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Hisound Wooduo 2 Review
I would like to thank Jack at Hisound for supplying my with this sample for review, I will write as honest a review as possible.
These received over 50hrs of burn-in before reviewing, they did change a bit so don’t judge out of box.
Gear used:
iPod Classic 160gb (rockboxed) > Hisound Wooduo 2
iPod Classic 160gb (rockbox) > DIY pure silver LOD > JDS Labs C421 (AD8620) > Hisound Wooduo 2
Packaging, Accessories and Build Quality:
These came in a nice wooden box, made of pine, it says Hisound on the top corner, Wooduo on the bottom coner. It didn’t come with and paperwork so I don’t have any specifications for these, but the final production should include more. The box is a nice touch as it goes well with the wooden housing of these IEM’s, and it’s great for storing the IEM’s in at home, but it’s a little too big to be portable.
Accessories are pretty good, apart from lack of carry pouch again. They come with single flange tips (S, M, L), Bi-flanges (S, M, L) and a pair of triple flanges. They also come with a cable clip, which helps with microphonics.
Build quality is good as usual, these come with red flat tangle free cables, which look quite sturdy and should hold up nicely. The jack and y-split are metal and strain reliefs could be better as the ar hard rubber and not flexible. The housing is made of African rose wood, and has plastic for the tip the housing is also vented.
The housing is the same as the Popo, but the sound is far superior.
Comfort, Isolation, Driver flex and Microphonics:
Comfort is good as the housing is quite small which allows for deep insertion, I found the S single flange tips to work the best as I could get a deeper fit without discomfort. The cable is soft and doesn’t have any memory effect.
Isolation is about average, as the housing is vented, but they do block out a fair amount of noise and would be fine for your normal commute and other uses.
Driver flex is present, which is a shame, but it is not a major problem and it is not as bad as some other IEM’s out there. It is only present upon insertion and re-adjustment.
Microphonics are present too, not too bad buy still a little annoying, and something that does not help is that these don’t have a chin slider. The cable clip does help to lessen the microphincs, as the flat cable is not that easy to wear over the ear.
`
Sound:
Lows:
These are warm IEM’s, but not too warm that they muddy the sound. The lows are more sub-bass driven than mid-bass punch, they extend right down and keep well controlled, and they never become boomy or muddy. The mid-bass in nice and punchy with good impact, great for EDM. The bass can sometimes become slow in fast music like metalcore, but these were not designed for these genres.
Mids:
The mids are not warmed up a lot by the lows, they cut through only being slightly behind the lows. The mids are surprisingly clear and detailed, with vocals being well articulated and guitars being smooth and well defined. Both male and female vocals fair well, but I think female vocals sound slightly better, as there is a little more weight in the lower mids which make male vocals sound a little thicker. No sibilance could be detected in the upper mids.
Highs:
Some nice sparkle and detail in the highs, but the extension is somewhat lacking. I listen to a lot of rock, and cymbal crashes sound good, but they lack that last bit of extension and shimmer, they decay a little too quick. Cymbal crashes are well detailed and at least they are well presented in the overall sound, they are not recessed or laid back. In EDM the highs fair very well as they don’t have the air and shimmer needed in cymbal crashes. Overall the highs are well represented in a good quantity and quality.
Soundstage, Instrument separation and imaging:
Soundstage is something Hisound tend to do very well, with it being wider and deeper than average, without becoming artificial.
Instrument separation is also quite well done, but as these are warm sounding, these is not a lot of air between the instruments.
Imaging is also well done and compliments the soundstage nicely, as they never sound artificial or detached.
Amping:
I used these for a while out of my amp, I don’t think they gain much by amping, they do tighten a bit and details do come out a bit more, but it does not make a worthwhile difference to carry around an amp as well.
Conclusion:
For the $129 retail price, these are great for the general listener, as they provide a smooth listen with a little sub-bass boost whilst retaining detail and control. Bass heads these may not suit your needs as I didn’t find them to be over the top bassy, they are slightly warm which helps make them fatigue free. Hisound bring out some nice products for the price, and I still think these are good for the price, as the whole package (excluding carry pouch) is great, build quality is great and customer service is too.
I hope you enjoyed my review, feel free to comment.
Tracks Used:
Skrillex – First Of The Year (Equinox) (320kbps MP3)
Paramore – Franklin (320kbps MP3)
Diana Krall – The Girl In The Other Room (FLAC)
Deolinda – Passou Por Mim E Sorriu (live) (ALAC)
Suicide Silence – Unanswered (FLAC)
Massive Attack – Angel (ALAC)
Eat Static – Dzhopa Dream (ALAC)
The XX – Crystalised (FLAC)
Funeral For A Friend – Bend Your Arms To Look Like Wings (ALAC)
Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man (FLAC)
The Scene Aesthetic – Humans (259kbps MP3)
A Hero A Fake – Swallowed By The Sea (254kbps MP3)
Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, Spring Allegro (ALAC)
Johnny Craig – Children Of Divorce (161kbps MP3)
Deadmau5 + Kaskade – I Remember (Caspa Remix) (320kbps MP3)
Black Uhuru – Utterance (ALAC)
We Are The In Crowd – Never Be What You Want (226kbps MP3)
Silverstein – Discovering The Waterfront (320kbps MP3)
Concept Of Thought – Our Thought (FLAC)
Nirvana – Something In The Way (Unplugged) (ALAC)
I would like to thank Jack at Hisound for supplying my with this sample for review, I will write as honest a review as possible.
