
Headphones line length: 1.2 M
Earphone plug: φ 3.5 mm straight type
Wire material: transparent aluminum foil line (silver)
Cavity material: full metal (modified titanium)
Joint packet ring material: full metal (modified titanium)
Set-up:
I spent a lot of time at my desktop reviewing this and for a change at my desktop I have been using my Audioengine D1 a lot more regularly as a DAC and that feeding either an Epiphany Acoustics EHP-O2 or more commonly the Tube Amp BL-2.
On the go I have only been using one rig a lot more than others simply because I love the UI and it sounds so god damn good with the external DAC. The rig I am talking about is my Nexus 7 with USB OTG to a MyST PortaDAC 1866 that sounds glorious. I have though also used it with my high end DAP the Hifi ET MA9 which is the best DAP I currently own and also packs some beautiful extras like its ability to be upgraded.
Because both of the MA9 and the PortaDAC have lineouts I sometimes pair these with some of my portable amps such as the Lear FSM-02 V2 and the Firestone Audio Fireye HD.
Build Quality/Design:
The design of these is a bit plain and a bit bulky, hanging out your ears a fair bit. The have simple silver coloured housings but both sides have a red ring on, them, leading me to question why they do not have a blue ring instead on the left side, which would just act as a handy feature.
We get removable cables with this earphone and they use a simple connection method but have a nice recessed sheath covering the connector and it then screws in from there. This leaves it being a nice connection type and one that is very secure and causes not a single problem.
The cable it self is rubbery and not the softest but it has a nice strength to it and both the y-split and jack or housed in metal. We have the same thickness on the top area of the cable which keeps the nice quality through out and the pin connectors also share that metal housing. They also have provided a cable cinch with the cable so it has ticked all the boxes in my eyes.
Accessories:
You nearly get a flawless accessory haul with these. We are missing a case which I think is needed from any earphone as it not a huge ask. Other than that we are only really missing any adapters but that is not a real problem for me, like you could say the case is. Anyway, less on what you do not get and more on what you do.
For tips we get a 3 different sizes of single flange silicone tips that are nice quality, reminding me of the rather popular Ortofon silicone tips. We then also get some Shure olive style foam tips which is have ended up preferring as they sort out the smoothness and of the deep bass quite nicely and they make these rather bulky IEMs really comfortable in the ears.
The real reason that I started this section positively and will end it positively is because you have two cables included. This is something I have only seen with the Phonak 232 and the Logitech UE900 which are earphones costing 400 and 300 pounds respectively. The fact that these also offer than at just 120 is really good. Like the other two earphones offering this, one is just a standard cable while the other one is a remote cable, this one with a one button mic and remote, universal to IOS and Android as my understanding goes.
So with a great choice of tips and the back up cable for extra longevity, I do not think you will have any problems, even if I do wish that you got a case of some description.
Comfort/Fit:
Fit is something to watch out for with these as they are HUGE. Ergonomics really have not been taken into account with these and although the lack of angle makes these more comfy and easier to use than the Triple Fi 10 I would go ahead and say these are bigger. They are so big in fact my friend could hardly fit them inside his ear and they do not get too far in my relatively big ears. So will put a caution in here if you have small ears.
This all being said I never find these that uncomfortable. I always know that they are there and they do feel a bit heavy and bulky in my ears. I have listened them for hours easily and only then had to let my ears ‘breather’ for 10 minutes.
I would however love it if these had a better form factor you can achieve a deeper insertion and they did not stick out your ears as much. That being said they do not get into the frankenbolt class of IEMs along with the TF10 and the new triple dynamic JVC IEMs.
Isolation:
This is a vented dynamic driver earphone that has a rather shallow insertion but with both the effects of the foam tips I use and the very powerful bass, you actually cannot hear a lot of ambient noise, it is rather impressive. So no do not expect CIEM, Etymotic or Shure styled IEM isolation but I do not think you will find any problems with the isolation performance, even if you’re a frequent traveler.
Microphonics (Cable Noise):
Cable noise is present with a little thud when walking and hitting your clothes or when wind hits it. You can wear over the ear to rather effectively remove it however.
Burn-In:
By what I am about to write I do not want to cause any upsets or arguments as this topic can be seen as a sour subject. These have had roughly 100 hours now of use and burn in combined. As burn in is not scientifically proven this all could be mental and happening in my head but in the case that it does happen I recommend burning them in as in my personal experience I have noted improvements which have a massive impact on my enjoyment factor, so don’t make any irrational decisions after listening to them out the box.
