Whizzer Kylin HE01 is a single DD IEM with an unusual design and price set at 79,99 USD.
Introduction
Model HE01 is my first meeting with the Whizzer company in-hand. Before that, I never had a chance to listen to any of their products. All I’ve known about them was my friends’ thoughts. And well, they’re mixed. Some of Whizzer’s products are great, and others have some issues.
How’s that this time? You’ll know everything soon.
Packaging & Build quality
The first impression is excellent. Earphones come in a well-made double box (but getting one out of the second is kinda tricky), which really impressed me because it’s just a 79$ IEM, and the packaging could hide way more expensive earphones. What’s inside, you would ask, and the list is kinda standard.
- Two complete sets of silicone eartips (regular and vocal)
- 5N OCC cable
- The round case made of metal
Build quality makes a worse impression than the unboxing, that’s for sure. A transparent plastic shell is just feeling cheap in-hand. The faceplate is way better, also in terms of design. It’s plastic too, but way thicker, with a copper outline. The best-made thing in the set, beside the box, is the cable. It doesn’t tangle easily, but the weave is unusual. It’s tightly woven, looking like a chain. Splitter and 3,5mm connector are made of metal, and I think it won’t break unless you’ll put much power into it. 2pin connectors are made of plastic, and no standoff goes around the ear, so some will love that, and the rest will hate it. I’m between those two groups because even if I prefer a flexible standoff, I’m not missing it in there.
Comfort & Isolation
Comfort is pretty good, the earphones don’t have any special shape, and are pretty small, so everyone should be satisfied with the fit.
In terms of isolation, things are a little worse. There are two holes for equalizing the pressure, so it’s not a total cut-off, but it’s also better than the isolation that the Bqeyz Spring 2 provides.
Sound
The sound is vivid and highly saturated. The frequency range edges are hardly smoothed, with more texture in the middle, but pushed back vocals because of the solid V-looking graph.
The bass is smoooooooooooth. It’s delicately soft and a little slow. If you’ve heard the beginning of “bad guy” by Billie Eilish, you know how hard and fast it can be there. In HE01, if I had to paint this bass, it’s usually a square, but this time, it’s a solid sinusoid. Besides that, the whole bass part is potent, especially subbass and kickbass. The midbass lacks speed and dynamic. At this price range, it’s acceptable, and some people like that playstyle, but if you prefer a more technical style, you can find better IEMs.
The midrange is well more articulated in terms of any microdetails in singers’ voices. Their hoarseness is almost tangible, and it gets really close to the level of Shozy Form1.1, which still leads in the texture at this price range. The subbass delicately covers low male vocals at some hip-hop music. I didn’t notice that with any other theme. For example, The Weeknd’s higher voice is on the first plan, and nothing bothers his show. Of course, that’s also dependent on the mix and mastering, but I’m always trying to find proper tracks that are greatly produced.
As I mentioned before, the treble is smooth. Not as smooth as the bass, but, for sure, it’s a delicate one. I only hear a pick around 4kHz and 6,5Khz that can be pretty irritating, but it doesn’t bother me in music. Because of the treble delicacy, I miss sparkles in there. It doesn’t shine, doesn’t bring a lot to the sound. When I’m listening to classical music, it is a bit boring for me. The double bass is on the first plan, but violins and piano stay in the shadow.
I know that plenty of people hate a more articulated treble, so I think that’s the IEM for them.
Imaging, the width of the stage, and positioning are a substantial part of HE01. As with most single DD constructions, the soundstage is wide and round. It also shows a decent depth. The main topic is set in the average distance, but when needed, it gets closer but doesn’t fly too far away. Positioning is pretty precise, with marked, delicately blurred pinpoints. Whizzer’s lets the listener dive in the music, and that’s really great.
So yeah, I’d like to put a short summary about the sound quality here. It’s a specific earphone, with a V-shaped sound signature, and darkened a little. It’s a head kicker with smooth frequencies’ edges, and personally, I didn’t really enjoy HE01 for music. But I love them for movies! All effects, explosions, car chases, gunshots are making a really good impression. I think I’ll be using them for journeys and watching films on the road.
Comparisons
Whizzer Kylin HE01 vs. Shozy Form1.1
The HE01 is way more fun to listen to. Shozy shows a more natural and calmer performance, so it’s a universal IEM, not like the Whizzer’s set for one target. Form 1.1 has a more technical style, with a lot of texture, faster bass, and better-articulated treble. On the other hand, when both have a decent soundstage, the HE01 performs a little better. It has a broader and delicately deeper soundstage, which shows all the directions correctly.
Whizzer Kylin HE01 vs. Bqeyz Spring 2
Two different worlds. The first one is darker, bassy, with a great soundstage, when the second one is bright, fast, with less space inside. As the Bqeyz IEM is named with the season appropriately, and I’d have to call the Whizzer, I’d say it’s an autumn evening.
Pairing
Whizzer Kylin HE01 isn’t an IEM that’s changing a lot using different sound sources, but it needs an amp with a truly black background. From all tested sources, only SMSL SH-9 and ddHiFi TC25B provided a proper silence.
Summary
Whizzer Kylin HE01 is a lovely designed IEM with a specific playstyle but overall decent SQ. A little dark-sounding, smooth, powerful bass and great soundstage. All of that, with a great box and set, you can get for just 79,99$.
Recommended.
Gear used during this review for the sake of comparison and as an accompanying equipment:
- Headphones – Campfire Audio Vega 2020, Craft Ears Four CIEM, Moondrop SSP, Shozy Form 1.1, KZ ZS6
- Sources– Cayin N3Pro, SMSL SU-9 + SH-9, EarMen Eagle, EarMen TR-AMP, ddHiFi TC44B, xDuoo XD-05 Plus
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