u/MetalDeep329

TL;DR
The Fiio Snowsky Retro Nano is probably the most feature rich DACs at it’s price point, it has everything I need from a bluetooth DAC for iems and sensitive headphones including a 10 band parametric eq, wired functionality, all the codecs I need, a phone mode and even a built in microphone etc... I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a cheap portable source for their iems.

• Sound Quality: 10/10 
• Build Quality: 6/10
• Value: 9.5/10 (retails for $60)

Context
I bought this DAC with my own money, I don’t really care or notice the difference between DACs and AMPs on most iems provided they are clean and transparent.

Design & Build

• Aesthetics: The retro nano has a vintage cassette player vibe, with it’s blue and purple cassette theme whose discs rotate when you play music. The dac comes with 2 included sticks that have a fun 90’s vibe. Overall I find the aesthetics fun but it’s very silly looking and might not match well with your gear.
• Build Quality: One of the weaker parts of this DAC, it’s made of cheap feeling plastic and the buttons are not super tactile feeling or reassuring. I think fiio could definitely improve on this aspect (a metal retro nano pro please!)
• Accessories: It comes with a very long lanyard that's hard to loop around the tiny hole located on the bottom left of the dac, also comes with a super stiff and short usb c to c cable. Fiio really needs to include softer cables since these will primarily be used with people’s phones. I have been using the fiio trust 10 cm usb c cable that feels a lot nicer.

Features:
The retro nano has 4 separate buttons and an on/off slider at the top.

From left to right there's the:

1. Mode button: Clicking it once cycles between the 7 different themes on the dac and double clicking it switches between PC mode, Phone mode and Bluetooth mode. Long pressing the mode button takes you to the settings screen.
2. Play/Pause button: Self explanatory, you can use this to play and pause audio. You could also configure this to take photos through your phone or wave up the voice assistant. 
3. Volume Up and Down buttons: Used to increase or decrease the hardware volume (separate from your phone or pc volume). There are 60 volume steps in both high gain and low gain modes.

The DAC has two ports: 3.5 mm & 4.4 mm and it’s powered by dual Cirrus Logic CS43131 DACs outputting 220mW + 220mW via its 4.4 mm balanced output and 100mW + 100mW via its 3.5mm single-ended output at 32 Ohms. More than enough power for 99% of iems.

The settings menu has:

1. A charging protection option to limit charging level and preserve battery health, gain options to switch between high gain a low gain
2. EQ toggle that already has a bunch of genre specific EQs and 3 custom eq options.
3. A dimmer option to adjust the brightness of the display
4. A display time out option to adjust after how long the screen turns off.
5. A power saving option
6. A mode switcher
7. DRE (Dynamic Range Enhancement) switch that you can turn off to get rid of the notorious cirrus hump.
8. A language selection menu.

The App:
The retro nano is compatible with fiio control app, it has options to choose between all the available codecs such as aptX adaptive, AAC, LDAC, aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD and SBC.

The app lets you configure what the volume buttons do, holding to switch tracks, double clicking to switch tracks or double click to switch eq.
You can configure the play/pause button to wake up the voice assistant or control camera to take photos.

The app also has excellent parametric eq with 10 available bands and even a built in auto eq algorithm that auto eq’s your iem to any selected target.

The audio menu has options to limit volume, adjust prompt volume, call volume and adjust channel balance.

Battery Life:
Battery life is one of the biggest cons of this device, only lasts me around 5.5 to 6 hours with LDAC and 20-25 steps of volume on low gain with iems. . Around 7 hours with AAC with the same settings, and 3 to 4 hours with my HD 600 at around 40 steps of volume (LDAC), however sub par battery life is a compromise I’m willing to make if it means user replaceable battery (takes a 3.7V 10440 lithium battery through a toolless battery door on the back).

Noise Floor & Hiss on Sensitive IEMs:
Some DACs have pretty significant noise floor with my single DD iems, particularly dongles with cx31993 dac and max 97220 amp setups but I’m happy to say I hear absolutely none with the retro nano. No complaints here.

Cons: 

1. Not the best battery life
2. Mediocre build quality
3. Buggy unpolished app
4. Buttons don’t feel reassuring

TL;DR
The Fiio Snowsky Retro Nano is probably the most feature rich DACs at it’s price point, it has everything I need from a bluetooth DAC for iems and sensitive headphones including a 10 band parametric eq, wired functionality, all the codecs I need, a phone mode and even a built in microphone etc... I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a cheap portable source for their iems.

• Sound Quality: 10/10 
• Build Quality: 6/10
• Value: 9.5/10 (retails for $60)

Context
I bought this DAC with my own money, I don’t really care or notice the difference between DACs and AMPs on most iems provided they are clean and transparent.

Design & Build

• Aesthetics: The retro nano has a vintage cassette player vibe, with it’s blue and purple cassette theme whose discs rotate when you play music. The dac comes with 2 included sticks that have a fun 90’s vibe. Overall I find the aesthetics fun but it’s very silly looking and might not match well with your gear.
• Build Quality: One of the weaker parts of this DAC, it’s made of cheap feeling plastic and the buttons are not super tactile feeling or reassuring. I think fiio could definitely improve on this aspect (a metal retro nano pro please!)
• Accessories: It comes with a very long lanyard that's hard to loop around the tiny hole located on the bottom left of the dac, also comes with a super stiff and short usb c to c cable. Fiio really needs to include softer cables since these will primarily be used with people’s phones. I have been using the fiio trust 10 cm usb c cable that feels a lot nicer.

Features:
The retro nano has 4 separate buttons and an on/off slider at the top.

From left to right there's the:

1. Mode button: Clicking it once cycles between the 7 different themes on the dac and double clicking it switches between PC mode, Phone mode and Bluetooth mode. Long pressing the mode button takes you to the settings screen.
2. Play/Pause button: Self explanatory, you can use this to play and pause audio. You could also configure this to take photos through your phone or wave up the voice assistant. 
3. Volume Up and Down buttons: Used to increase or decrease the hardware volume (separate from your phone or pc volume). There are 60 volume steps in both high gain and low gain modes.

The DAC has two ports: 3.5 mm & 4.4 mm and it’s powered by dual Cirrus Logic CS43131 DACs outputting 220mW + 220mW via its 4.4 mm balanced output and 100mW + 100mW via its 3.5mm single-ended output at 32 Ohms. More than enough power for 99% of iems.

The settings menu has:

1. A charging protection option to limit charging level and preserve battery health, gain options to switch between high gain a low gain
2. EQ toggle that already has a bunch of genre specific EQs and 3 custom eq options.
3. A dimmer option to adjust the brightness of the display
4. A display time out option to adjust after how long the screen turns off.
5. A power saving option
6. A mode switcher
7. DRE (Dynamic Range Enhancement) switch that you can turn off to get rid of the notorious cirrus hump.
8. A language selection menu.

The App:
The retro nano is compatible with fiio control app, it has options to choose between all the available codecs such as aptX adaptive, AAC, LDAC, aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD and SBC.

The app lets you configure what the volume buttons do, holding to switch tracks, double clicking to switch tracks or double click to switch eq.
You can configure the play/pause button to wake up the voice assistant or control camera to take photos.

The app also has excellent parametric eq with 10 available bands and even a built in auto eq algorithm that auto eq’s your iem to any selected target.

The audio menu has options to limit volume, adjust prompt volume, call volume and adjust channel balance.

Battery Life:
Battery life is one of the biggest cons of this device, only lasts me around 5.5 to 6 hours with LDAC and 20-25 steps of volume on low gain with iems. . Around 7 hours with AAC with the same settings, and 3 to 4 hours with my HD 600 at around 40 steps of volume (LDAC), however sub par battery life is a compromise I’m willing to make if it means user replaceable battery (takes a 3.7V 10440 lithium battery through a toolless battery door on the back).

Noise Floor & Hiss on Sensitive IEMs:
Some DACs have pretty significant noise floor with my single DD iems, particularly dongles with cx31993 dac and max 97220 amp setups but I’m happy to say I hear absolutely none with the retro nano. No complaints here.

Cons: 

1. Not the best battery life
2. Mediocre build quality
3. Buggy unpolished app
4. Buttons don’t feel reassuring

TL;DR
The Fiio Snowsky Retro Nano is probably the most feature rich DACs at it’s price point, it has everything I need from a bluetooth DAC for iems and sensitive headphones including a 10 band parametric eq, wired functionality, all the codecs I need, a phone mode and even a built in microphone etc... I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a cheap portable source for their iems.

• Sound Quality: 10/10 
• Build Quality: 6/10
• Value: 9.5/10 (retails for $60)

Context
I bought this DAC with my own money, I don’t really care or notice the difference between DACs and AMPs on most iems provided they are clean and transparent.

