jinp6301
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2006
- Posts
- 3,910
- Likes
- 12
Associated Rig:
Ipod 5G 60gb w/ rockbox
Lenovo R61i (soundcard)
Music Used:
Aimee Mann – Way Back When (Whatever) (female vocal pop)
Röyksopp – Eple (Melody A.M.) (electronica – downtempo)
Todd Rundgren – I Saw the Light (Something/Anything? MFSL) (60’s pop, male vocals)
Annie – Anniemal (Anniemal) (electronica – female vocals)
Chet Baker – Alone Together (Chet) (jazz)
Metallica – Master of Puppets (Master of Puppets DCC remaster) (metal)
Radiohead – Lucky (alt rock)
Animal Collective – Guys Eyes (Merriweather Post Pavillion) (indie)
Ryan Adams – Come Pick Me Up (Heartbreaker MFSL) (country)
Voxtrot – New Love (Blood Red Blood 7” single) (indie pop-rock)
Background:
I first heard the Yuin G1A at the New York Spring 2009 head-fi meet and I was pretty impressed about the level of detail that comes out of these little clips so I asked if I could borrow them to give them a listen at home. Fang agreed and here we are.
For this review, I used a variety of music to test them out, good recordings and bad recordings over a variety of genres ranging from flac to 192 kbs mp3 but mostly V0 lame mp3s. My listening has been split between the laptop headphone out and the ipod, both without an amp or a dac.
Sound:
The G1A is basically neutral. The sound leans very slightly towards the warm side. They remind me of grados but with more bass, less impact and smoother highs. The soundstage is very good for a clip on. The sound extends out slightly and the imaging is superb. If they are pushed in more, like with a headband, the soundstage collapses.
The G1A is easily driven by both my laptop as well as my ipod. They go way louder then anyone I know would listen to just off the ipod and the laptop. An amp would probably help in sound quality but it doesn’t seem necessary to get adequate volume.
Comparison to ESW9:
The Audio Technica ESW9 has been my primary headphone for a few months and I’ve been really enjoying them since I’ve got them. They are fine without amplification or the greatest sources and they are comfortable enough for long periods of time.
The highs of the G1A kill the ESW9. The amount of high frequency detail that is retrieved by the G1A is much higher then the ESW9. The highs are much more prominent and sound much more lively then the ESW9. The ESW9s are dark and the G1A proves it.
Compared to the ESW9, the G1A mids are not as lush. The ESW9 have seductive warm mids while the G1A is much colder and more neutral in its representation. Personally, I prefer the mids on the ESW9 but if you prefer a more neutral sound, the G1A is much more to your liking.
The bass is much tighter on the G1A. The bass on the ESW9 is loose but enjoyable. I would put the G1A bass as much more neutral then the ESW9. The G1A has a more controlled bass and works very well with electronica music.
Comfort:
These are just like regular clip ons. If you like clip ons, you’ll like these. If you don’t, then you won’t.
For $150, these headphones are a solid alternative to any headphone in this price range. If you have any questions, feel free to post here and ask.
EDIT:
Revisiting the G1As
After a much longer time with the G1As, I realized that the ety lover in me really loves them. The G1A really shines with well recorded music. The esw9 is just euphoric but if I go back and forth between the two, the esw9 misses too much detail and it doesnt sound balanced compared to the G1A.
Ipod 5G 60gb w/ rockbox
Lenovo R61i (soundcard)
Music Used:
Aimee Mann – Way Back When (Whatever) (female vocal pop)
Röyksopp – Eple (Melody A.M.) (electronica – downtempo)
Todd Rundgren – I Saw the Light (Something/Anything? MFSL) (60’s pop, male vocals)
Annie – Anniemal (Anniemal) (electronica – female vocals)
Chet Baker – Alone Together (Chet) (jazz)
Metallica – Master of Puppets (Master of Puppets DCC remaster) (metal)
Radiohead – Lucky (alt rock)
Animal Collective – Guys Eyes (Merriweather Post Pavillion) (indie)
Ryan Adams – Come Pick Me Up (Heartbreaker MFSL) (country)
Voxtrot – New Love (Blood Red Blood 7” single) (indie pop-rock)
Background:
I first heard the Yuin G1A at the New York Spring 2009 head-fi meet and I was pretty impressed about the level of detail that comes out of these little clips so I asked if I could borrow them to give them a listen at home. Fang agreed and here we are.
For this review, I used a variety of music to test them out, good recordings and bad recordings over a variety of genres ranging from flac to 192 kbs mp3 but mostly V0 lame mp3s. My listening has been split between the laptop headphone out and the ipod, both without an amp or a dac.
Sound:
The G1A is basically neutral. The sound leans very slightly towards the warm side. They remind me of grados but with more bass, less impact and smoother highs. The soundstage is very good for a clip on. The sound extends out slightly and the imaging is superb. If they are pushed in more, like with a headband, the soundstage collapses.
The G1A is easily driven by both my laptop as well as my ipod. They go way louder then anyone I know would listen to just off the ipod and the laptop. An amp would probably help in sound quality but it doesn’t seem necessary to get adequate volume.
Comparison to ESW9:
The Audio Technica ESW9 has been my primary headphone for a few months and I’ve been really enjoying them since I’ve got them. They are fine without amplification or the greatest sources and they are comfortable enough for long periods of time.
The highs of the G1A kill the ESW9. The amount of high frequency detail that is retrieved by the G1A is much higher then the ESW9. The highs are much more prominent and sound much more lively then the ESW9. The ESW9s are dark and the G1A proves it.
Compared to the ESW9, the G1A mids are not as lush. The ESW9 have seductive warm mids while the G1A is much colder and more neutral in its representation. Personally, I prefer the mids on the ESW9 but if you prefer a more neutral sound, the G1A is much more to your liking.
The bass is much tighter on the G1A. The bass on the ESW9 is loose but enjoyable. I would put the G1A bass as much more neutral then the ESW9. The G1A has a more controlled bass and works very well with electronica music.
Comfort:
These are just like regular clip ons. If you like clip ons, you’ll like these. If you don’t, then you won’t.
For $150, these headphones are a solid alternative to any headphone in this price range. If you have any questions, feel free to post here and ask.
EDIT:
Revisiting the G1As
After a much longer time with the G1As, I realized that the ety lover in me really loves them. The G1A really shines with well recorded music. The esw9 is just euphoric but if I go back and forth between the two, the esw9 misses too much detail and it doesnt sound balanced compared to the G1A.
