Hidizs MS2 In-Ear Monitor Review  

 

Introduction:

Hidizs Technology Co. Ltd. was founded in 2009 and offers a wide variety of portable audiophile equipments such like Digital Audio Players (DAP), Digital to Analogue Converters (DAC), DAC/AMP Dongles and In-Ear Monitors.

The Hidizs MS2 is the new member of the MS series In-Ear Monitors that features a Hybrid Driver Configuration with 1x Knowles RAD-33518-P183 BA Driver + 1x 10.2mm diameter Dynamic Diver that comes with Hidizs newly developed Macromolecule Composite Diaphragm V2.0. The MS2 offers also a detachable cable with 4core Hybrid Wires (2×High Purity Silver Wires & 2×OFC Wires).

 

Disclaimer:

I would like to thank Hidizs for providing me the MS2 In-Ear Monitor as review sample. I am not affiliated with Hidizs beyond this review and these words reflect my true, unaltered, opinions about the product.

 

 

Price:

The price of the Hidizs MS2 is about 89,00 USD and will be launched in early March in different color options. More information can be found under the link below;

• Purchase Link: https://www.hidizs.net/

 

  

Package and Accessories:

The MS2 comes in a white box that sports the Hidizs brand logo and the illustration of the product, while the bottom part shows some information’s about the product.

 

The box of the comes with the following contents;

• 1 x pair of Hidizs MS2 In-Ear Monitor
• 1 x 4 Core Hybrid Wire Cable with 2-Pin Connectors
• 6 x pairs of silicone ear tips
• 1 x Protective Case
• 1 x piece of user manual/e-gift card

 

 

 

 

Design, Build Quality and Fit:

The Hidizs features a very comfortable and lightweight monitor shell that is made of ECO Friendly Resin material that is import from Germany, which will be available in different color options such like Orange or Green like my review unit.

On the top of the monitor are the so called “faceplate” that sports the Hidizs brand logo and a shimmering background pattern that looks quite beautiful.

The rear part features the sound nozzle, the 2-Pin female connector and the left right indicators.

The sound nozzle is made of gold plated aluminum material. On the top of the sound tube is a mesh that should avoid the insertion of strange particles like dust, ear wax, etc.

Near the sound nozzle/tube is a small vent for the 10.2mm diameter Dynamic Driver.

On the top of the rear part is the 0.78mm diameter 2-Pin female connector which has a small elevation.

At the rear side of the monitor shell is the web link of the company that is printed on the surface.

The M2 comes with a 4 Core Hybrid wire cable, which has a combination of 2x High Purity Silver wires & 2x OFC wires.

The cable has a transparent insulation made of soft plastic material.

The cable features 0.78mm diameter 2Pin male connectors that do fit pretty tight to the the female connectors that are located on the top of the monitor shell.

Each connector features a transparent plastic housing and each side has a left (blue) & right (red) color indicators.

Near the connectors is a transparent ear guide that will offer higher comfort on the go.

The Y-splitter is made of metal that has a textured surface in rose gold and black color. The y-splitter also made of metal material in rose gold color.

The 3.5mm TRS headphone jack has a strait profiled metal housing in the same color combination of black and rose gold. The housing sports the Hidizs branding and a transparent plastic strain relief for extra protection.

The overall build quality of both the cable and the monitor shells is pretty good for a product at this price range.

 

 

Fit & Isolation:

The monitor shape of the Hidizs MS2 pretty comfortable and didn’t hurt my ear concha even after longer listening (2-3 hours) periods. The isolation on the other hand is on an average level which is sufficient for moderate noisy environments like the bus, metro or train.

 

 

Paring & Drivability:

The Hidizs MS2 is an easy to drive In-Ear Monitor thanks to it’s pretty low impedance of 18Ω and sensitivity around 112dB, which makes it very compatible with relative weak sources like a Smartphone or Tablet.