Design & Build

• Aesthetics: The retro nano has a vintage cassette player vibe, with it’s blue and purple cassette theme whose discs rotate when you play music. The dac comes with 2 included sticks that have a fun 90’s vibe. Overall I find the aesthetics fun but it’s very silly looking and might not match well with your gear.
• Build Quality: One of the weaker parts of this DAC, it’s made of cheap feeling plastic and the buttons are not super tactile feeling or reassuring. I think fiio could definitely improve on this aspect (a metal retro nano pro please!)
• Accessories: It comes with a very long lanyard that's hard to loop around the tiny hole located on the bottom left of the dac, also comes with a super stiff and short usb c to c cable. Fiio really needs to include softer cables since these will primarily be used with people’s phones. I have been using the fiio trust 10 cm usb c cable that feels a lot nicer.

Features:
The retro nano has 4 separate buttons and an on/off slider at the top.

From left to right there's the:

1. Mode button: Clicking it once cycles between the 7 different themes on the dac and double clicking it switches between PC mode, Phone mode and Bluetooth mode. Long pressing the mode button takes you to the settings screen.
2. Play/Pause button: Self explanatory, you can use this to play and pause audio. You could also configure this to take photos through your phone or wave up the voice assistant. 
3. Volume Up and Down buttons: Used to increase or decrease the hardware volume (separate from your phone or pc volume). There are 60 volume steps in both high gain and low gain modes.

The DAC has two ports: 3.5 mm & 4.4 mm and it’s powered by dual Cirrus Logic CS43131 DACs outputting 220mW + 220mW via its 4.4 mm balanced output and 100mW + 100mW via its 3.5mm single-ended output at 32 Ohms. More than enough power for 99% of iems.

The settings menu has:

1. A charging protection option to limit charging level and preserve battery health, gain options to switch between high gain a low gain
2. EQ toggle that already has a bunch of genre specific EQs and 3 custom eq options.
3. A dimmer option to adjust the brightness of the display
4. A display time out option to adjust after how long the screen turns off.
5. A power saving option
6. A mode switcher
7. DRE (Dynamic Range Enhancement) switch that you can turn off to get rid of the notorious cirrus hump.
8. A language selection menu.

The App:
The retro nano is compatible with fiio control app, it has options to choose between all the available codecs such as aptX adaptive, AAC, LDAC, aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD and SBC.

The app lets you configure what the volume buttons do, holding to switch tracks, double clicking to switch tracks or double click to switch eq.
You can configure the play/pause button to wake up the voice assistant or control camera to take photos.

The app also has excellent parametric eq with 10 available bands and even a built in auto eq algorithm that auto eq’s your iem to any selected target.

The audio menu has options to limit volume, adjust prompt volume, call volume and adjust channel balance.

Battery Life:
Battery life is one of the biggest cons of this device, only lasts me around 5.5 to 6 hours with LDAC and 20-25 steps of volume on low gain with iems. . Around 7 hours with AAC with the same settings, and 3 to 4 hours with my HD 600 at around 40 steps of volume (LDAC), however sub par battery life is a compromise I’m willing to make if it means user replaceable battery (takes a 3.7V 10440 lithium battery through a toolless battery door on the back).

Noise Floor & Hiss on Sensitive IEMs:
Some DACs have pretty significant noise floor with my single DD iems, particularly dongles with cx31993 dac and max 97220 amp setups but I’m happy to say I hear absolutely none with the retro nano. No complaints here.

Cons: 

1. Not the best battery life
2. Mediocre build quality
3. Buggy unpolished app
4. Buttons don’t feel reassuring

TL;DR

The pure is an excellent iem. Period. It’s one of the best sounding iems I have tried irrespective of price, I think most people who are just chasing sound quality should stop here, the pure does so little wrong sonically it’s frankly absurd it costs so little.

• Sound Quality: 9/10
• Build Quality: 7/10
• Comfort: 7/10
• Value: 9.5/10 (retails for $90)

Context

I bought this iem with my own money, I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

Design, Build, & Comfort

• Aesthetics & Build: The iems are made of “medical grade” resin, build quality feels solid, the shell is a little translucent, you can see the acoustic tubes if you shine light through it. The faceplate has a removable screw to access the innards, so a decent amount of serviceability there. The faceplates have a ridged pattern that I like, the “truthear” text on the right ear piece used to be stark white before but it seems like truthear turned it grey on the newer units, I definitely prefer the more subtle text on my unit. These iems (along with a bunch of other chifi multi driver iems) seem to have an exposed nozzle for some reason, without any wax guard. I do not understand why brands dont just add a lip and a wax guard to protect the iems from dust and debris. I recommend using eartips with a built in wax guard such as kiwi ears flex/zisin or getting one of those acoustically transparent filters if you’re worried of stuff entering the nozzle.
• Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are definitely on the larger side, with a chunky body, if you’re familiar with the truthear hexa, these are very similar but with a slightly slimmer nozzle but bulkier body. I have medium sized ears and these do stick out a lot, I cannot wear them super deep since the shell rubs against my concha and makes it uncomfortable, So I mostly used L size audiocular flexfit (spinfit cp145 clones) with these iems. Isolation on these are just average, nothing to write home about.
• Cable & Accessories: The cable is very good, its the same cable as the truthear hola/gate/zero blue 2 but it’s a light silvery colour instead. The cable is very lightweight, soft and supple however it does not match the iem’s aesthetic at all, I much prefer how the truthear hola cable looks on this instead. The iems come with a soft leather pouch (same as the truthear hexa and zeroes) which doesn't offer a lot of protection, and 3 sets of eartips, in narrow/wide bore and foam. I wish truthear had included the hola/gate short wide tips as those are basically black coffee tips and suit this iem much better both sonically and aesthetically.

The Sound

The Truthear Pure has a 1 DD + 3 BA driver config, tuned to be a warmer (and arguably more neutral) take on the beloved truthear hexa by listener from headphone show.

• Bass (20 hz to 300 hz): The pure adds a much needed mid bass boost over the hexa, as a result the mid bass quality is excellent, the mid bass has a surprising amount of tactility and snappiness to it while the hexa just sounds soft and dead, kick drums sound so much more alive compared to the hexa and pure seems to rumble harder in the subbass despite having a similar shelf. The pure does not have basshead levels of bass but what it does have is extremely well controlled and punchy bass that blends very well into it’s glorious mid range, it reminds me of hd 600’s mid bass, overall the pure fixes one of the biggest complaints I had with the hexa, it’s anemic bass. If you’re coming from harman esque iems the bass on this is gonna sound significantly less boomy and more punchy.
• Mids (300 hz to 6000 hz): The Truthear Pure straight up has some of the best mid range presentations I have heard in any iem (or headphone), it is so much more lush and true to life than the hexa that I’m surprised the hexa was even considered the benchmark neutral iem before, I think the notion that  hexa has a “neutral” midrange stems from the assumption that neutral has to be cold and “technical” which I don't think should be the case at all. Hexa’s midrange is a lot thinner and colder than what I would perceive as “neutral” or enjoyable, pure fixes this by adding significantly more body to the midrange (thereby making it more neutral) while still maintaining excellent midrange clarity throughout. The mild 3k dip makes the vocals relaxed with a ton of texture but I understand people wanting a couple of decibels more there. Since these follow newer targets that are more likely to be perceived as neutral by the average person (jm1), it’s gonna sound a lot less “exciting” and more thicker and full bodied to people coming from old meta tunings like harman ie 2019 and ief 2020 but I find it way more enjoyable. Pure also has some of the best bass to mid range transitions I’ve heard, the mid bass blends incredibly well with the lower mids albeit at the cost of a tiny bit of cozy bloom. Very very good midrange overall.
• Mid Treble (6000 hz to 10000 hz): Now both the hexa and pure suffer from pretty brutal length mode resonance issues at around 5k to 8k (treble peak that depends on the insertion depth / length of air column between iem and ear drum). It is possible to subdue the peak considerably by getting a deeper insertion but unfortunately I could not wear the iem super deep for extended periods of time due to the shell rubbing against my concha, so I had to resort to eq. However the pure balances this peak much better by having significantly more mid bass and denser mid range than the hexa, I find this peak much more offensive on the hexa due to this reason, partly due to me hearing it as wider than it appears. Hexa also has more mid treble in general which could make people perceive it as more “technical” and clearer.
• Upper Treble (10000 hz to 20000 hz): Upper treble bothers me far more than mid treble peaks and I do not hear any peaks at all on the pure or hexa, hexa does have a lot more air and sparkle tho. The pure is airy enough to be clear without the piercing overcooked upper treble that a lot iems have for the sake of “detail retrieval” and “resolution” but end up sounding wispy and sizzly.
• Subjective Technical Performance: The pure has excellent bass tactility, mid range texturing and separation. I could make out all the details in tracks and it captures the sense of stage reasonably well, no complaints here.

