Anew U1 Review

Introduction:

Anew is a new company located in Dongguan City, China and is producing Electroacoustic Equipments such as In-Ear Monitors. The Anew U1 is their first product for the global market and is using a single dynamic driver with CNT (Carbon Nano Tube) diaphragm technology.

Disclaimer:

The Anew U1 In-Ear Monitor was provided to me by the company Anew via Penon Audio for review purposes. I am not affiliated with Anew or Penon Audio beyond this review and these words reflect my true and unaltered opinions about the product.

Price:

The MSRP price for the Anew U1 In-Ear Monitor is 129,00 USD and can be purchased under the following link.

Purchase Link: https://penonaudio.com/anew-u1.html

Package and Accessories:

The Anew U1 comes in a glossy white rectangular cardboard box, which sports the Anew Logo on the top of it.

This box is containing the following items;

• 1 pair x Anew U1 In-Ear Monitors
• 1 pcs x Detachable cable with MMCX connectors
• 3 pairs x soft silicone ear tips in white color
• 3 pairs x silicone ear tips in transparent color
• 1 pair x double flange silicone ear tips
• 1 pcs x Print material

Design and Build Quality:

The Anew U1 is an In-Ear Monitor with single dynamic driver that features the CNT (Carbon Nano Tube) diaphragm technology and is available in two colors that are white and black limited edition.

The monitor housing of my review unit is in white color and is made of an acrylic. The build quality of the acrylic shell is good, without noticeable burrs and/or openings.

On the front of the monitor shell is the faceplate that sports the Anew logo.

The sound Nozzle of the angled and is made of metal that sports a metal mesh on the top to prevent the insertion of unwanted earwax and dust in to the monitor.

On the Top of this monitor is the MMCX (Micro Miniature Coaxial) female connector.

On the back side of the monitor shell is a relative big vent with a metal mesh. The metal mesh of each monitor shell has a painted circle around it that is blue on the left and red on the right monitor.

The detachable cable that comes with the Anew U1 is a high purity 4 core single crystal copper + silver-plated copper wire cable with MMCX connector, which sports a heat shrink ear hook.

The MMXC male connectors have metal housing with left / right markings and color indicators (red circle for right and blue circle for the left side).

There cable sports a metal Y splitter with Anew Logo printed on to the surface. There is also a transparent plastic chin slider.

The 3.5mm TRS (3 pole) headphone jack has a straight profiled metal housing with Anew logo.

Fit and Isolation:

The monitor housing has a medium size and is comfortable wear. The isolation is on an average level and is ideal for the use in public environments such as bus, metro or train.

Specifications:

• Drive Type                  : 10mm Dynamic Driver with CNT Diaphragm Technology
• Sensitivity                   : 108db
• Impedance                 : 32ohm
• Frequency Response            : 20-20 kHz
• THD                            : < 0.2%
• Cable Length              : 1.2m
• Plug                            : 3.5mm (TRS) gold-plated

Drivability:

The Anew U1 has a rated impedance of 32ohm, which makes it quite easy to drive even with a mobile (smart) phone that has low amplification capabilities.

Equipment’s used for this review:

• IEM’s                          : Anew U1, iBasso IT01
• DAP/DAC/AMP         : Sony WM1A, Cayin N5II, Chord Mojo, Audirect Beam

Albums & tracks used for this review:

• First Aid Kit – My Silver Lining (Spotify)
• London Grammar – Interlud (Live) (Flac 24bit/44kHz)
• Laura Pergolizzi – Lost On You “Live at Harvard and Stone” (Tidal Hi-Fi)
• Minor Empire – BulbulumAltinKafeste (Spotify)
• Leonard Cohen – You Wnt it Darker (Spotify)
• Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Tidal Hi-Fi)
• Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Tidal Hi-Fi)
• Alboran Trio’s – Cinque Lunghissimi Minuti (Tidal Hi-Fi)
• Otto Liebert & Luna Negra – Up Close “Album” (DSF) – Binaural Recording
• Lorde – Team (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
• Massive Attack – Angel (Tidal Hi-Fi)
• Portishead – It Could Be Sweet (Spotify)
• Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Spotify)
• Opeth – Damnation (Tidal Hi-Fi)
• Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Tidal Hi-Fi)

The Sound:

The Anew U1 is showing a tonality that is vivid, smooth, slightly warm and musical. The bass is deep and fast, the midrange is clear, a bit warm lifelike and detailed, the upper midrange is pretty controlled and the treble extends pretty well with a nice amount of sparkle.

PS: This review is written after a burn-in process of 100 Hours. I have used the stock double flange ear tips and the standard stock MMCX cable, which is coming with the U1.

The Subbas / Midbass / Bass:

The subbass of the Anew U1 has a warm and soft tonality and shows good depth and extension, while it is not too much or too shy in its overall quantity. The depth and emphasis from Cross drums to guitars and synthesizers is very good, which makes the Anew U1 suitable with almost any type of genre.