 

 

Technical Specifications:

• Driver Configuration   : Hybrid Driver Configuration 1 BA + 1 DD
• BA Driver Type            : 1x Knowles RAD-33518-P183
• Dynamic Driver Type   : 10.2mm Diameter Dual Voice Coils & Dual Voice Chamber with                                                 Macromolecule Composite Diaphragm V2.0
• Frequency Response   : 20 Hz – 40 kHz
• Sensitivity                    : 112dB
• Impedance                  : 18Ω
• Cable Material             : Hybrid 4Core Wires Cable (2xHigh Purity Silver & 2xOFC Wires)
• Cable Length               : 1.2m
• Plug                             : 3.5mm

 

 

 

Equipment’s used for this review: 

• IEM’s              : Hidizs MS2, Brainwavz B200, TFZ King II
• DAP/DAC      : Hidizs AP80 Pro, Hidizs DH80, FiiO M11 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

  

 

 

Albums & tracks used for this review:

• Isaac Hayes – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Sting – Englishman in New York – (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
• Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Elton John – Rocket Man (Tidal Hi-Fi)
• B.B. King – Riding With The King (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Edith Piaf – Non Je Ne Regrette Rien (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
• Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
• First Aid Kit – My Silver Lining (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• London Grammar – Interlud (Live) (Flac 24bit/44kHz)
• Laura Pergolizzi – Lost On You “Live at Harvard and Stone” (Tidal Hi-Fi)
• Fazıl Say – Nazım Oratoryosu (Live) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• George Frederic Handel –Sarabande in D Minor (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Chopin – Nocturn No. 20 In C-Sharp Minor (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• The Dave Brubeck Quarted – Take Five (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
• Otto Liebert& Luna Negra – The River (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
• Armin Van Buuren – Vini Vici (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Lorde – Royal (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
• Massive Attack – Angel (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
• Twerl – Lishu (Spotify)
• U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Portishead – The Hidden Camera (MP3 320kpbs)
• Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Opeth – Windowpane (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Tidal Hi-Fi)
• Rush’s – Leave That Thing Alone (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Slayer – Angel of Death (Spotify)
• Tom Player – Resonace Theory “Album” (Tidal Hi-Fi)
• Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Spotify)

  

 

 

The Sound:

The Hidizs MS2 is an In-Ear Monitor with a pretty musical presentation and good detail retrieval for its price, which has a slightly warmer than neutral tonality that shows a slightly amount of coloration that is not overdone. The bass offers a pretty deep and moderate fast response, while the midrange is nicely transparent and a tad warmish in tonality. The upper midrange and treble range on the other hand pretty controlled & smooth tonality.

 

Bass / Midrange / Treble / Soundstage:

The subbass region of the Hidizs MS2 has a warmish tonality and shows a moderate level of depth and extension. What I like about the subbass performance of the MS2 is the nice sense of control. This area shows an average level of speed, while intensity is should be enough for a wide range of genres.

The midbass region of the Hidizs MS2 is more highlighted offers a better level of depth and extension compared to the subbass area. The midbass sounds in general pretty tight and fast, while the overall tonality is slightly warmer than neutral and adds the general presentation a nice sense of fullness without to sound overdone. The midbass quantity and intensity of the MS2 is on a sufficient level that is in general neither too much nor too low.

Hidizs MS2 has a close to neutral midrange tonality and shows immediately a nice sense of clarity and airiness. The lower midrange of the MS2 has a sufficient level of depth and body. Male vocals do sound pretty detailed and clear, without to show any negative conditions like muddiness and mixings.

Female vocals on the other hand do have a very lively, musical and warmish tonality thanks to the well pronounced but fairly controlled upper midrange tuning. The values of transparency airiness are also on a pretty good level for an In-Ear Monitor at this price range.

The Hidizs MS2 has a mildly warm and fairly full bodied instrument presentation. The instrument timbre is neither too analytical nor too dry in its presentation. Instruments do sound quite airy and transparent, and are represented with a nice sense of neutral atmosphere. I found the MS2 quite detail and successful in terms of instrument clarity and detail retrieval, especially for such an entry level hybrid IEM.