Comparisons

Compared to some other popular iems regarded as neutral by the community:

• Truthear Hexa: Pure has a more correct mid range and mid bass presentation and the peaks are less sore as stated before, If you want something bright the hexa is still solid provided you tone down the mid treble peak with eq. I just wish they updated the cable.
• OoopusX OP.22: Smoother mid treble but thinner, less neutral mid range, shell is even more uncomfortable than pure. Worse mid bass compared to the pure. But it’s also half the price, a very solid iem overall.
• Aful MagicOne: Worse bass dynamics overall with more shouty midrange, but it’s much more comfortable with superior isolation, better looking shell and cable.
• Truthear Zero Red (without impedance adaptor): The red is probably the iem that represents the old meta ief 2020 style of tuning the best, with it’s overall colder and thinner sounding lower midrange, shouty and more nasal 2k bump, the pure simply comes across as way more organic and richer sounding. Significantly closer to what I would consider a neutral midrange. Pure is also more comfortable than zero red (red nozzle is like 7 mm thick), with a better cable.

Compared to some popular budget coloured iems:

• Truthear Hola: Pure has significantly tighter and more impactful bass, warmer richer mids and most importantly, does not suffer from the sharp upper treble like hola
• Tanchjim Bunny DSP Default: Pure has much better subbass rumble, better mid bass tactility and smoother vocals, bunny also suffers from the typical single DD upper treble characteristics but it does have a smaller shell that fits more ears
• Aful Explorer: I prefer explorer’s sub bass and mid bass presentation here but prefer the Pure’s midrange. Explorer is by no means a neutral or natural sounding iem (it’s probably the most coloured sound here), darker recessed vocals due to an unnatural pinna dip and prominent mid treble, along with significant upper treble roll off. Much more comfortable shell.
• 7hz Salnotes Zero 2: This is one of the few budget single DDs that dont have a sharp upper treble peak for my ears, I actually prefer the zero 2’s treble presentation overall since I dont have to rely on eq to fix the mid treble peak but Pure just bodies it in midrange and bass performance.

 

Conclusion

The pure is lowkey where most people who care about sound quality should stop at imo. We finally get a well done “neutral” set under $100. Excellent bass response, glorious mid range and solid treble. If you could just eq down the resonance peak after a sine sweep, adjust the bloom and pinna gain to your liking this is pretty much as good as iems get irrespective of price. For $90 + $10 for a 5 band parametric eq dac you have achieved endgame iem.

TL;DR

The Aful MagicOne is a discontinued iem that uses a single BA along with a bunch of other tech to produce the full frequency spectrum. It is a very pretty looking and comfortable iem but it sounds kinda mediocre imo, especially compared to other iems around it’s price range such as the explorer and pure. It’s bright, the mid bass is blunt and there is barely any subbass rumble.

·   Sound: 5.5/10
·   Build quality: 8.5/10
·   Comfort: 9/10
·   Value: 7/10 (msrp was $139)

Context
This iem was kindly loaned to me by the goat u/mournfulmonk for review. I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

Aesthetics & Build: The shells are made of 3d printed transparent resin. The shells feel very good quality in the hand, you can view all the acoustic chambers and ba driver through the resin which is super cool, the faceplates have a pretty silver snowflake pattern with a white background. Aful always cooks with their designs and the MagicOne is no exception.

Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are what I would call medium-small, the shells are semi custom with great ergonomics. The MagicOne does suffer from significant pressure build up issues even tho it has a vent. So if you’re sensitive to the feeling of pressure against your eardrums do not get these!
Isolation however is excellent, partly due to the pressure buildup.

Cable & Accessories: The cable is fine, it looks good with it’s white and silvery braid (matches the iems well) but it is stiff and rubbery feeling, also little memory prone. The cable comes with 4.4 mm and 3.5 mm variants, I have the 4.4 here. The chin slider is super tight and does it’s job very (almost too well, it’s hard to move it lol).

The Sound
The iem has a single BA driver doing all the work, while these seem to graph like a neutral-warm set they sound kinda bright to me, the low end leaves a lot to be desired.

Bass (20 hz to 300 hz): Bass is the weakest part of this iem, the sub bass is anemic, bass guitars don't have that bite to them and while the mid bass has decent quantity it does not have quality, the mid bass is blunt with not a lot of texture or tactility.

Mids (300 hz to 6000 hz): These have new meta esque lower mids (linear rise from 1k to 300 hz) but they do not sound warm to me like they are usually described, I am guessing this is due to the mid treble rise. The upper mids are also a little too forward to my liking, sounds kinda nasal and even a bit shouty.
There are much better iems around it’s price range if a warm mid range is what you’re looking for, such as the pure.

Mid Treble (6000hz to 10000hz): There is a decent amount of mid treble on this iem and I hear a pretty big peak around 6.5-7 khz, mid treble elevation usually doesn't bother me but sudden peaks do, and unfortunately this iem is not smooth here. I think this skews the overall tonality towards bright for me.

Upper Treble (10000hz to 20000hz): The aful magicone is smooth in the upper treble, this is a relief as i hate upper treble spikes, the treble is reasonably well extended for a single BA iem. No complaints here.

Technicalities: Not a lot of bass tactility like i said before, mid bass is kinda soft and theres barely any texturing in the subbass. Mids are well layered and the mid treble gives it a good amount of bite and clarity. The lack of big upper treble spikes could sound low res to you if you’re one of people who associate air with detail.

Comparisons
Compared to some other “warm” iems I own below:

Truthear Pure: The pure wipes the floor with magicone, much better mid bass tactility, actually warm sounding midrange with some of the best vocals i have heard in an iem. MagicOne is much more comfortable tho.

Aful Explorer: The explorer is more dark than warm tbh, it still has much better subbass rumble, better mid bass punch and no mid treble spikes for me (something which both the pure and magicone have). Vocals do sound fuller on the magicone, since the explorer has a 3k dip. 

Conclusion

The magicone is an impressive iem for what it is, a single ba that sounds reasonably good across the entire frequency range but thats about it, If you want a warm neutral iem there are much better options such as the pure and if you want something comfortable you could listen to for hours there's the explorer from the same brand. I wouldn't really recommend this iem unless you want good isolation and comfort and are okay with the pressure build up.
Aful is also releasing a successor to the MagicOne, called MiracleOne soon however that seems to be a single dd instead of single ba.

TL;DR

The Fat Frequency Deuce is very sub bass heavy iem that makes all the right compromises for it’s style of tuning.

·   Sound: 6/10

·   Build quality: 9/10

·   Comfort: 10/10

·   Value: 5/10 (retails for $300)

Context

This iem was kindly loaned to me by the goat u/mournfulmonk for review. I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

Aesthetics & Build: The iems are made fully made of resin, with a decent amount of weight, overall the shells feel very high quality, the faceplates have a solid lava (or graphite?) like design with a red hbb logo on left earpiece and fatfreq logo on the right. I dig the aesthetics of this iem.

Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are what I would call medium-large, the shells are semi custom and the molding is excellent, I used these with L size roseselsa qt superbowl eartips and they fit my ears very snugly, in fact it’s one of the best fitting iems I have tried. Isolation on these is above average since the fit is so snug.

Cable & Accessories: The cable is not great, its thick, kinky and microphonic but it has nice hardware that matches the iem’s aesthetics, the chin slider is tight and stays in place. While the cable is not ideal by any means I love the way it matches the iem, with it’s bright red colour. The cable comes in 3.5 mm and 4.4 mm options, I have the 4.4 mm. The 2 pin connectors have an unnecessary protrusion that does nothing but make the connection taller since these iems don’t have super recessed connectors. The iems come with a set of tri clarion eartips but I have not used them along with an impedance adapter that add another 5ish db of bass shelf on top of an already ridiculous bass boost.

The Sound

The Fat Frequency deuce has a 2 dd configuration that follows the harman ie 2019 target curve with an absurd sub bass boost. These sound like a much more refined version of truthear zero blues to me.

Bass (20 hz to 300 hz): The whole point one would consider this iem is the bass shelf, these have an almost 8db subbass boost over harman ie 2019 which is already a subbassy target, If you’re a crazy person you can use the impedance adapter to add another 5db subbass boost.
This thing rumbles like you have a subwoofer strapped to the back of your head, its ridiculous and I love it, it doesn’t have nearly as much mid bass and the mid bass it has is just meh, so if you’re primarily looking for punch and tactility in your bass, this is not the iem for you.  

Mids (300 hz to 6000 hz): Since this iem follows the harman ie 2019 target curve, it has all the downsides that come with it, the midrange sounds thin and hollow due to scooped lower mids, it has a little too much upper midrange for my liking (a little too much 1-2k and substantial elevation from 3-5k) which makes vocals sound nasally to me. However, due to it’s absurd bass boost this iem kinda has to sound a little thin and shouty to not be muddy and low res, these along with the upper treble still gives it a lot of clarity and contrast for what is supposed to be a ridiculously bassy iem. 

