H20Fidelity
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2012
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Recently while surfing facebook I was offered an opportunity to review Hisounds Wooduo 2, considering I am fond of Hisound audiophile players and own Rocca BA I decided to take up the chance to see what Hisound have to offer in the way of earphones. Firstly, I would like to thank Billy from Noisy Motel for the review sample and Jack from Hisound. Jack has some of the nicest customer service I have dealt with and quick to reply. I have purchased through Noisy Motel in the past which was first-class experience, both get a recommendation from me for Head-Fi members.
Noisy Motel: http://www.noisymotel.com/
Hisound Audio: http://www.hisoundaudio.com/index.html
Specifications:
Chamber: Rose wood
Type: Dynamic,in ear
Size of the driver: @9mm
Frequency response: 16-23khz
Impedance: 16 OHMS
Sensitivity: 110db
Maximum SPL (Sound pressure level): 127db (1khz，1 Vrms)
Earphone jack: 3.5mm
Length of the cable: 119cm
The core cable: 99.999% FOC
The Wooduo 2 were given 60 hours burn in / break in prior to the review, no obvious changes were detected..
Hisound Wooduo 2 packaging:
The Woodou 2 came in the cardboard box seen above which looks pleasing to the eye, you can see some care and thought was placed in the packaging. I'm not sure I'm very keen on the slogan which displays "unbeatable sound quality" although a nice thought I feel it might come off a little cheesy to some, I don't think it really needs it to be honest. Possibly something a little less aggressive would of been suited here for my tastes.
Accessories:
Inside you have one carry case, an assortment of tips in single, double and triple flange, (x7) one cable clip is also provided displaying the Hisound logo, there is also a cable winder which I have forgotten to add to the photo's, (can be seen in the boxing above) All of these accessories appear to be decent quality. I especially like the carry case which displays the Hisound logo, a very nice touch on Hisounds behalf. which zips shut neatly and feels quite sturdy in hand. It's not exactly a hard case but will take a few knocks and bumps in your backpack to protect your new earphones and great for long term storage.
Build quality,, Comfort, Microphonics, Design
The earphones themselves have decent build quality and the red cable although beats imitating suits the wooden rose wood housings well. There was some driver flex present out of the box and microphonics are also present from the cable, the provided cable clip will help prevent this. What would of been nice is there isn't any cable cinch above the Y spilt, so the cable really tends to have a mind of it's own, you cannot really control it which is fine for around the house or just relaxing but on the go can become a hassle, it likes to jump all over the shop because the cable does have a fair amount of spring to it.
The flat cable is however rather tangle resistant, I didn't have any problem having to spent unneeded minutes unraveling the cable before use. There's an gold plated straight jack present which really in my opinion should be an L shape jack, it's just the way the portable audio word is moving and it's a shame when others don't take on this new feature. Overall, presentation wise Wooduo 2 look very nice in person, the wooden housing gel well with the red cable and they have quite a quality appearance to them. Hisound have done a nice job presenting them to customers. Strain reliefs are also study as is Y spilt.
Wooduo 2 Sound Quality:
Lows:
The Wooduo are rather warm IEM's, not so much muddy but certainly rather bass emphasised, I found them a little mid bass happy and for those who are a fan of big bass in their EDM will surely be satisfied, I found the mid-bass to bleed a little into the mid range at higher volume, overall it's rather well behaved for the price. There's some good impact and punch which fills out the presentation but you won't find terribly high amounts of texture and clarity.. I can see this suiting semi bassheads who don't mind a heavy thick low end. When playing regular music that doesn't require a thump WooDuo 2 sound rather nice and won't tread 'to far' out of line.
Mids:
The mids I found a little dark for my tastes they have a certain timbre to them which works well with guitars, acoustic instruments and EDM. I could of used a little more detail to be honest, something like Rockit R-50 of similar pice even though a BA based IEM has a lot more detail and sounds much clearer to my ears, I couldn't adjust to the thickness after trying many times, I understand some people really enjoy this sound, and for those preferences the mids will certainly please, but I prefer clarity and transparency so there was a mis-understanding between myself and Wooduo 2 from the start.