Sound Quality:
The sound of these is lush and powerful. Driven along by its huge and mind blowing sub-bass we also have a sweet forward midrange and polite treble. It is for those full blow bass heads and also those who want an aggressive and powerful sound. It is also technically quite good with great smoothness and a fair amount of detail. It is certainly not neutral and does have a colouration so take that into consideration but if you like bass, then you will love these.
Soundstage and instrument separation:
We do not have a huge soundstage by any means, but it does sound full, textured and complete. That being said you are not going to get these and rave about the soundstage, there is more things in the way of that but your certainly not going to like them because of the soundstage.
Instrument separation is the clearest I have ever heard when there is this much bass present. Not muddy in the slightest and not even that congested. It is not amazing but for the sound signature you cannot complain and hardly ever does anything come from to close to something else.
Bass:
BRING THE THUNDER! The bass here is all about the sub-bass that is just amazing. It is bottomless and has the most amazing deep slam and rumble and never distorts in the slightest. I really have never heard sub-bass as powerful and detailed as this, blowing the Hippo VB, JVC HA-FX1000/FX500 and Final Audio Design Adagio III out the water. It just is so much better quality and provides even more slam. The way it compares to the mid-bass is quite comparable with the Sony MH1c I guess in that it is more boosted but the technical level is not close, this is much more confident. The mid-bass like the sub-bass is still nice and boosted, strong and smashing home with a huge body. Yes it is not that fast, a bit slow if anything with a nice long bellowy decay but it feels great and really will impress.
Midrange:
Now it’s the midrange that really sets these apart from anything else and gives them a really unique presentation. So next to this boosted monster of a bass response we have this midrange that is forward, lush and actually not too bad in detailing. It is tilted towards the low mids as one may expect being next to the bass but that being said high mids do not really suffer and still shine nicely. It is the low mids that have a real glow about them with a rather lingering delay and odd resonance to them. Maybe this is where the crossover happens but it is not a bad crossover if it is, just one that you can tell is there.
Vocals are rendered nicely with the male vocals being rather in your face and the female ones a bit less forward but still in a nice position. They do not have a very accurate tone but an engaging and pleasant one none the less, even if it does have a bit too much decay. Timbre is very strong with great dynamics and a nice amount of presence.
These are a not earphone made for accurate reproduction and therefore these are not too transparent or too to source but I think these are not made for that and will give you a very enjoyable experience.
Treble:
The treble as you may guess can not be up with the rest of the spectrum and I would describe the frequency response as sloping down hill from the nice deep sub-bass until the treble where the bit more dramatic roll of occurs. The treble is polite and is warm and a bit covered but still gets the job done. It does not sound wrong and gives you the slightest bit of sparkle that allows to snare drums and the like be noticed but not be over the top. The extension is not great and I do not feel like we have a full treble. It is not analytical, crystal clear or packed with detail but it still has enough presence to never become completely overshadowed by the rest.
Conclusion:
I am the first to not enjoy a bassy earphone due to the normal result of what happens in the midrange. Even the slightest bit of recessions and I will tear the earphone apart and not only has this got the most crazy bass I have ever heard In my life but the midrange is lush and forward and these overall sound very fun, and generally quite good. Stick that along with £120 price tag, the two included cables and the great build quality and I think we have a very nice product. If they had just managed a better form factor then this would be a much more universal product but I think this will handily compete with any competitors and as far as bass earphones go you need no others on your shortlist. This is also the first dual dynamic that I will happily recommend because they normally do not cut it. This is the first one that wins what it attempts to and that is a bassy sound with great lush mids that are rather forward and I am very happy to share these with you.
I received these as a pre production unit from the company!
Introduction:
Fanmusic are a company who distribute all sorts of Chinese products, worldwide which is a very handy service, as we have access to some amazing and very well priced products. I review the HiFi ET MA9 for them not too long ago and after I did that for them they said they have a new IEM that they would like me to review. It is a dual dynamic with a removable cable and that is enough for me to say yes. This is going to be priced at 200 USD to roughly 120 GBP so a very competitive price. I am not sure who make them, if it is Fanmusic or they are just distributing them like other products they sell and I will update this section with more information if get it but for now I will just be able to give you the specifications.