Mid Treble (6000 hz to 10000 hz): I am not particularly picky about mid treble and the deuce does a fine job here, there are no sore peaks and it sounds reasonably smooth

Upper Treble (10000 hz to 20000 hz): Upper treble peaks are the bane of my existence and I hear a pretty nasty peak around 13k with short widebore eartips BUT as I said before, this iem needs air to still give it clarity through all that sub bass. So I understand why it is necessary, I do wish the air was more even and extended though.

Technicalities and Soundstage: The fat freq deuce has tons of clarity for what it is (one of the few things harman ie 2019 excels at) The instruments are well separated and it always sound clean, It is an anti-mud basshead iem. Captures the sense of space in tracks adequately.

Comparisons
Compared to other iems with gigantic amounts of bass I’ve tried before:

OoopuX OP.22 (Bass dial on): While the opus does a much better job with the treble and upper midrange (more filled in and thicker sounding) It sacrifices all the clarity in the process and ends up sounding muddy in most tracks, the op.22 bass mode also has much more mid bass.

Truthear Zero Blue 2 (impedance adapter): Both of these use a 2 DD with a subwoofer crossover but the deuce is much more refined in it’s tuning, the upper mids on the deuce is not nearly as overwhelming and it never gets muddy like the blues. The deuce is also like 4x the price of these so it’s not really a fair comparison lol.

Conclusion

The deuce is supremely comfortable sub-basshead iem. Yes it is sibilant, shouty and airy but those feel like necessary evils to prevent it from being mud city. Overall I recommend these to anyone that wants ton and tons of subbass in their iems.

TL;DR

The Aful explorer is an extremely smooth and non fatiguing package, with it’s excellent comfort and isolation, warm & mellow sound, I can’t describe it as anything but cozy. Probably my favourite iem.

· Sound: 8/10

· Build quality: 9/10

· Comfort: 10/10

· Value: 9/10

Context

I bought this iem with my own money, I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

· Aesthetics & Build: The iems are made of 3d printed resin, they feel light but still built very well, the iems feature a glittery space like theme on the faceplate which looks super pretty to me. 

· Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are what I would call medium-small, the shells are excellent ergonomically, fits pretty much everyone and just disappears in their ears. Probably the most comfortable iem I have tried. 
Isolation on these are excellent as well, with audiocular atmos liquid silicon eartips these block out external noise better than my anc tws and headphones.

· Cable & Accessories: The cable is once again, excellent. It’s a 2 wire braid that splits at the y split, its got decent weight while not being heavy. The cable has a warm shimmery silver colour, which appears more yellow in photos than irl. It remind of the truthear pure cable but higher quality.
The explorer comes with a nice carry case that’s just the right size to store both the iems and silica gel comfortably. It comes with 3 sets of “aful salt” eartips which feel pretty similar to each other, I don’t know why they bothered with 3 sets of the same eartips but in different colours, would’ve liked to see them in different bore sizes and heights.

The Sound

The explorer has a 1 dd + 2ba configuration, if you’re familiar with the aful house sound, the explorer is a darker take on it. If you’re looking for the most neutral or natural sound, the explorer is not it (look at the truthear pure instead). The explorer is a tasteful balance of colourations thats truly one of a kind, It is super flavoured which is rare at it’s price point.

· Bass (20 hz to 300 hz): The explorer generally has excellent bass imo, there is significant sub bass elevation, the mid bass hits hard and has almost an elastic quality to it. Bass is definitely a highlight of the explorer.  

· Mids (300 hz to 4000 hz): This iem kinda follows the ief 2020 midrange (forward from 1k to 2k) but with a big dip at 3k (pinna dip) which gives it it’s signature dark and mellow sound (along with the bass elevation and relaxed upper treble). The mids on the explorer are smooth, lush and slighty restrained. Instruments are nicely layered, theres a surprising amount of contrast for what is a warm dark sound (often associated with muddy but that is not at all the case with explorer). It is by no means the most neutral or natural midrange but it is a tasteful balance colourations, vocals have nice texture and weight to them. I personally like 3k dips on iems but I know a lot of people find it unnatural.

· Mid Treble (6000hz to 10000hz): The explorer, while being warm and dark does have a decent amount of mid treble that allows it to still have a lot of clarity to the sound. Again it is not the muddy, low-res, soupy sound often incorrectly associated with warm/dark iems. I am generally mid treble tolerant as long as there aren’t any sudden peaks and I hear none with the explorer, the mid treble is super smooth to me but this is very ear canal dependent.

· Upper Treble: As someone that’s very sensitive to upper treble, the explorer’s upper treble roll off makes it perfect for me. It is not the most well extended treble but it has enough just to make sound clear but still non fatiguing (ideal upper treble imo). If you’re someone that prioritizes stuff like treble extension above all else, this is not the iem for you.

· Technicalities and Soundstage: “tech” has never mattered in iems to me, the explorer has a surprising amount of contrast, the instruments are not mushed together. The explorer is not the widest sounding iems which is expected with it’s tuning style. Again if you’re one of those people who prioritize “technicalities”, “soundstage” and treble extension (you shouldn’t) then the explorer is not the iem for you.

Comparisons

I don’t think there’s anything like the explorer at it’s price range, or even above, it’s a very unique take on warmth. However I’ll still be comparing to some other “warm” iems I own at the moment below:

· Truthear hola: The hola is another iem that follows the ief 2020-esque mid range (but without any 3k dip). I think the explorer is a better iem in every way, bass hits much harder with a much more tolerable upper treble.

· Truthear pure: Pure is probably the de facto neutral iem south of $300. I know many people consider it warm neutral but it is just neutral to me. Pure is a much more natural sounding iem, Not nearly as coloured or flavoured as the explorer, pure is more mid bass forward while the explorer rumbles harder, I generally prefer the explorer’s bass response. Explorer is much more comfortable with stronger isolation. I think ideally you should own both.

Conclusion

The explorer is probably the most flavoured iem under $200. I highly recommend it to anyone that wants a comfortable non fatiguing iem that you can wear all day. The bass hits hard, the mids are relaxed, mid treble still gives it clarity while the upper treble gives it almost no harshness. The most nuanced take on warmth I’ve heard.

TL;DR

The Aful explorer is an extremely smooth and non fatiguing package, with it’s excellent comfort and isolation, warm & mellow sound, I can’t describe it as anything but cozy. Probably my favourite iem.

· Sound: 8/10

· Build quality: 9/10

· Comfort: 10/10

· Value: 9/10

Context

I bought this iem with my own money, I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

· Aesthetics & Build: The iems are made of 3d printed resin, they feel light but still built very well, the iems feature a glittery space like theme on the faceplate which looks super pretty to me. 

· Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are what I would call medium-small, the shells are excellent ergonomically, fits pretty much everyone and just disappears in their ears. Probably the most comfortable iem I have tried. 
Isolation on these are excellent as well, with audiocular atmos liquid silicon eartips these block out external noise better than my anc tws and headphones.

· Cable & Accessories: The cable is once again, excellent. It’s a 2 wire braid that splits at the y split, its got decent weight while not being heavy. The cable has a warm shimmery silver colour, which appears more yellow in photos than irl. It remind of the truthear pure cable but higher quality.
The explorer comes with a nice carry case that’s just the right size to store both the iems and silica gel comfortably. It comes with 3 sets of “aful salt” eartips which feel pretty similar to each other, I don’t know why they bothered with 3 sets of the same eartips but in different colours, would’ve liked to see them in different bore sizes and heights.

The Sound

The explorer has a 1 dd + 2ba configuration, if you’re familiar with the aful house sound, the explorer is a darker take on it. If you’re looking for the most neutral or natural sound, the explorer is not it (look at the truthear pure instead). The explorer is a tasteful balance of colourations thats truly one of a kind, It is super flavoured which is rare at it’s price point.

· Bass (20 hz to 300 hz): The explorer generally has excellent bass imo, there is significant sub bass elevation, the mid bass hits hard and has almost an elastic quality to it. Bass is definitely a highlight of the explorer.  

· Mids (300 hz to 4000 hz): This iem kinda follows the ief 2020 midrange (forward from 1k to 2k) but with a big dip at 3k (pinna dip) which gives it it’s signature dark and mellow sound (along with the bass elevation and relaxed upper treble). The mids on the explorer are smooth, lush and slighty restrained. Instruments are nicely layered, theres a surprising amount of contrast for what is a warm dark sound (often associated with muddy but that is not at all the case with explorer). It is by no means the most neutral or natural midrange but it is a tasteful balance colourations, vocals have nice texture and weight to them. I personally like 3k dips on iems but I know a lot of people find it unnatural.

· Mid Treble (6000 hz to 10000 hz): The explorer, while being warm and dark does have a decent amount of mid treble that allows it to still have a lot of clarity to the sound. Again it is not the muddy, low-res, soupy sound often incorrectly associated with warm/dark iems. I am generally mid treble tolerant as long as there aren’t any sudden peaks and I hear none with the explorer, the mid treble is super smooth to me but this is very ear canal dependent.

