Hisound audio N1

Special thanks to emOkia of lowyat.net forum:  http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2669159/all for this unit N1 sample.This is a sample unit offered by N1 that has the label on it. So, since there is no packaging, it will be omitted.

SD Memory card expandable: yes
Internal Capacity: 4 GB

Display and Looks

HiSound Nova N1

Navigation

Navigation could do some serious getting used to. There isn't any label stating which button does what, not even a graphical indication. All they give is a red light. That is confusing. We need at least an indication of what all the buttons do, instead of reading the manual, if there is one. I constantly mispressed here and there, and sometimes can say that i got lost in the navigation.

Power button is also something that might need reworking. The spring load button, if got caught on a knit in the trouser while you put it into one, might hook on the N1 and turns it off. 

Screen 

Have you ever seen a red text on black and white chequered background? Neither did I, go try it out on some graphic tools you have, and you will understand the difficulty level to read on this thing.The background and the text mix so well that it is eye-irritating to read it in one go. I did my navigation based on guesses as I couldn't get what is it in there. Once you get pass that, reading becomes so much easier, like the bottom image indicated above.

Audio Quality

Bass

To be frank, the bass N1 gives is actually quite flat. Not much pronounced nor accurately beaten bass. It is just a good mixing, and nothing too special to mention about.

Vocals + Mid

N1 does better in the vocal section, singer is quite forward and the pronunciation can be well listened to. Background vocal seems weak, and couldn't be separated clearly with the main vocals. 

Treble

Treble is quite weak as i chosen songs that rely a lot on treble + cymbal hitting to spice the music. There isn't much around, and so i can confirm you, imagine an eq with everything at zero. That's as closest sounding to N1 you can get.

Soundstage

Not much to talk about, it is quite a studio like staging effort. Even in hall mastered music, it does feel that way. 

Conclusion

What can I say good about N1 since I critic almost everything about N1? Well, flat sound lovers will certainly love this N1, and also believers that headphones will change the music signature. Consider this as a raw output for music, and let your headphones do the music changing trick. For portability, with that much drawback, I might think this is more for the specific taste. That's all for N1, and as always, test everything, leave nothing behind.

The HiFiMan HE-400, something good

Well, I obtained the unit from a purchase by Mr Adre, thanks for letting me try this unit. HE-400 is a Planar Magnetic driver headphone with a high efficiency, as stated in their site ( google: Planar Magnetic, site: http://hifiman.com/).

Packaging

What can i say.. nothing special actually that is really worth  mentioning. It's all the basic essentials, which is a cloth pouch and a 3.5-6.5 adapter. 

Build

The HiFiMan HE-400 is built very solid and I can expect it to take a beating and survive well. Still, the shiny surfaces might get scratches, if cosmetic outlook is what concerns. The cable is using canare L-4E5AT, which I have no idea on technicality, but I only know canare cables are not bad, and is durable without much drag weight. Something that concerns me is the screw on type of plug to both side of the headphone driver.

Screw on type input jacks

What I worry is down the years, the screw on might get loose due to frequent friction, but still it locks on better than other 3.5mm input without lock mechanisms.

Driving the HE-400

Actually, it might sound scary when it comes ot planar magnetic, as people might think it need a super amp to drive it. Well, good news, even the simplistic Objective 2 amp can drive it nicely without any much fuss, and leave more power to go with. If you have some headphone amp that drives 250 ohm, you are good to go. 

Sound

Treble

I really like how the treble is clean and is very solid. Cymbals can be heard clearly and not missing any beats. Crystality is  how i can describe it. No doubt that the treble overall is mixing in "near perfection".

Mid / Vocals

Vocals wise is quite forward, it places the singer quite near to us (in feeling). The mid range separation is also doing real good in a sense that it separates the background singers and the main singer into 2 positions.

Bass

Bass is quite short and accurate. I can hear the tonality of the bass guitar and still not fill / overpower other instruments. This is definitely not a bass heavy headphone, instead is for those who appreciate quality over volume, cause this headphone has quite some quality bass without over mass.

Sound stage

One word, wide. It is very entertaining to listen to the HE-400 when the music involves positioning of four ways, front-back-left-right. Echoes can travel quite some distance before it gets killed. It is rather relaxing to listen to slow paced music or some country music with it. Hard rock / Metal... well, not so much. Live musics is very entertaining to listen with and recommended to use with. 

Speed

Speed and attack is where the HE-400 is not good in. In speedy songs, it couldn't catch up on some of the pace, bass gets slow slightly and you can somehow hear it delay that so slightly at times but still obvious.

Conclusion

If you have a bag of cash, but not that fully loaded, the mid range HE-400 can be a good option, depending on your music taste. This is more for the slow pacers instead of hard beats or speed monsters.Either way, this is my first recommended gear to go with, and as always, test everything. leave nothing behind.

