Happy Holidays!

2010 has turned out to be quite a busy year for me. Though I have missed a few IEM I really want to review, I think it is still a very fruitful and enjoyable year, to say the least. One thing I think it is pretty obvious this year is the booming expansion of the IEM market, and even earbuds seem to making a comeback as well! This trend will probably continue to the whole 2011, marking a new height in the world of portable music, if I may say so.

With X'mas less than 15 minutes away, I'll like to take the chance to thank the retailers, distributors and manufacturers who are kind enough to send me samples for review, and of course you, the reader, on supporting this blog. To you all, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

[REVIEW] ECCI PR401

Again, I’ll like to thank delonicdevil for sending me the samples. ECCI has been quite a budget oriented brand on all their previous IEM, having bang-for-the-bucks factor almost as good as its competitors in the sub US$50 category (PR100, PR200 and PR300 have been reviewed here). However, the new PR401 is aimed at a higher ground, pushing for a US$75 price tag and a place in the most crowded part of the IEM market.

[REVIEW] Ortofon e-Q5 – Less is More

I want to thanks Dimitri @ Musica Acoustics Japan (MAJ) for providing the review sample. MAJ is one of the biggest Japanese earphone exporter. If you are interested in getting an e-Q5 from MAJ (which ship internationally), you can email them for detail. If you are a Head-fier, you might even get yourself a discount (depends on whether they still have the promotion running or not, though it won’t hurt asking).

Just a little over a year ago, I reviewed the e-Q7, one of the first IEM to use the innovative moving armature transducer and certainly one of the top-tier universal IEM in the market. For those who are not familiar with moving armature, this Japanese invented transducer is a sort of hybrid, with diaphragm like moving coil transducer and motor like balanced armature (BA). It is this combination of design that gives the moving armature a unique sound –the speed and accuracy of a BA plus the dynamic and impact of a moving coil under one single driver. Yet this single driver is well enough to compete with some of the best universal multi drivers IEM in the market. With the success of e-Q7, Ortofon follows up with the recent release of e-Q5 – Built on the same moving armature technology, it is said that Ortofon is managed to make a less expensive IEM, yet retains the level of sound quality. Is it too good to be true?

Custom in Universal: j-phonic K2

Companies like Sensaphonics love to keep it low key when it comes to product launch, which is probably why not much info about their already-in-market-for months, brand new, company's first universal dual balanced armature IEM. It is the brainchild (*see update below) of Sensaphonics Japanese devision, named the j-phonic K2. Though it is an universal IEM, it has quite tons of customizable features. First, you get to choose whether you want a stage monitor or music listening tuning (sound signature wise), then there are 8 colors on housing to choose from, follows by 3 different length in cable, 2 different style of 3.5mm plugs (straight or L-shaped), 2 different style of Comply eartips (3 sized T or TX series, total 6 pairs) and 2 different size of hard case with 3 different color options in rubber lining - a total of 1152 different combinations, WOW! That really blows my mind off since this is just an universal IEM. This is a model specially designed for the Japanese's ear shape which is different from the Western developed products that the company originally sells, but I don't see why it won't fit the rest of the world as well. MSRP in Japan is almost $500 with shipping included - a bit on  the expensive side but I think it is still worth it, consider how much effort Sensaphonics Japan has put into the j-phonic K2.

[UPDATE]  Got words from Sensaphonics Japan. They want to point out that Sensaphonics Japan itself is not responsible for the manufacturing of j-phonic, but only the marketing. Rather, this IEM is a combined work of several top Japanese designers and experts in the various fields. They are in process of setting up a English site and bringing this IEM to the international market, but price has not been fixed yet as they are still seeking way to lower the impact on recently heighten JPY to USD exchange rate.