· Upper Treble (10000 hz to 20000 hz): As someone that’s very sensitive to upper treble, the explorer’s upper treble roll off makes it perfect for me. It is not the most well extended treble but it has enough just to make sound clear but still non fatiguing (ideal upper treble imo). If you’re someone that prioritizes stuff like treble extension above all else, this is not the iem for you.

· Technicalities and Soundstage: “tech” has never mattered in iems to me, the explorer has a surprising amount of contrast, the instruments are not mushed together. The explorer is not the widest sounding iems which is expected with it’s tuning style. Again if you’re one of those people who prioritize “technicalities”, “soundstage” and treble extension (you shouldn’t) then the explorer is not the iem for you.

Comparisons

I don’t think there’s anything like the explorer at it’s price range, or even above, it’s a very unique take on warmth. However I’ll still be comparing to some other “warm” iems I own at the moment below:

· Truthear hola: The hola is another iem that follows the ief 2020-esque mid range (but without any 3k dip). I think the explorer is a better iem in every way, bass hits much harder with a much more tolerable upper treble.

· Truthear pure: Pure is probably the de facto neutral iem south of $300. I know many people consider it warm neutral but it is just neutral to me. Pure is a much more natural sounding iem, Not nearly as coloured or flavoured as the explorer, pure is more mid bass forward while the explorer rumbles harder, I generally prefer the explorer’s bass response. Explorer is much more comfortable with stronger isolation. I think ideally you should own both.

Conclusion

The explorer is probably the most flavoured iem under $200. I highly recommend it to anyone that wants a comfortable non fatiguing iem that you can wear all day. The bass hits hard, the mids are relaxed, mid treble still gives it clarity while the upper treble gives it almost no harshness. The most nuanced take on warmth I’ve heard.

TL;DR

The Aful explorer is an extremely smooth and non fatiguing package, with it’s excellent comfort and isolation, warm & mellow sound, I can’t describe it as anything but cozy. Probably my favourite iem.

· Sound: 8/10

· Build quality: 9/10

· Comfort: 10/10

· Value: 9/10

Context

I bought this iem with my own money, I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

· Aesthetics & Build: The iems are made of 3d printed resin, they feel light but still built very well, the iems feature a glittery space like theme on the faceplate which looks super pretty to me. 

· Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are what I would call medium-small, the shells are excellent ergonomically, fits pretty much everyone and just disappears in their ears. Probably the most comfortable iem I have tried. 
Isolation on these are excellent as well, with audiocular atmos liquid silicon eartips these block out external noise better than my anc tws and headphones.

· Cable & Accessories: The cable is once again, excellent. It’s a 2 wire braid that splits at the y split, its got decent weight while not being heavy. The cable has a warm shimmery silver colour, which appears more yellow in photos than irl. It remind of the truthear pure cable but higher quality.
The explorer comes with a nice carry case that’s just the right size to store both the iems and silica gel comfortably. It comes with 3 sets of “aful salt” eartips which feel pretty similar to each other, I don’t know why they bothered with 3 sets of the same eartips but in different colours, would’ve liked to see them in different bore sizes and heights.

The Sound

The explorer has a 1 dd + 2ba configuration, if you’re familiar with the aful house sound, the explorer is a darker take on it. If you’re looking for the most neutral or natural sound, the explorer is not it (look at the truthear pure instead). The explorer is a tasteful balance of colourations thats truly one of a kind, It is super flavoured which is rare at it’s price point.

· Bass (20 hz to 300 hz): The explorer generally has excellent bass imo, there is significant sub bass elevation, the mid bass hits hard and has almost an elastic quality to it. Bass is definitely a highlight of the explorer.  

· Mids (300 hz to 4000 hz): This iem kinda follows the ief 2020 midrange (forward from 1k to 2k) but with a big dip at 3k (pinna dip) which gives it it’s signature dark and mellow sound (along with the bass elevation and relaxed upper treble). The mids on the explorer are smooth, lush and slighty restrained. Instruments are nicely layered, theres a surprising amount of contrast for what is a warm dark sound (often associated with muddy but that is not at all the case with explorer). It is by no means the most neutral or natural midrange but it is a tasteful balance colourations, vocals have nice texture and weight to them. I personally like 3k dips on iems but I know a lot of people find it unnatural.

· Mid Treble (6000 hz to 10000 hz): The explorer, while being warm and dark does have a decent amount of mid treble that allows it to still have a lot of clarity to the sound. Again it is not the muddy, low-res, soupy sound often incorrectly associated with warm/dark iems. I am generally mid treble tolerant as long as there aren’t any sudden peaks and I hear none with the explorer, the mid treble is super smooth to me but this is very ear canal dependent.

· Upper Treble (10000 hz to 20000 hz): As someone that’s very sensitive to upper treble, the explorer’s upper treble roll off makes it perfect for me. It is not the most well extended treble but it has enough just to make sound clear but still non fatiguing (ideal upper treble imo). If you’re someone that prioritizes stuff like treble extension above all else, this is not the iem for you.

· Technicalities and Soundstage: “tech” has never mattered in iems to me, the explorer has a surprising amount of contrast, the instruments are not mushed together. The explorer is not the widest sounding iems which is expected with it’s tuning style. Again if you’re one of those people who prioritize “technicalities”, “soundstage” and treble extension (you shouldn’t) then the explorer is not the iem for you.

Comparisons

I don’t think there’s anything like the explorer at it’s price range, or even above, it’s a very unique take on warmth. However I’ll still be comparing to some other “warm” iems I own at the moment below:

· Truthear hola: The hola is another iem that follows the ief 2020-esque mid range (but without any 3k dip). I think the explorer is a better iem in every way, bass hits much harder with a much more tolerable upper treble.

· Truthear pure: Pure is probably the de facto neutral iem south of $300. I know many people consider it warm neutral but it is just neutral to me. Pure is a much more natural sounding iem, Not nearly as coloured or flavoured as the explorer, pure is more mid bass forward while the explorer rumbles harder, I generally prefer the explorer’s bass response. Explorer is much more comfortable with stronger isolation. I think ideally you should own both.

Conclusion

The explorer is probably the most flavoured iem under $200. I highly recommend it to anyone that wants a comfortable non fatiguing iem that you can wear all day. The bass hits hard, the mids are relaxed, mid treble still gives it clarity while the upper treble gives it almost no harshness. The most nuanced take on warmth I’ve heard.

TL;DR

The Aful explorer is an extremely smooth and non fatiguing package, with it’s excellent comfort and isolation, warm & mellow sound, I can’t describe it as anything but cozy. Probably my favourite iem.

· Sound: 8/10

· Build quality: 9/10

· Comfort: 10/10

· Value: 9/10

Context

I bought this iem with my own money, I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

· Aesthetics & Build: The iems are made of 3d printed resin, they feel light but still built very well, the iems feature a glittery space like theme on the faceplate which looks super pretty to me. 

· Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are what I would call medium-small, the shells are excellent ergonomically, fits pretty much everyone and just disappears in their ears. Probably the most comfortable iem I have tried. 
Isolation on these are excellent as well, with audiocular atmos liquid silicon eartips these block out external noise better than my anc tws and headphones.

· Cable & Accessories: The cable is once again, excellent. It’s a 2 wire braid that splits at the y split, its got decent weight while not being heavy. The cable has a warm shimmery silver colour, which appears more yellow in photos than irl. It remind of the truthear pure cable but higher quality.
The explorer comes with a nice carry case that’s just the right size to store both the iems and silica gel comfortably. It comes with 3 sets of “aful salt” eartips which feel pretty similar to each other, I don’t know why they bothered with 3 sets of the same eartips but in different colours, would’ve liked to see them in different bore sizes and heights.

The Sound

The explorer has a 1 dd + 2ba configuration, if you’re familiar with the aful house sound, the explorer is a darker take on it. If you’re looking for the most neutral or natural sound, the explorer is not it (look at the truthear pure instead). The explorer is a tasteful balance of colourations thats truly one of a kind, It is super flavoured which is rare at it’s price point.

· Bass (20 hz to 300 hz): The explorer generally has excellent bass imo, there is significant sub bass elevation, the mid bass hits hard and has almost an elastic quality to it. Bass is definitely a highlight of the explorer.  

· Mids (300 hz to 4000 hz): This iem kinda follows the ief 2020 midrange (forward from 1k to 2k) but with a big dip at 3k (pinna dip) which gives it it’s signature dark and mellow sound (along with the bass elevation and relaxed upper treble). The mids on the explorer are smooth, lush and slighty restrained. Instruments are nicely layered, theres a surprising amount of contrast for what is a warm dark sound (often associated with muddy but that is not at all the case with explorer). It is by no means the most neutral or natural midrange but it is a tasteful balance colourations, vocals have nice texture and weight to them. I personally like 3k dips on iems but I know a lot of people find it unnatural.