Rated impedance: 16-15% of the Ω at 1 KHZ
Spirit acuity: 98 + 3 db/mW (at 1 KHZ)
Frequency response: 5 hz - 20000 hz
Distortion : 0.2% or less 105 db (and μ pa)
Rated power: 2 mw
The highest power: 10 mw
Headphones line length: 1.2 M
Earphone plug: φ 3.5 mm straight type
Wire material: transparent aluminum foil line (silver)
Cavity material: full metal (modified titanium)
Joint packet ring material: full metal (modified titanium)
Set-up:
I spent a lot of time at my desktop reviewing this and for a change at my desktop I have been using my Audioengine D1 a lot more regularly as a DAC and that feeding either an Epiphany Acoustics EHP-O2 or more commonly the Tube Amp BL-2.
On the go I have only been using one rig a lot more than others simply because I love the UI and it sounds so god damn good with the external DAC. The rig I am talking about is my Nexus 7 with USB OTG to a MyST PortaDAC 1866 that sounds glorious. I have though also used it with my high end DAP the Hifi ET MA9 which is the best DAP I currently own and also packs some beautiful extras like its ability to be upgraded.
Because both of the MA9 and the PortaDAC have lineouts I sometimes pair these with some of my portable amps such as the Lear FSM-02 V2 and the Firestone Audio Fireye HD.
Build Quality/Design:
The design of these is a bit plain and a bit bulky, hanging out your ears a fair bit. The have simple silver coloured housings but both sides have a red ring on, them, leading me to question why they do not have a blue ring instead on the left side, which would just act as a handy feature.
We get removable cables with this earphone and they use a simple connection method but have a nice recessed sheath covering the connector and it then screws in from there. This leaves it being a nice connection type and one that is very secure and causes not a single problem.
The cable it self is rubbery and not the softest but it has a nice strength to it and both the y-split and jack or housed in metal. We have the same thickness on the top area of the cable which keeps the nice quality through out and the pin connectors also share that metal housing. They also have provided a cable cinch with the cable so it has ticked all the boxes in my eyes.
The earphone housings are completely made from metal and it has been finished flush and professionally, completely free of flaws. The nozzle is also metal and it has a black mesh filter in it. We do not have replacements supplied but this has never been a problem in the past for me.Accessories:
You nearly get a flawless accessory haul with these. We are missing a case which I think is needed from any earphone as it not a huge ask. Other than that we are only really missing any adapters but that is not a real problem for me, like you could say the case is. Anyway, less on what you do not get and more on what you do.
For tips we get a 3 different sizes of single flange silicone tips that are nice quality, reminding me of the rather popular Ortofon silicone tips. We then also get some Shure olive style foam tips which is have ended up preferring as they sort out the smoothness and of the deep bass quite nicely and they make these rather bulky IEMs really comfortable in the ears.
The real reason that I started this section positively and will end it positively is because you have two cables included. This is something I have only seen with the Phonak 232 and the Logitech UE900 which are earphones costing 400 and 300 pounds respectively. The fact that these also offer than at just 120 is really good. Like the other two earphones offering this, one is just a standard cable while the other one is a remote cable, this one with a one button mic and remote, universal to IOS and Android as my understanding goes.
So with a great choice of tips and the back up cable for extra longevity, I do not think you will have any problems, even if I do wish that you got a case of some description.
Comfort/Fit:
Fit is something to watch out for with these as they are HUGE. Ergonomics really have not been taken into account with these and although the lack of angle makes these more comfy and easier to use than the Triple Fi 10 I would go ahead and say these are bigger. They are so big in fact my friend could hardly fit them inside his ear and they do not get too far in my relatively big ears. So will put a caution in here if you have small ears.
This all being said I never find these that uncomfortable. I always know that they are there and they do feel a bit heavy and bulky in my ears. I have listened them for hours easily and only then had to let my ears ‘breather’ for 10 minutes.
I would however love it if these had a better form factor you can achieve a deeper insertion and they did not stick out your ears as much. That being said they do not get into the frankenbolt class of IEMs along with the TF10 and the new triple dynamic JVC IEMs.
Isolation:
This is a vented dynamic driver earphone that has a rather shallow insertion but with both the effects of the foam tips I use and the very powerful bass, you actually cannot hear a lot of ambient noise, it is rather impressive. So no do not expect CIEM, Etymotic or Shure styled IEM isolation but I do not think you will find any problems with the isolation performance, even if you’re a frequent traveler.