HE400 arrival

Well this is a short "coming soon". Just got the HE400 in hand, and will do a series of music test before i fork out the review, in the meantime,

Remember, as always, test everything, leave nothing behind.

Special thanks to mr adre for the unit loan

Unique Melody Miracle

UM Miracle with BTG Audio cable

Logo option = UM / Unique Melody

Serial number on top, and AT = Alan Tan

The UM Miracle is the one and only CIEM that I have, and was luckily obtained at a very much lower price promo time. It was during the Global Promo by UM, and there was only two person in Malaysia who obtained that chance, me and another anonymous.

About CIEM / Custom IEM

They are one of a kind IEM that caters to each person's unique ear layout. You have to find an audiologist to make an impression before delivering it with your order. CIEM ear fit is very nice, and with isolation that can really kill external sound, so you get a real personal experience.

Unique Melody Miracle

The Miracle is / was the flagship of the Unique Melody line up, It consists if 6 drivers, 2 Highs 2 Mids and 2 Trebles, with 3 Crossovers.

Fitting

This is quite subjective, and some may need to get a couple times of refit before it is perfect. Luckily mine got done in the first go. Well isolated that someone screaming beside me and I'm not aware.Wearing a CIEM is a different feeling, as you can have it on for long hours with no fatigues, cause of the fitting that is supposed to be exact to your ears.

Sound

Well, what can i say? This is the one of the most entertaining piece among my past inventory, and I had eQ7 from Ortofon before, and wasn't even close to what this can give me.

Bass

Bass is deep and exact, it gives the thump when demanded for, and can do short bursts of bass when it comes. It might be the 2 bass drivers working individually, so they can do the stack bass of technos. Oh yeah, it does give that rumbling bass some people crave for, and does it real beautifully.

Mid

Mids are very clear cut, and vocals are quite forward. They do not get muffled off by any other instrumentations and even with heavy bass, the vocals are still put up to scale.Separations between background vocals and main can be separately distinguishable, depending on the level of mastering of the song.

Treble

The highs are crystal clear, and does not give the pierce that a lot of IEM will produce. It gives that "just enough to hear" level of treble and highs, making it relatively balanced and evenly distributed. Nothing extra and that's a good thing.

Soundstage

The soundstage here is one of the widest of I have heard before. That hall feeling does appear when i play the live song records I do have. Echoes can travel far to the rear, and projections can give the realism. Goosebumps OMG~

Cable

By default you will get a stock cable that comes along in a nicely packed box with your ID card inside. What i thought of the cable is that it is quite a undesirable piece. It tangles easy and the twisted cable can get loose after some time. Hence I went off to find another cable until I got the BTG Audio cable. Now this cable gives a stiff and tangle free experience, and durability surpasses what stock cables can offer. Hence my advice here, get an aftermarket cable from the cable maker that you trust will not bullshit you into the gimmicks that are of "cable myths". I myself trust BTG Audio as they state that they do not believe in the "cable changes sound" talk that people crave to hear about, cause of the enormous price tag.

Here is a little snippet from Bryan himself on his site, stating his stand point:

and here is some cable facts, "food for thought": http://www.btg-audio.com/cable-facts

Final thoughts

With the right cable, you will get yourself one hell of a CIEM that can compete top tiers in the industry, Westone, UE, JHAudio etc. Some distributors/ resellers do hold the universal fit of the CIEM, so dig them out and give it a try, I',m sure if you are a first time to the CIEM, you will like it. Seasoned players tastes may vary. Lastly, as always, test everything, leave nothing behind.

Side note: UM recently has very bad customer service, have been contacting them regarding the promo cable that i was eligible for, and they have ignored all my contacts. If you are still up for it with the bad customer support, by all means, get the unit, but don't expect any after sales support.

Beyerdynamic XP3 - neutrality

The Beyerdynamic XP3 is part of the line up of Beyerdynamic XP series that I have reviewed in the previous  session. The variations, according to majority of XP owners are like this:

XP1: heavy bass
XP2: neutral
XP3: crystality

Since i do not have an XP2, so i cant decipher the term neutral from this part, but the XP3 sure gives quite a crystal sound to an extent, and will be discussed shortly.

Looks:

Well, all the XP series variation looks exactly the same, so it can be hard to differ from the first look. The only markings are on the IEM itself, it will have an engraving of XP1, XP2 or XP3.

Engraving to differ

Packaging:

All XP series pack the same number of items, so I will skip this part. Interested then read on the XP1.

Sound:

For me, the XP3 has quite a clear extension on the treble, with a reduced bass which in my opinion is "just enough". Mid is also still recessed and positioned quite backwards. Music can sometimes muffle the vocals quite a bit, depending on the "loudness" of the BGM.