· Mid Treble (6000 hz to 10000 hz): The explorer, while being warm and dark does have a decent amount of mid treble that allows it to still have a lot of clarity to the sound. Again it is not the muddy, low-res, soupy sound often incorrectly associated with warm/dark iems. I am generally mid treble tolerant as long as there aren’t any sudden peaks and I hear none with the explorer, the mid treble is super smooth to me but this is very ear canal dependent.

· Upper Treble (10000 hz to 20000 hz): As someone that’s very sensitive to upper treble, the explorer’s upper treble roll off makes it perfect for me. It is not the most well extended treble but it has enough just to make sound clear but still non fatiguing (ideal upper treble imo). If you’re someone that prioritizes stuff like treble extension above all else, this is not the iem for you.

· Technicalities and Soundstage: “tech” has never mattered in iems to me, the explorer has a surprising amount of contrast, the instruments are not mushed together. The explorer is not the widest sounding iems which is expected with it’s tuning style. Again if you’re one of those people who prioritize “technicalities”, “soundstage” and treble extension (you shouldn’t) then the explorer is not the iem for you.

Comparisons

I don’t think there’s anything like the explorer at it’s price range, or even above, it’s a very unique take on warmth. However I’ll still be comparing to some other “warm” iems I own at the moment below:

· Truthear hola: The hola is another iem that follows the ief 2020-esque mid range (but without any 3k dip). I think the explorer is a better iem in every way, bass hits much harder with a much more tolerable upper treble.

· Truthear pure: Pure is probably the de facto neutral iem south of $300. I know many people consider it warm neutral but it is just neutral to me. Pure is a much more natural sounding iem, Not nearly as coloured or flavoured as the explorer, pure is more mid bass forward while the explorer rumbles harder, I generally prefer the explorer’s bass response. Explorer is much more comfortable with stronger isolation. I think ideally you should own both.

Conclusion

The explorer is probably the most flavoured iem under $200. I highly recommend it to anyone that wants a comfortable non fatiguing iem that you can wear all day. The bass hits hard, the mids are relaxed, mid treble still gives it clarity while the upper treble gives it almost no harshness. The most nuanced take on warmth I’ve heard.

TL;DR

The Op.22 is an excellent budget iem that nails the 5128 df target for $35, get it if you want something neutral for under $50 or degenerate amounts of bass that fits medium to larger ears.

• Sound: 7.5/10
• Build quality: 6/10
• Comfort: 5/10
• Value: 9.5/10

Context

I bought this iem with my own money, I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

• Aesthetics & Build: The iems are made of plastic, build quality feels decent, the knob feels sturdy. These look like budget dunu braindance lol, has a cyberpunk vibe that I like.
• Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are definitely on the bulkier side and are not for small ears, since these iems have a qdc connector which digs into my ears, I use L size kb07 style eartips that adds some gap between the connector and my outer ear. Isolation on these is average. Do not get these if you have small ears.
• Cable & Accessories: The cable is fine, its not great but its not bad either, while it looks similar to the cables from truthear hola and gate (which are excellent), these feel a noticeably thinner on hand, they also have aggressive earhooks that might bother some. The iems come with 2 sets of eartips, one set of trn t ear tips which are very grippy and one set of soft silicone eartips with soft stems. The included ear tips are very good for the price but I unfortunately couldn’t get a good fit with them.

The Sound

The op.22 has a 2 dd + 2ba configuration with a tuning dial that adds a whole 6 db bass shelf that starts clean from 1khz, interestingly the bass dial does not affect the volume. While I initially preferred the sound with bass dial on, spending more time with it made me realize it actually adds a TON of bass for my liking, so I mostly used it in the neutral mode.

• Bass (20 hz to 300 hz): The bass dial adds a shit ton of bass to the iem, while it gives it a lot of body to the sound its not particularly good bass imo, sure it rumbles but lacks the mid bass punch that I love and ends up sounding pillow-ey to me. The bass on neutral mode is much more reasonable but still not fantastic, it sounds kinda blunt in its attack.
• Mids (300 hz to 4000 hz): The iem has a linear rise from 1khz to 20hz which is quite impressive for it’s price. The op.22 follows the 5128 diffuse field pinna which shifts the ear gain a little forward, with a prominent dip from 1khz to 3khz compared to the population average. The mids and treble are where this iem shines imo, while it might sound a little thin (something it shares with iem such as the hexa), vocals have excellent texture and weight to them, male vocals have that gravel to them I love. Overall the mids sound super natural, it might not sound very contrasty to those coming from harman adjacent iems but these are much more natural and enjoyable while being closer to neutral imo.
• Mid Treble: Since this iem follows the 5128 df pinna, there is a noticeable mid treble elevation from 4 khz to 8 khz. This iem has some of the smoothest and most natural treble I’ve heard in an iem irrespective of the price, there is no added sibilance or harshness. I generally dislike bright sounding iems but the mid treble on the op.22 is smooth enough that I find it enjoyable
• Upper Treble: Upper treble is generally what makes or breaks an iem for me, I’m very sensitive to upper treble spikes and im happy to say, the op.22 has none. The treble is well extended to hear all the “details” while being smooth enough to not offend me.
• Technicalities and Soundstage: I don’t particularly care for “tech” in iem, the op.22 has very good imaging and detail retrieval. While soundstage doesn’t physically exist on iems (or headphones) the op.22 captures the psychoacoustic sense of space in tracks fairly well, no complaints here.

Comparisons

This is a significant step up from the previously well regarded sub $50 iems that all follow a version of ief neutral 2020 or harman ie 2019 (such as truthear gate, truthear zero red, hola). Comparing to some iems I own at the moment below:

• Truthear hola: It’s not even close, op.22 is a much better iem in every way imo. Significantly tighter bass (hola bass can sound loose and flabby) with much more forgiving upper treble (hola has a brutal air peak)
• Truthear hexa: very solid iem but it suffers from some resonance peaks around 8k that make me prefer the op.22. Bass isn’t great on either of them, they’re both similar.
• Aful explorer: these iems couldn’t be further apart, you should own both imo. Aful explorer much more comfortable compared to the op.22 with stronger isolation, better bass quality and texture. Explorer has almost an elastic quality to the bass. It’s also a very relaxed and dark sounding iem, vocals on the explorer could sound unnatural to some because of the pinna dip, op.22 ends up sounding much more true to life.
• Tanchjim bunny dsp default: op.22 is significantly better, smoother treble, less shouty, less colored midrange and doesn’t suffer from the nasty upper treble spike like the bunny.

What I would change via eq

adding a tiny bass boost around 50hz (2 db, q = 0.5) to the neutral model livens up the bass extremely well that these could genuinely be an endgame neutral iem.

Conclusion

The op.22 is a much needed breath of fresh air in the sub $50 single dd hell. We finally get an iem that’s not another variant of harman ie 2019 or ief 2020 and actually follows a newer target. I highly recommend these to anyone that’s new to the hobby and are still figuring out their preferences (since these have 2 tuning modes that you can switch between in an instant) or if you’re just tired of all the uncontrolled upper spikes under $50.

TL;DR

The Op.22 is an excellent budget iem that nails the 5128 df target for $35, get it if you want something neutral for under $50 or degenerate amounts of bass that fits medium to larger ears.

• Sound: 7.5/10
• Build quality: 6/10
• Comfort: 5/10
• Value: 9.5/10

Context

I bought this iem with my own money, I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

• Aesthetics & Build: The iems are made of plastic, build quality feels decent, the knob feels sturdy. These look like budget dunu braindance lol, has a cyberpunk vibe that I like.
• Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are definitely on the bulkier side and are not for small ears, since these iems have a qdc connector which digs into my ears, I use L size kb07 style eartips that adds some gap between the connector and my outer ear. Isolation on these is average. Do not get these if you have small ears.
• Cable & Accessories: The cable is fine, its not great but its not bad either, while it looks similar to the cables from truthear hola and gate (which are excellent), these feel a noticeably thinner on hand, they also have aggressive earhooks that might bother some. The iems come with 2 sets of eartips, one set of trn t ear tips which are very grippy and one set of soft silicone eartips with soft stems. The included ear tips are very good for the price but I unfortunately couldn’t get a good fit with them.

The Sound

The op.22 has a 2 dd + 2ba configuration with a tuning dial that adds a whole 6 db bass shelf that starts clean from 1khz, interestingly the bass dial does not affect the volume. While I initially preferred the sound with bass dial on, spending more time with it made me realize it actually adds a TON of bass for my liking, so I mostly used it in the neutral mode.