These received over 50hrs of burn-in before reviewing, they did change a bit so don’t judge out of box.
Gear used:
iPod Classic 160gb (rockboxed) > Hisound Wooduo 2
iPod Classic 160gb (rockbox) > DIY pure silver LOD > JDS Labs C421 (AD8620) > Hisound Wooduo 2
Packaging, Accessories and Build Quality:
These came in a nice wooden box, made of pine, it says Hisound on the top corner, Wooduo on the bottom coner. It didn’t come with and paperwork so I don’t have any specifications for these, but the final production should include more. The box is a nice touch as it goes well with the wooden housing of these IEM’s, and it’s great for storing the IEM’s in at home, but it’s a little too big to be portable.
Accessories are pretty good, apart from lack of carry pouch again. They come with single flange tips (S, M, L), Bi-flanges (S, M, L) and a pair of triple flanges. They also come with a cable clip, which helps with microphonics.
Build quality is good as usual, these come with red flat tangle free cables, which look quite sturdy and should hold up nicely. The jack and y-split are metal and strain reliefs could be better as the ar hard rubber and not flexible. The housing is made of African rose wood, and has plastic for the tip the housing is also vented.
The housing is the same as the Popo, but the sound is far superior.
Comfort, Isolation, Driver flex and Microphonics:
Comfort is good as the housing is quite small which allows for deep insertion, I found the S single flange tips to work the best as I could get a deeper fit without discomfort. The cable is soft and doesn’t have any memory effect.
Isolation is about average, as the housing is vented, but they do block out a fair amount of noise and would be fine for your normal commute and other uses.
Driver flex is present, which is a shame, but it is not a major problem and it is not as bad as some other IEM’s out there. It is only present upon insertion and re-adjustment.
Microphonics are present too, not too bad buy still a little annoying, and something that does not help is that these don’t have a chin slider. The cable clip does help to lessen the microphincs, as the flat cable is not that easy to wear over the ear.
`
Sound:
Lows:
These are warm IEM’s, but not too warm that they muddy the sound. The lows are more sub-bass driven than mid-bass punch, they extend right down and keep well controlled, and they never become boomy or muddy. The mid-bass in nice and punchy with good impact, great for EDM. The bass can sometimes become slow in fast music like metalcore, but these were not designed for these genres.
Mids:
The mids are not warmed up a lot by the lows, they cut through only being slightly behind the lows. The mids are surprisingly clear and detailed, with vocals being well articulated and guitars being smooth and well defined. Both male and female vocals fair well, but I think female vocals sound slightly better, as there is a little more weight in the lower mids which make male vocals sound a little thicker. No sibilance could be detected in the upper mids.
Highs:
Some nice sparkle and detail in the highs, but the extension is somewhat lacking. I listen to a lot of rock, and cymbal crashes sound good, but they lack that last bit of extension and shimmer, they decay a little too quick. Cymbal crashes are well detailed and at least they are well presented in the overall sound, they are not recessed or laid back. In EDM the highs fair very well as they don’t have the air and shimmer needed in cymbal crashes. Overall the highs are well represented in a good quantity and quality.
Soundstage, Instrument separation and imaging:
Soundstage is something Hisound tend to do very well, with it being wider and deeper than average, without becoming artificial.
Instrument separation is also quite well done, but as these are warm sounding, these is not a lot of air between the instruments.
Imaging is also well done and compliments the soundstage nicely, as they never sound artificial or detached.
Amping:
I used these for a while out of my amp, I don’t think they gain much by amping, they do tighten a bit and details do come out a bit more, but it does not make a worthwhile difference to carry around an amp as well.
Conclusion:
For the $129 retail price, these are great for the general listener, as they provide a smooth listen with a little sub-bass boost whilst retaining detail and control. Bass heads these may not suit your needs as I didn’t find them to be over the top bassy, they are slightly warm which helps make them fatigue free. Hisound bring out some nice products for the price, and I still think these are good for the price, as the whole package (excluding carry pouch) is great, build quality is great and customer service is too.
I hope you enjoyed my review, feel free to comment.
Tracks Used:
Skrillex – First Of The Year (Equinox) (320kbps MP3)
Paramore – Franklin (320kbps MP3)
Diana Krall – The Girl In The Other Room (FLAC)
Deolinda – Passou Por Mim E Sorriu (live) (ALAC)
Suicide Silence – Unanswered (FLAC)
Massive Attack – Angel (ALAC)
Eat Static – Dzhopa Dream (ALAC)
The XX – Crystalised (FLAC)
Funeral For A Friend – Bend Your Arms To Look Like Wings (ALAC)
Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man (FLAC)
The Scene Aesthetic – Humans (259kbps MP3)
A Hero A Fake – Swallowed By The Sea (254kbps MP3)
Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, Spring Allegro (ALAC)
Johnny Craig – Children Of Divorce (161kbps MP3)
Deadmau5 + Kaskade – I Remember (Caspa Remix) (320kbps MP3)
Black Uhuru – Utterance (ALAC)
We Are The In Crowd – Never Be What You Want (226kbps MP3)
Silverstein – Discovering The Waterfront (320kbps MP3)
Concept Of Thought – Our Thought (FLAC)
Nirvana – Something In The Way (Unplugged) (ALAC)