Overall:

I myself would recommend XP3 for general listeners, and not for the bass heavy listeners, but thats just me, so what's your choice among the three?

That's all from today, and as always, test everything, leave nothing behind.

Beyerdynamic XP1- Bass and whole lots of it

I'm here today to review an item that is only available in the APAC region, which is the Beyerdynamic XP line up, and first of all is the XP1.

Beyerdynamic XP1 silver

There are 2 cosmetic variations to the Beyerdynamic XP series. One is in black and one is in silver like the top. The black one will look like this

Beyerdynamic Black

Lets walk through all the essential points that users usually concern on.

Packaging:

What you need what you get

The package is quite a basic essential and not much fanciness to it. You get 4 pairs of single flange and 1 double flanges. The bag has quite a long thread to it. Airport jack for in-flight music. That's it.

Sound:

The Beyerdynamic XP1 has one of the biggest amount of bass among XP1 to XP3. The bass is not overly bloated though, and i would think it suits bass emphasis songs.Bass aside, the treble seems recessed and not very appearing. Treble could be said to be overtook by the amount of bass that is in the IEM.

Comfortability:

Since you get quite a number of tips, you might be able to get one that fits you almost nicely, and once it does, you can go on listening for like.. forever? The cable is the annoying part of the XP series, micro phonics are quite heavy and will interrupt your experience on-the-go.Luckily there is a divider among the cable that is movable, so move it up near the chin and you are all set to go uninterrupted.

Cable jack is right angled so it might be non-favourite to some. For me, it is quite a good choice, as it avoids the cable from being damaged by unintentional pulls. 

Conclusion:

There you have it folks! The xp1 from the view of the plain essentials. Like bass? then get this, it's a good choice at a low price. Consult your nearest Beyerdynamic reseller for more info, and remember as always, test everything, leave nothing behind.

Beyerdynamic custom one pro a.k.a. COP

Beyerdynamic cop has been one of the more creative product coming out of Beyer. These are unique in a sense that there is flexibility involved, cosmetically and audio.

Outlook / Appearance

This is the portion of the COP that has really attracted my attention and love. The can can be custom designed, as most parts are replaceable Besides that, there is the adjustable bass port that will change the bass portion according to which level it is at.

Couple of varieties can be designed

Adjustable bass port on each side

The bass port will be discussed in the sound section.

Cable weight is quite light, not as heavy and dragging as the DT770 250 ohm i have. This is due to the fact that it is using straight cable rather than a twisted cable. 

The end tip connecting to the amp is still using screw on 3.5mm-6.5mm socket type.On the other side, connecting to the can itself, is using a lock mechanism 3.5mm cable. This makes finding custom cable a tad difficult, unless you sand off the lock.

Lock mechanics

As you can see here, there is a little pop out on the hole, where the cable will fit and clip into. Getting rid of this will ease cable finding, but i havent tried to do so.

Sound

This is the section where we will start discussing on the bass port as I mentioned just now. Each bass port has it's individual amount of bass. It varies from port 1 with a tiny circle as a mark for closed port, least bass. Then it goes up till port 4, maximum amount of bass available.I will discuss the effect of each in one song repeating over and over.

Port 1: This port is for some bass near to none, suitable for people who thinks bass will knock their heads off. Things get pretty flat around this port. Vocals are more appearing, and is generally declared flat on the treble and bass part. This will make you wonder where did the bass go to? hmm..

Port 2: This port is the port that I generally use, as there are just enough pronounced bass and will not be a hard beater. Treble is smoothed out a bit for more enjoyment. Vocal is dropped back a bit.My favourite port to use.

Port 3: This is the heavier bass port. Bass get more appearing than the port 2. Bit by bits of the bass drum can be heard clearly. Male vocal somehow become thicker and even more laid back. Treble is getting lesser by the extent.

Port 4: Port 4 is the port I normally will use only with gaming, as the bass is quite something that packs drama into games. Explosives and etc becomes so fun to listen to. Music wise, well, I don't use them, how about others? comment a bit?

Soundstage: Generally the soundstage doesn't go through significant change.

Comfort 

All I can say about the pad is sweat. Whole lots of it, for a location that is relatively hot. Isolation is better than the velour pads that Beyer used to use. Clamping force on the head is quite loose. Not much force on it.

Final thoughts

My suggestion for people is do give a chance to listen to this can carefully on each port. You will be amazed on the creativity that Beyer has put into this unit. The cable lock mechanism may be a draw back for people who wish to use custom cable. Small sized low profile jacks might fit without any alterations to the lock.

I myself do love the creativity that Beyer has on this one, and the sound is not too bad, it will definitely suit the mainstream users. Change the pads, change the plates, change the cover, change the headband, change the cable, thats almost everything you can change for a street look.