• Bass (20 hz to 300 hz): The bass dial adds a shit ton of bass to the iem, while it gives it a lot of body to the sound its not particularly good bass imo, sure it rumbles but lacks the mid bass punch that I love and ends up sounding pillow-ey to me. The bass on neutral mode is much more reasonable but still not fantastic, it sounds kinda blunt in its attack.
• Mids (300 hz to 4000 hz): The iem has a linear rise from 1khz to 20hz which is quite impressive for it’s price. The op.22 follows the 5128 diffuse field pinna which shifts the ear gain a little forward, with a prominent dip from 1khz to 3khz compared to the population average. The mids and treble are where this iem shines imo, while it might sound a little thin (something it shares with iem such as the hexa), vocals have excellent texture and weight to them, male vocals have that gravel to them I love. Overall the mids sound super natural, it might not sound very contrasty to those coming from harman adjacent iems but these are much more natural and enjoyable while being closer to neutral imo.
• Mid Treble: Since this iem follows the 5128 df pinna, there is a noticeable mid treble elevation from 4 khz to 8 khz. This iem has some of the smoothest and most natural treble I’ve heard in an iem irrespective of the price, there is no added sibilance or harshness. I generally dislike bright sounding iems but the mid treble on the op.22 is smooth enough that I find it enjoyable
• Upper Treble: Upper treble is generally what makes or breaks an iem for me, I’m very sensitive to upper treble spikes and im happy to say, the op.22 has none. The treble is well extended to hear all the “details” while being smooth enough to not offend me.
• Technicalities and Soundstage: I don’t particularly care for “tech” in iem, the op.22 has very good imaging and detail retrieval. While soundstage doesn’t physically exist on iems (or headphones) the op.22 captures the psychoacoustic sense of space in tracks fairly well, no complaints here.

Comparisons

This is a significant step up from the previously well regarded sub $50 iems that all follow a version of ief neutral 2020 or harman ie 2019 (such as truthear gate, truthear zero red, hola). Comparing to some iems I own at the moment below:

• Truthear hola: It’s not even close, op.22 is a much better iem in every way imo. Significantly tighter bass (hola bass can sound loose and flabby) with much more forgiving upper treble (hola has a brutal air peak)
• Truthear hexa: very solid iem but it suffers from some resonance peaks around 8k that make me prefer the op.22. Bass isn’t great on either of them, they’re both similar.
• Aful explorer: these iems couldn’t be further apart, you should own both imo. Aful explorer much more comfortable compared to the op.22 with stronger isolation, better bass quality and texture. Explorer has almost an elastic quality to the bass. It’s also a very relaxed and dark sounding iem, vocals on the explorer could sound unnatural to some because of the pinna dip, op.22 ends up sounding much more true to life.
• Tanchjim bunny dsp default: op.22 is significantly better, smoother treble, less shouty, less colored midrange and doesn’t suffer from the nasty upper treble spike like the bunny.

What I would change via eq

adding a tiny bass boost around 50hz (2 db, q = 0.5) to the neutral model livens up the bass extremely well that these could genuinely be an endgame neutral iem.

Conclusion

The op.22 is a much needed breath of fresh air in the sub $50 single dd hell. We finally get an iem that’s not another variant of harman ie 2019 or ief 2020 and actually follows a newer target. I highly recommend these to anyone that’s new to the hobby and are still figuring out their preferences (since these have 2 tuning modes that you can switch between in an instant) or if you’re just tired of all the uncontrolled upper spikes under $50.

TL;DR

The Op.22 is an excellent budget iem that nails the 5128 df target for 3.5k, get it if you want something neutral for under 10k or degenerate amounts of bass that fits medium to larger ears.

• Sound: 7.5/10
• Build quality: 6/10
• Comfort: 5/10
• Value: 9.5/10

Context

I bought this iem with my own money, I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

• Aesthetics & Build: The iems are made of plastic, build quality feels decent, the knob feels sturdy. These look like budget dunu braindance lol, has a cyberpunk vibe that i like.
• Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are definitely on the bulkier side and are not for small ears, since these iems have a qdc connector which digs into my ears, I use L size kb07 style eartips that adds some gap between the connector and my outer ear. Isolation on these is average. Do not get these if you have small ears.
• Cable & Accessories: The cable is fine, its not great but its not bad either, while it looks similar to the cables from truthear hola and gate (which are excellent), these feel a noticeably thinner on hand, they also have aggressive earhooks that might bother some. The iems come with 2 sets of eartips, one set of trn t ear tips which are very grippy and one set of soft silicone eartips with soft stems. The included ear tips are very good for the price but I unfortunately couldn’t get a good fit with them.

The Sound

The op.22 has a 2 dd + 2ba configuration with a tuning dial that adds a whole 6 db bass shelf that starts clean from 1khz, interestingly the bass dial does not affect the volume. While I initially preferred the sound with bass dial on, spending more time with it made me realize it actually adds a TON of bass for my liking, so I mostly used it in the neutral mode.

• Bass (20 hz to 300 hz): The bass dial adds a shit ton of bass to the iem, while it gives it a lot of body to the sound its not particularly good bass imo, sure it rumbles but lacks the mid bass punch that I love and ends up sounding pillow-ey to me. The bass on neutral mode is much more reasonable but still not fantastic, it sounds kinda blunt in its attack.
• Mids (300 hz to 4000 hz): The iem has a linear rise from 1khz to 20hz which is quite impressive for it’s price. The op.22 follows the 5128 diffuse field pinna which shifts the ear gain a little forward, with a prominent dip from 1khz to 3khz compared to the population average. The mids and treble are where this iem shines imo, while it might sound a little thin (something it shares with iem such as the hexa), vocals have excellent texture and weight to them, male vocals have that gravel to them I love. Overall the mids sound super natural, it might not sound very contrasty to those coming from harman adjacent iems but these are much more natural and enjoyable while being closer to neutral imo.
• Mid Treble: Since this iem follows the 5128 df pinna, there is a noticeable mid treble elevation from 4 khz to 8 khz. This iem has some of the smoothest and most natural treble I’ve heard in an iem irrespective of the price, there is no added sibilance or harshness. I generally dislike bright sounding iems but the mid treble on the op.22 is smooth enough that I find it enjoyable
• Upper Treble: Upper treble is generally what makes or breaks an iem for me, I’m very sensitive to upper treble spikes and im happy to say, the op.22 has none. The treble is well extended to hear all the “details” while being smooth enough to not offend me.
• Technicalities and Soundstage: I don’t particularly care for “tech” in iem, the op.22 has very good imaging and detail retrieval. While soundstage doesn’t physically exist on iems (or headphones) the op.22 captures the psychoacoustic sense of space in tracks fairly well, no complaints here.

Comparisons

This is a significant step up from the previously well regarded sub 5k iems that all follow a version of ief neutral 2020 or harman ie 2019 (such as truthear gate, truthear zero red, hola). Comparing to some iems I own at the moment below:

• Truthear hola: It’s not even close, op.22 is a much better iem in every way imo. Significantly tighter bass (hola bass can sound loose and flabby) with much more forgiving upper treble (hola has a brutal air peak)
• Truthear hexa: very solid iem but it suffers from some resonance peaks around 8k that make me prefer the op.22. Bass isn’t great on either of them, they’re both similar.
• Aful explorer: these iems couldn’t be further apart, you should own both imo. Aful explorer much more comfortable compared to the op.22 with stronger isolation, better bass quality and texture. Explorer has almost an elastic quality to the bass. It’s also a very relaxed and dark sounding iem, vocals on the explorer could sound unnatural to some because of the pinna dip, op.22 ends up sounding much more true to life.
• Tanchjim bunny dsp default: op.22 is significantly better, smoother treble, less shouty, less colored midrange and doesn’t suffer from the nasty upper treble spike like the bunny.

What I would change via eq

adding a tiny bass boost around 50hz (2 db, q = 0.5) to the neutral model livens up the bass extremely well that these could genuinely be an endgame neutral iem.

Conclusion

The op.22 is a much needed breath of fresh air in the sub 5k single dd hell. We finally get an iem that’s not another variant of harman ie 2019 or ief 2020 and actually follows a newer target. I highly recommend these to anyone that’s new to the hobby and are still figuring out their preferences (since these have 2 tuning modes that you can switch between in an instant) or if you’re just tired of all the uncontrolled upper spikes under 5k.

TL;DR

The Op.22 is an excellent budget iem that nails the 5128 df target for $35, get it if you want something neutral for under $50 or degenerate amounts of bass that fits medium to larger ears.

• Sound: 7.5/10
• Build quality: 6/10
• Comfort: 5/10
• Value: 9.5/10

Context

I bought this iem with my own money, I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

• Aesthetics & Build: The iems are made of plastic, build quality feels decent, the knob feels sturdy
• Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are definitely on the bulkier side and are not for small ears, since these iems have a qdc connector which digs into my ears, I use L size kb07 style eartips that adds some gap between the connector and my outer ear. Isolation on these is average. Do not get these if you have small ears.
• Cable & Accessories: The cable is fine, its not great but its not bad either, while it looks similar to the cables from truthear hola and gate (which are excellent), these feel a noticeably thinner on hand, they also have aggressive earhooks that might bother some. The iems come with 2 sets of eartips, one set of trn t ear tips which are very grippy and one set of soft silicone eartips with soft stems. The included ear tips are very good for the price but I unfortunately couldn’t get a good fit with them.