The upper midrange of the Hidizs MS2 has a close to neutral and fairly pronounced tuning that seems to be slightly smoothed out according some measurements around the 3kHz region, which helps to make upper midrange transitions pretty soft and controlled.

The lower treble range of the MS2 shows an audible roll-off that was adjusted in a controlled manner, which is the reason that this area can still produce a sufficient sense of clarity and definition.

The upper treble range is shows a peak around the 8kHz range that was also visible in some measurements. The upper treble is otherwise able to provide a good sense of airiness and sparkle, which I have enjoyed during this review.

Instruments like hi-hats in metal music are slightly recessed, while the hits are countable and the extension is on a sufficient level. Crash cymbals on the other hand have a pretty controlled extension, while it does is a bit short.

The soundstage of the Hidizs MS2 offers enough space for a fairly precise placement of instruments and vocals. The soundstage has a nice level of wideness, while the depth is on an average level.

 

Some Comparisons:

 

Hidizs MS2 versus Brainwavz B200:

The Brainwavz B200 is an In-Ear Monitor with a linear bass response. The midrange and treble area is very neutral and transparent while the level of detail is above its price range.

The Hidizs MS2 has the upper hand in terms of bass response because of the noticeable roll-off of the Brainwavz B200 in this area. The Hidizs MS2 shows more subbass depth and quantity, while the B200 has the slightly advantage when it comes to speed and control.

The MS2 has the upper hand in terms of midbass intensity, slam and quantity, while both IEM’s are pretty similar/equal in when it comes to the detail retrieval in this area.

The midrange of both the Hidizs MS2 and the Brainwavz B200 is very successful in terms of clarity, airiness and detail retrieval, while the MS2 shows a slightly warmer and more musical tonality. The lower midrange of the MS2 has more depth and intensity which gives it the edge for male vocals, while both IEM’s are successful with female vocals.

The upper midrange and treble regions of both In-Ear Monitors is pretty highlighted without to sound overly bright or sharp. The transitions of the MS2 are a bit more controlled, while both do offer an airy, detailed and spacious response.

The stage of the Hidizs MS2 shows a slightly better sense of depth, while both IEM’s do have an average performance in terms of depth.

 

Hidizs MS2 versus TFZ King II:

The TFZ King II is an in-ear monitor with a fun, V-shaped sound signature that features sweet / lush mids, a fairly deep and fast bass, and a fairly controlled treble presentation.

The TFZ King II shows a higher amount of subbass intensity and depth, while the Hidizs MS2 is superior when it comes to the speed and control of this area. The midbass region of both IEM’s is nicely pronounced without to bleed in to the midrange. The Hidizs M2 offers a slightly better level of detail retrieval and has also the upper hand when it comes to the control and decay in this region.

The midrange of the TFZ King II is slightly more recessed compared to the Hidizs MS2 which seems to be a tad more highlighted. The lower midrange of the King II has more depth and fullness which is an advantage for male vocals. Female vocals do sound more lively, vivid and are shown with a better sense of clarity while listen to the MS2.

The upper midrange and treble region of the Hidizs MS2 is more highlighted and shows a better level of extension and detail retrieval, while the TFZ King II is more forgiving, which makes it ideal for longer listening periods.

The soundstage of the Hidizs MS2 is slightly wider and offers also a better sense of airiness. The TFZ King II on the other has the slightly edge when it comes to the depth of the stage.

  

Conclusion:

Hidizs comes with a new budget friendly Hybrid In-Ear Monitor with a 1BA+1DD driver configuration that impressed me with its very lively, clear and musical sound character. The lightweight but robust Eco-friendly Resin shell and the 4core Hybrid cable and a beautiful Storage Case are also some remarkable features of the Hidizs MS2 which makes it to a real bargain at this price point.

 

 

 

Pros & Cons: 

• + Overall Sound Character (Balanced from the Top to the End)
• + Pretty Controlled & Fast Bass Response
• + Lively and Detailed Midrange Tuning
• + Airy and Smooth Treble Presentation
• + Great Value

• – A slightly Roll-Off in the Lower Treble Range
• – Subbass Depth & Extension

 

Thank you for the Read!