Pros:
- Excellent build quality
- Excellent price to performance ratio
- Tons of included eartips
- Great noise isolation
Cons:
- None
Introduction:
Audiosense is a Chinese company that specializes in producing in-ear monitors. Their lineup mostly consists of IEMs with full BA setups. Their DT and T series exclusively use BAs, while their AQ series uses a hybrid setup of BA + DD. The DT300 is the third and newest model in their DT series which currently retails for 180 USD, and was provided to me at a discounted price by Audiosense in exchange for this review.
Specifications:
Driver units: 3 Knowles balanced armature
Impedance: 11 ohms
Sensitivity: 106 ± 3 dB
Frequency response range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
Source:
Poco X3 paired with iBasso DC03 and Shanling UA1
Test tracks:
Africano - Earth Wind and Fire
Dark Necessities - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Gurenge - Lisa
The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
Monsters - All Time Low
Ours - Taylor Swift
Stay - Mayday Parade
Snuff - Slipknot
Yesterday Once More - Carpenters
So Slow - Freestyle
Aurora Sunrise - Franco
Attention - Pentatonix
Blue Bird - Ikimono-gakari
You're Still The One - Shania Twain
Anyone Who Knows What Love Is(Will Understand) - Irma Thomas
Salamin - Slapshock
AOV - Slipknot
Hey Jude - The Beatles
The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson
...and a lot more.
Unboxing and Accessories:
The DT300 comes in a black rectangular box that's very smooth to the touch. Removing the sleeve and the magnetic flap of the box reveals a large, clear waterproof case that contains the earphones, which is snuggled up in foams, cable, and all other accessories. Accessories include a cleaning tool, 4 sets of different eartips, velcro strap for the cable, and an instruction manual.
The eartips, from left to right in the picture, are the GT40S, S400, generic silicone tips, and the AT400/AT100 foam tips.
Build:
The shell is made of 3D printed transparent resin. The surface is glossy and very smooth. The faceplates sport the Audiosense logo decorated with abalone and gold flakes. The pattern of the flakes is unique to each shell, so no 2 shells and pairs share the same pattern. Looking at the other side you will see the 3 balanced armature driver units that they used with a tube attached to their individual nozzles going to the main nozzle of the shell.
The cable is the standard Audiosense 8 core silver plated copper which is very soft, lightweight, and tightly braided. The male MMCX connectors are made of plastic with color coded side indicators. The splitter and chin slider are made of metal, while the 3.5mm L-type gold plated plug is made of hard rubber.
Now let's get to the sound.
Lows:
The lows are big sounding, full of impact, and has great texture. Subbass surprisingly reaches very deep, along with a just enough length of decay. It also has a great level of rumble. Midbass is neutrally placed and noticeably solid, with a thickness that is slightly elevated. There is no audible bleed of the lows to the mids.
Overall, the DT300 surprised me with its lows, considering it has an all-BA setup. It doesn't suffer from the infamous "BA bass" stereotype. The lows never felt insufficient, and provides that substantial thump when the song calls for it.
Mids:
The mids sit at the center of the mix and fractionally lean to the front. Vocals are slightly forward and reproduced with great clarity. Male and female vocals sound very natural and lively. They share the same note weight that is slightly thick. The mids have no weird peaks so it never sounded harsh or aggressive.
Overall, the mids are nicely articulated. The added thickness and slight forwardness make the mids sweeter and contributes to a more fun listening experience.
Highs:
The highs are slightly smoothened and have an adequate amount of sparkle. It is well controlled but doesn't get drowned out by the other frequencies. Treble reach and its decay is average. Just like the mids, there are no peaks here that can cause uncomfortability.
Overall, the highs have a neutral presentation. It does not get aggressive, it does not get lost in the mix especially on complex tracks, but it simply stays audible in the background throughout each track.
Soundstage and Imaging:
The stage has an above average expansion, with the height having slightly more space than the width. The stage adds a very natural feel of airiness and openness to the music. Imaging is above average, instruments and their positions can be identified and pinpointed fairly easily. Layering is great as well as the separation. Congestion is very minimal especially on well recorded tracks.
Comparisons:
Audiosense DT300 (3 BA, 180 USD) vs. BGVP DM6 (5 BA, 189 USD)
The DT300 is evidently louder. DT300 has longer decay and more rumble in the subbass. The midbass sounds thicker and more forward in the DM6. The mids sounds way more natural, open, and transparent in the DT300, although they have the same thickness. In the treble region, the DM6 has more reach and decay, the DT300 doesn't fall behind much but it does not have the sibilance tendencies of the DM6.
Conclusion:
The Audiosense DT300 offers great value for money. The shells are beautifully designed, well built, it's smaller than average so comfort will not be a problem for most people, not to mention Audiosense included a lot of different eartips to help with the fit and for tweaking the sound. While the mids and highs sound pleasant and I consider them to be mature, the lows really surprised me here. It doesn't reach basshead levels, but definitely it is there when needed.
Tags:
In-Ear Monitors