The Sound

The op.22 has a 2 dd + 2ba configuration with a tuning dial that adds a whole 6 db bass shelf that starts clean from 1khz, interestingly the bass dial does not affect the volume. While I initially preferred the sound with bass dial on, spending more time with it made me realize it actually adds a TON of bass for my liking, so I mostly used it in the neutral mode.

• Bass (20 hz to 300 hz): The bass dial adds a shit ton of bass to the iem, while it gives it a lot of body to the sound its not particularly good bass imo, sure it rumbles but lacks the mid bass punch that I love and ends up sounding pillow-ey to me. The bass on neutral mode is much more reasonable but still not fantastic, it sounds kinda blunt in its attack.
• Mids (300 hz to 4000 hz): The iem has a linear rise from 1khz to 20hz which is quite impressive for it’s price. The op.22 follows the 5128 diffuse field pinna which shifts the ear gain a little forward, with a prominent dip from 1khz to 3khz compared to the population average. The mids and treble are where this iem shines imo, while it might sound a little thin (something it shares with iem such as the hexa), vocals have excellent texture and weight to them, male vocals have that gravel to them I love. Overall the mids sound super natural, it might not sound very contrasty to those coming from harman adjacent iems but these are much more natural and enjoyable while being closer to neutral imo.
• Mid Treble: Since this iem follows the 5128 df pinna, there is a noticeable mid treble elevation from 4 khz to 8 khz. This iem has some of the smoothest and most natural treble I’ve heard in an iem irrespective of the price, there is no added sibilance or harshness. I generally dislike bright sounding iems but the mid treble on the op.22 is smooth enough that I find it enjoyable
• Upper Treble: Upper treble is generally what makes or breaks an iem for me, I’m very sensitive to upper treble spikes and im happy to say, the op.22 has none. The treble is well extended to hear all the “details” while being smooth enough to not offend me.
• Technicalities and Soundstage: I don’t particularly care for “tech” in iem, the op.22 has very good imaging and detail retrieval. While soundstage doesn’t physically exist on iems (or headphones) the op.22 captures the psychoacoustic sense of space in tracks fairly well, no complaints here.

Comparisons

This is a significant step up from the previously well regarded sub $50 iems that all follow a version of ief 2020 or harman ie 2019 (such as truthear gate, truthear zero red, hola). Comparing to some iems I own at the moment below:

• Truthear hola: It’s not even close, op.22 is a much better iem in every way imo. Significantly tighter bass (hola bass can sound loose and flabby) with much more forgiving upper treble (hola has a brutal air peak)
• Truthear hexa: very solid iem but it suffers from some resonance peaks around 8k that make me prefer the op.22. Bass isn’t great on either of them, they’re both similar.
• Aful explorer: these iems couldn’t be further apart, you should own both imo. Aful explorer much more comfortable compared to the op.22 with stronger isolation, better bass quality and texture. Explorer has almost an elastic quality to the bass. It’s also a very relaxed and dark sounding iem, vocals on the explorer could sound unnatural to some because of the pinna dip, op.22 ends up sounding much more true to life.
• Tanchjim bunny dsp default: op.22 is significantly better, smoother treble, less shouty, less colored midrange and doesn’t suffer from the nasty upper treble spike like the bunny.

What I would change via eq

adding a tiny bass boost around 50hz (2 db, q = 0.5) to the neutral model livens up the bass extremely well that these could genuinely be an endgame neutral iem.

Conclusion

The op.22 is a much needed breath of fresh air in the sub $50 single dd hell. We finally get an iem that’s not another variant of harman ie 2019 or ief 2020 and actually follows a newer target. I highly recommend these to anyone that’s new to the hobby and are still figuring out their preferences (since these have 2 tuning modes that you can switch between in an instant) or if you’re just tired of all the uncontrolled upper spikes under $50.

TL;DR

The Op.22 is an excellent budget iem that nails the 5128 df target for $35, get it if you want something neutral for under $50 or degenerate amounts of bass that fits medium to larger ears.

• Sound: 7.5/10
• Build quality: 6/10
• Comfort: 5/10
• Value: 9.5/10

Context

I bought this iem with my own money, I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

• Aesthetics & Build: The iems are made of plastic, build quality feels decent, the knob feels sturdy. These look like budget dunu braindance lol, has a cyberpunk vibe that I like.
• Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are definitely on the bulkier side and are not for small ears, since these iems have a qdc connector which digs into my ears, I use L size kb07 style eartips that adds some gap between the connector and my outer ear. Isolation on these is average. Do not get these if you have small ears.
• Cable and Accessories: The cable is fine, its not great but its not bad either, while it looks similar to the cables from truthear hola and gate (which are excellent), these feel a noticeably thinner on hand, they also have aggressive earhooks that might bother some. The iems come with 2 sets of eartips, one set of trn t ear tips which are very grippy and one set of soft silicone eartips with soft stems. The included ear tips are very good for the price but I unfortunately couldn’t get a good fit with them.

The Sound

The op.22 has a 2 dd + 2ba configuration with a tuning dial that adds a whole 6 db bass shelf that starts clean from 1khz, interestingly the bass dial does not affect the volume. While I initially preferred the sound with bass dial on, spending more time with it made me realize it actually adds a TON of bass for my liking, so I mostly used it in the neutral mode.

• Bass (20 hz to 300 hz): The bass dial adds a shit ton of bass to the iem, while it gives it a lot of body to the sound its not particularly good bass imo, sure it rumbles but lacks the mid bass punch that I love and ends up sounding pillow-ey to me. The bass on neutral mode is much more reasonable but still not fantastic, it sounds kinda blunt in its attack.
• Mids (300 hz to 4000 hz): The iem has a linear rise from 1khz to 20hz which is quite impressive for it’s price. The op.22 follows the 5128 diffuse field pinna which shifts the ear gain a little forward, with a prominent dip from 1khz to 3khz compared to the population average. The mids and treble are where this iem shines imo, while it might sound a little thin (something it shares with iem such as the hexa), vocals have excellent texture and weight to them, male vocals have that gravel to them I love. Overall the mids sound super natural, it might not sound very contrasty to those coming from harman adjacent iems but these are much more natural and enjoyable while being closer to neutral imo.
• Mid Treble: Since this iem follows the 5128 df pinna, there is a noticeable mid treble elevation from 4 khz to 8 khz. This iem has some of the smoothest and most natural treble I’ve heard in an iem irrespective of the price, there is no added sibilance or harshness. I generally dislike bright sounding iems but the mid treble on the op.22 is smooth enough that I find it enjoyable
• Upper Treble: Upper treble is generally what makes or breaks an iem for me, I’m very sensitive to upper treble spikes and im happy to say, the op.22 has none. The treble is well extended to hear all the “details” while being smooth enough to not offend me.
• Technicalities and Soundstage: I don’t particularly care for “tech” in iem, the op.22 has very good imaging and detail retrieval. While soundstage doesn’t physically exist on iems (or headphones) the op.22 captures the psychoacoustic sense of space in tracks fairly well, no complaints here.

Comparisons

This is a significant step up from the previously well regarded sub $50 iems that all follow a version of ief neutral 2020 or harman ie 2019 (such as truthear gate, truthear zero red, hola). Comparing to some iems I own at the moment below:

• Truthear hola: It’s not even close, op.22 is a much better iem in every way imo. Significantly tighter bass (hola bass can sound loose and flabby) with much more forgiving upper treble (hola has a brutal air peak)
• Truthear hexa: very solid iem but it suffers from some resonance peaks around 8k that make me prefer the op.22. Bass isn’t great on either of them, they’re both similar.
• Aful explorer: these iems couldn’t be further apart, you should own both imo. Aful explorer much more comfortable compared to the op.22 with stronger isolation, better bass quality and texture. Explorer has almost an elastic quality to the bass. It’s also a very relaxed and dark sounding iem, vocals on the explorer could sound unnatural to some because of the pinna dip, op.22 ends up sounding much more true to life.
• Tanchjim bunny dsp default: op.22 is significantly better, smoother treble, less shouty, less colored midrange and doesn’t suffer from the nasty upper treble spike like the bunny.

What I would change via eq

adding a tiny bass boost around 50hz (2 db, q = 0.5) to the neutral model livens up the bass extremely well that these could genuinely be an endgame neutral iem.

Conclusion

The op.22 is a much needed breath of fresh air in the sub $50 single dd hell. We finally get an iem that’s not another variant of harman ie 2019 or ief 2020 and actually follows a newer target. I highly recommend these to anyone that’s new to the hobby and are still figuring out their preferences (since these have 2 tuning modes that you can switch between in an instant) or if you’re just tired of all the uncontrolled upper spikes under $50.