As promised (and contrary to
@Layman1's enablement alerts), here's an
AVOIDANCE alert!
As a reminder, some many months ago, I joined the Newmine Drop, I was simply curious.
Newmine.....whatever model, I assume the various ones aren't going to differ too much in some of the respects I'm going to shunt this thing for anyway. In respects to sound quality, I'll be listening to the Newmine R6 for reference, connected to my iPod Touch 5g via BT4.0. This IEM is advertised as TWS with 3 BAs per side.
Anyway, feel free to avoid these things. Brief rundown below (just off the cuff, unfiltered opinion):
Packaging/accessories: 3/5
I don't really have high standards, so technically having a 3/5 is pretty crappy. Box is nice enough, looks pretty nice, foam cutouts inside for the case, clearly the same box for multiple models, they just use a sharpie to mark which one it is by checking a box on the back where the specs are. There's a pouch in case you want to put your charging case into a pouch; regular drawstring affair, decent quality. The charging case itself is pretty nice; it's metal, takes USB-C, and has power indicators when you open the lid. The eartips are where it really loses points; they're terrible, the silicone ones are at least. I usually don't like foams, so I didn't use those, but they're included. The silicone ones are crap material though, and somehow, their distribution is pretty much just 2 sizes, but there's like 2-3 pairs of each and I just wonder why bother? More to follow about this in the comfort/fit section. Anyway, packaging and accessories exist and whatnot, so they get base points, but that's about it.
Comfort/fit: 2/5
I'd say I've gotta give this score less so because of the comfort and more so because of the fit. They're not uncomfortable, they just don't fit. This is the first set of IEMs I've ever had where I couldn't find a silicone tip inside that fits. Ever. And I'm not saying in terms of sound preference or other details, I'm just talking the minimum of seating properly and having the requisite seal. These can't do it. I have to pick whatever I can and fiddle it until it's sitting in my ear well enough to judge its sound appropriately, which means it's not really sitting in my ear the way I'd actually want to wear them. Kinda pointless then, right? The other tips I had on hand are Spinfits and the standard ones on the BGVP Q2 and Mezone B6. Not quite right fit; if you push them in your ear to how the shells are supposed to fit, all these eartips are too deep, if you put them in to where the tips fit right, then the shells aren't sitting in the ear correctly and kinda wiggle slightly.
Sound quality/signature: 3/5
Okay sound quality I'd say, for what costs and it's intended function. Really nothing special, average at best for the price (I assume, for wireless, loads of wired solution that blow this outta the water at the price). There's a good amount of detail for the casual listener, the bass isn't muddled, there's pretty good extension in the highs without getting piercing. The sound signature is a somewhat consumer tuning, but not bass-skewed. Not quite v-shaped, somewhat mid-forward, but in a weird way. Often when I think mid-forward, I expect much better results with vocals than these give. The vocals on this IEM don't sound right. It's like everything's in a slightly off-key and throw in a little hollowness. Tips? Fit? Could've had an effect, but I tried to do this by making sure I'd have my regular seal feel, so it would be on equal footing that regard. I don't think a change in tips was going to be vastly different.
Overall functions: 1/5
Functionally, this thing sucks. First, there's no English instructions whatsoever. I hope you can read Chinese in small print. Any actions triggered by the touch button that prompt a voice (things like turning on/off or what I assumed was next/last track) are spoken in Mandarin. As a result of all of that, I actually have no idea what touch points activate what functions beyond single pressing on either shell will pause/play. Then let's move on to is incredible amount of hiss when nothing's playing. Like when you don't have an ideal DAP pairing with an IEM that's very sensitive and so you hear that hiss when you don't play anything. With these, it's utterly terrible. Its noise is in the same spectrum as ANC functions, except these don't have ANC.....and I've heard ANC not be as intrusive as the hiss on these. Then, there's the volume level tuning: it ranges from "loud" to "you don't need your eardrums do you?". The quietest level on this is probably what I have my IEM volume at when I'm walking along a high-traffic street or on public transit. As a PSA to any audio engineers making wireless IEMs: the speaker is already millimeters away from my eardrum, tune lower noise minimums!
Brief Comparison w/ Mezone B6:
The Mezone B6 was my first TWS IEM. Single BA per side with touch interface, a Kickstarter project. And for the most part it sounds pretty good, except I don't know if there's a driver problem or tuning problem because I get distinct distortion on some bass play. Maybe I just have a bad unit. Either way, the B6 is far and away a much better overall experience than the Newmine R6. The sound quality of the R6 is better than the B6, but we'd be talking some very strict rules.....like ignoring the ridiculous hiss on the R6 and the volume level problem. B6 wins, no doubt.
Brief Comparison w/ BGVP Q2:
The Q2 is my most recent TWS IEM. Two BAs per side, and interestingly, can be BT or connected via MMCX cable. Obviously to keep things fair, I'll only be judging by the BT connection.....in which the Q2
vaporizes the R6. In every single regard, at a far lower price. Say what you will about ChiFi, at the very least I can say BGVP know what they're doing. The fit is great, the sound is fantastic, the touch interface works well, and the audio cues are actually in English, even if they're robotic and the only relevant phrases are "power on" and "connected". And guess what? Just because it's a Chinese company doesn't mean the instruction booklet can't be in English when sold to an English-speaking market. What a revelation! If someone asked what BT IEM to buy right now, I'd say the BGVP Q2.
So Newmine R6, what's the verdict? Bin it. Lots of better choices for less money with better sound quality and better user experiences.
Surprised about the breaks they were considered one of the sweet features of the Wahoo and supposed to be bullet proof, you sure they can't just be adjusted/tightened?