Microphonics (Cable Noise):
Cable noise is present with a little thud when walking and hitting your clothes or when wind hits it. You can wear over the ear to rather effectively remove it however.
Burn-In:
By what I am about to write I do not want to cause any upsets or arguments as this topic can be seen as a sour subject. These have had roughly 100 hours now of use and burn in combined. As burn in is not scientifically proven this all could be mental and happening in my head but in the case that it does happen I recommend burning them in as in my personal experience I have noted improvements which have a massive impact on my enjoyment factor, so don’t make any irrational decisions after listening to them out the box.
Sound Quality:
The sound of these is lush and powerful. Driven along by its huge and mind blowing sub-bass we also have a sweet forward midrange and polite treble. It is for those full blow bass heads and also those who want an aggressive and powerful sound. It is also technically quite good with great smoothness and a fair amount of detail. It is certainly not neutral and does have a colouration so take that into consideration but if you like bass, then you will love these.
Soundstage and instrument separation:
We do not have a huge soundstage by any means, but it does sound full, textured and complete. That being said you are not going to get these and rave about the soundstage, there is more things in the way of that but your certainly not going to like them because of the soundstage.
Instrument separation is the clearest I have ever heard when there is this much bass present. Not muddy in the slightest and not even that congested. It is not amazing but for the sound signature you cannot complain and hardly ever does anything come from to close to something else.
Bass:
BRING THE THUNDER! The bass here is all about the sub-bass that is just amazing. It is bottomless and has the most amazing deep slam and rumble and never distorts in the slightest. I really have never heard sub-bass as powerful and detailed as this, blowing the Hippo VB, JVC HA-FX1000/FX500 and Final Audio Design Adagio III out the water. It just is so much better quality and provides even more slam. The way it compares to the mid-bass is quite comparable with the Sony MH1c I guess in that it is more boosted but the technical level is not close, this is much more confident. The mid-bass like the sub-bass is still nice and boosted, strong and smashing home with a huge body. Yes it is not that fast, a bit slow if anything with a nice long bellowy decay but it feels great and really will impress.
Midrange:
Now it’s the midrange that really sets these apart from anything else and gives them a really unique presentation. So next to this boosted monster of a bass response we have this midrange that is forward, lush and actually not too bad in detailing. It is tilted towards the low mids as one may expect being next to the bass but that being said high mids do not really suffer and still shine nicely. It is the low mids that have a real glow about them with a rather lingering delay and odd resonance to them. Maybe this is where the crossover happens but it is not a bad crossover if it is, just one that you can tell is there.
Vocals are rendered nicely with the male vocals being rather in your face and the female ones a bit less forward but still in a nice position. They do not have a very accurate tone but an engaging and pleasant one none the less, even if it does have a bit too much decay. Timbre is very strong with great dynamics and a nice amount of presence.
These are a not earphone made for accurate reproduction and therefore these are not too transparent or too to source but I think these are not made for that and will give you a very enjoyable experience.
Treble:
The treble as you may guess can not be up with the rest of the spectrum and I would describe the frequency response as sloping down hill from the nice deep sub-bass until the treble where the bit more dramatic roll of occurs. The treble is polite and is warm and a bit covered but still gets the job done. It does not sound wrong and gives you the slightest bit of sparkle that allows to snare drums and the like be noticed but not be over the top. The extension is not great and I do not feel like we have a full treble. It is not analytical, crystal clear or packed with detail but it still has enough presence to never become completely overshadowed by the rest.
Conclusion:
I am the first to not enjoy a bassy earphone due to the normal result of what happens in the midrange. Even the slightest bit of recessions and I will tear the earphone apart and not only has this got the most crazy bass I have ever heard In my life but the midrange is lush and forward and these overall sound very fun, and generally quite good. Stick that along with £120 price tag, the two included cables and the great build quality and I think we have a very nice product. If they had just managed a better form factor then this would be a much more universal product but I think this will handily compete with any competitors and as far as bass earphones go you need no others on your shortlist. This is also the first dual dynamic that I will happily recommend because they normally do not cut it. This is the first one that wins what it attempts to and that is a bassy sound with great lush mids that are rather forward and I am very happy to share these with you.
I received these as a pre production unit from the company!