Highs:
This was my main problem with Wooduo 2 , the highs are rather relaxed, almost to a point of being muted to some extend, this would certainly suit someone who was rather sensitive to highs or strident treble, you won't find any of that here, however, for those who don't mind a little treble slap or even hotter - treble heads may not be pleased because there isn't much treble emphasis. I guess you could say it's rather consumer focused with a safe approach, you'll hear detail and some sparkle but really it takes a back seat over the mid and rather thick sounding low end.
Soundstage:
The soundstage has decent width for the price range, it actually has a nice wide sensation to it, you won't feel closed in to the point of congestion which is needed for me as I enjoy some width to my listening experience, Height wise is decent, you will have enough height not to feel squashed in. I was rather surprised at width present in Wooduo 2 which works well with the presentation.
Imaging: / separation :
Instrument separation is rather well done, you won't have the most air in a stage though certainly above acceptable for this price range, I think a lot of this will also come down to your source too, though it's rather pleasant as is the imaging comfortable. It's not going to come near the imaging of Rockits R-50 or separation though you do get a nice sense of individual instruments and really this is a different approach to suit the presentation.
Paring with Rooco BA:
I was rather interested in pairing Wooduo 2 with my Rocco BA, and it's a rather pleasurable experience with the right tracks, the Rocco BA is a touch bass light so the Wooduo 2 paired well lowering the bass bringing much more detail than my other players. The BA is a touch bright so it compensated the darker sounding mids of Wooduo 2 and was rather agreeable, I can see why Hisound can place the two together in relation. Overall it's not a bad sounding combination that I found rather pleasant, but again a smidgen to dark for my personal tastes.
Conclusion:
Wooduo 2 are an earphone that's going to appeal to those who prefer a darker mid range and emphasised bass, I can say I prefer this level of tonality over the ASG-1 V1.2 which is currently the darkest IEM I have ever heard and that's what this hobby's about different preferences suit different people. It just so happens they weren't my preferred signature, but some out there will definitely find Wooduo 2 appealing. it has a nice low end that fills out the entire spectrum / powerful with EDM and naturalness to boot that sounds rather warm and cosy. I would of liked to see a cable cinch and L shape jack to complete the package, I wasn't overly fond of the unbeatable sound quality slogan and think something a little lighter in taste would of fitted the earphone better. At the end of the day they're enjoyable but only for those who possibly know what signature they're looking for or those after a safe consumer based sound.
H20
Noisy Motel: http://www.noisymotel.com/
Hisound Audio: http://www.hisoundaudio.com/index.html
Specifications:
Chamber: Rose wood
Type: Dynamic,in ear
Size of the driver: @9mm
Frequency response: 16-23khz
Impedance: 16 OHMS
Sensitivity: 110db
Maximum SPL (Sound pressure level): 127db (1khz，1 Vrms)
Earphone jack: 3.5mm
Length of the cable: 119cm
The core cable: 99.999% FOC
The Wooduo 2 were given 60 hours burn in / break in prior to the review, no obvious changes were detected..
Hisound Wooduo 2 packaging:
The Woodou 2 came in the cardboard box seen above which looks pleasing to the eye, you can see some care and thought was placed in the packaging. I'm not sure I'm very keen on the slogan which displays "unbeatable sound quality" although a nice thought I feel it might come off a little cheesy to some, I don't think it really needs it to be honest. Possibly something a little less aggressive would of been suited here for my tastes.
Accessories:
Inside you have one carry case, an assortment of tips in single, double and triple flange, (x7) one cable clip is also provided displaying the Hisound logo, there is also a cable winder which I have forgotten to add to the photo's, (can be seen in the boxing above) All of these accessories appear to be decent quality. I especially like the carry case which displays the Hisound logo, a very nice touch on Hisounds behalf. which zips shut neatly and feels quite sturdy in hand. It's not exactly a hard case but will take a few knocks and bumps in your backpack to protect your new earphones and great for long term storage.
Build quality,, Comfort, Microphonics, Design
The earphones themselves have decent build quality and the red cable although beats imitating suits the wooden rose wood housings well. There was some driver flex present out of the box and microphonics are also present from the cable, the provided cable clip will help prevent this. What would of been nice is there isn't any cable cinch above the Y spilt, so the cable really tends to have a mind of it's own, you cannot really control it which is fine for around the house or just relaxing but on the go can become a hassle, it likes to jump all over the shop because the cable does have a fair amount of spring to it.