The midbass of the Anew U1 are strong, quick and are showing a slightly warm, pretty smooth and musical tonality. I couldn’t find issues such as mixing and lose of control in fast passages, which makes the performance of the Anew U1 in this frequency region above its price point.

The bass of the Anew U1 is in general fast and controlled and is showing a tight and detailed presentation without to bleed in to the mids, even in some bass heavy tracks. On of the highlights of the bass is the clean and smooth presentation without to overwhelm you even after long listening periods.

Midrange:

The midrange of the Anew U1 is clear, slightly warm, musical and vibrant. This range is also quite detailed, maybe not in terms of micro detail that but with no doubt above this price level.

Vocals:

Male vocals sounding pretty clear and detail due to the good lower midrange tuning. The Male vocals are sounding clean and airy because of the pretty forward lower midrange presentation.

There is no lack of depth or thickness in male vocals, which makes me really enjoying listening to male vocals with the Anew U1. The Female vocals are successful and detailed as the male vocals. The female vocal are sounding lush and musical, while the general presentation is vibrant and airy due to the well pronounced/tuned upper midrange.

I’ve not experienced any remarkable sharpness or ear piercing sibilance with the U1 during this review, while listening to female vocals. The Anew U1 is showing softness of a dynamic driver, but with the detail of a balanced armature driver. I believe that the sounds engineers from Anew have worked well on its dynamic drive.

Instruments:

The instrument tonality of the Anew U1 is musical, slightly warmish, vibrant and clean. Instruments such as guitars are showing a sweet softness and bright tonality. The extension of violins is good and they are sounding a bit bright but not the type of brightness that could be irritating. I do also really like the soft and sweet presentation of violins and pianos that I have hear with the Anew U1.

Upper Midrange:

The upper midrange of the Anew U1 extends pretty well in most situations and is showing a musical, soft and vibrant presentation, with a transition which sounds is in most conditions pretty controlled. There is no irritating type of peak around the 6 – 7 kHz region that could cause to sibilance or sharpness. The upper midrange tuning is good enough to excite you with female vocals up to instruments such as violins or flutes.

Treble:

The Anew U1 is an In-Ear Monitor with a dynamic driver, but the treble presentation of the U1 is of the sort you can hear normally from a balanced armature driver. The treble is quick, vibrant and pretty detailed for an IEM in this price category and is neither too thin nor bright and shows good speed, which makes the U1 a highly successful and controlled IEM. You can also listen to any kind of music without to fatigue your ears.

The Anew U1 has an emphasized lower treble range, where instruments such as Hi-Hats are pronounced and detailed with good extension, while crash cymbals have a slightly lack of extension. The upper treble of the Anew u1 are more backward and less emphasized than the lower treble range. This is tuning prevents harshness and a too bright presentation..

The treble quantity and intensity of the Anew U1 is pretty successful without to lack or to be too much in its overall presentation.

Soundstage:

The Anew U1 has a soundstage presentation that is suitable for the placement of several instruments. The stage has an average expansion which is not too wide or too narrow. The depth of the stage is parallel to the stage width. The soundstage is airy without any muddiness or a claustrophobic type of presentation.

iBasso IT01 versus Anew U1:

The overall presentation of the Anew U1 is more transparent, bright and detailed than those of the iBasso IT01, while the tonality of the IT01 is warmer and thicker compared to the Anew U1.

The bass depth of both IEM’s is nearly identical while the bass of the U1 is more punchy and faster than those of the IT01. The Anew U1 is also more controlled and detailed in this region.

The midrange of the iBasso IT01 sounds thicker and a little more set back compared to the Anew U1, which sounds clearer and more detailed in this area. Both in-ear monitors are quite successful in presenting male vocals like Dave Gahan or Eric Clapton, while the Anew U1 is superior to the iBasso IT01 with female vocals, especially in terms of transparency and detail.

When it comes to the treble performance, I can say that the Anew U1 is surprisingly better than the iBasso IT01, especially in terms of quantity, extension and detail.

The soundstage of the iBasso IT01 is deeper and wider than the Anew U1, but it lacks air in comparison to the U1.

Conclusion:

Anew did a great job by making an In-Ear Monitor with a dynamic driver that has the bass and treble speed/response of a balanced armature driver. This is the main reason why the U1 is so successful in many areas especially at this price point. Anew gave this dynamic driver the detail level o a balanced armature driver without to lose the softness/smoothness of it, which is a very good feature.

Pros and Cons:

• + Bass and Treble Speed/Control
• + Clean and Airy Presentation
• + Detail for the Price
• + Nice Acrylic Shell

• – The soundstage could a bit more widely
• – There is little bit of driver flex