The flat cable is however rather tangle resistant, I didn't have any problem having to spent unneeded minutes unraveling the cable before use. There's an gold plated straight jack present which really in my opinion should be an L shape jack, it's just the way the portable audio word is moving and it's a shame when others don't take on this new feature. Overall, presentation wise Wooduo 2 look very nice in person, the wooden housing gel well with the red cable and they have quite a quality appearance to them. Hisound have done a nice job presenting them to customers. Strain reliefs are also study as is Y spilt.
Wooduo 2 Sound Quality:
Lows:
The Wooduo are rather warm IEM's, not so much muddy but certainly rather bass emphasised, I found them a little mid bass happy and for those who are a fan of big bass in their EDM will surely be satisfied, I found the mid-bass to bleed a little into the mid range at higher volume, overall it's rather well behaved for the price. There's some good impact and punch which fills out the presentation but you won't find terribly high amounts of texture and clarity.. I can see this suiting semi bassheads who don't mind a heavy thick low end. When playing regular music that doesn't require a thump WooDuo 2 sound rather nice and won't tread 'to far' out of line.
Mids:
The mids I found a little dark for my tastes they have a certain timbre to them which works well with guitars, acoustic instruments and EDM. I could of used a little more detail to be honest, something like Rockit R-50 of similar pice even though a BA based IEM has a lot more detail and sounds much clearer to my ears, I couldn't adjust to the thickness after trying many times, I understand some people really enjoy this sound, and for those preferences the mids will certainly please, but I prefer clarity and transparency so there was a mis-understanding between myself and Wooduo 2 from the start.
Highs:
This was my main problem with Wooduo 2 , the highs are rather relaxed, almost to a point of being muted to some extend, this would certainly suit someone who was rather sensitive to highs or strident treble, you won't find any of that here, however, for those who don't mind a little treble slap or even hotter - treble heads may not be pleased because there isn't much treble emphasis. I guess you could say it's rather consumer focused with a safe approach, you'll hear detail and some sparkle but really it takes a back seat over the mid and rather thick sounding low end.
Soundstage:
The soundstage has decent width for the price range, it actually has a nice wide sensation to it, you won't feel closed in to the point of congestion which is needed for me as I enjoy some width to my listening experience, Height wise is decent, you will have enough height not to feel squashed in. I was rather surprised at width present in Wooduo 2 which works well with the presentation.
Imaging: / separation :
Instrument separation is rather well done, you won't have the most air in a stage though certainly above acceptable for this price range, I think a lot of this will also come down to your source too, though it's rather pleasant as is the imaging comfortable. It's not going to come near the imaging of Rockits R-50 or separation though you do get a nice sense of individual instruments and really this is a different approach to suit the presentation.
Paring with Rooco BA:
I was rather interested in pairing Wooduo 2 with my Rocco BA, and it's a rather pleasurable experience with the right tracks, the Rocco BA is a touch bass light so the Wooduo 2 paired well lowering the bass bringing much more detail than my other players. The BA is a touch bright so it compensated the darker sounding mids of Wooduo 2 and was rather agreeable, I can see why Hisound can place the two together in relation. Overall it's not a bad sounding combination that I found rather pleasant, but again a smidgen to dark for my personal tastes.
Conclusion:
Wooduo 2 are an earphone that's going to appeal to those who prefer a darker mid range and emphasised bass, I can say I prefer this level of tonality over the ASG-1 V1.2 which is currently the darkest IEM I have ever heard and that's what this hobby's about different preferences suit different people. It just so happens they weren't my preferred signature, but some out there will definitely find Wooduo 2 appealing. it has a nice low end that fills out the entire spectrum / powerful with EDM and naturalness to boot that sounds rather warm and cosy. I would of liked to see a cable cinch and L shape jack to complete the package, I wasn't overly fond of the unbeatable sound quality slogan and think something a little lighter in taste would of fitted the earphone better. At the end of the day they're enjoyable but only for those who possibly know what signature they're looking for or those after a safe consumer based sound.
H20
