Whizzer Kylin HE10 IEM Review

Introduction:

Whizzer is a Chinese brand that was founded in 2016 with the focus to design and create attractive portable audio products like In-Ear Monitors, True Wireless Bluetooth Earphones, USB DAC Dongles and Accessories.

The HE10 is the latest In-Ear Monitor by Whizzer, which is a 6th anniversary special release of the company. The HE10 is equipped with a 5th GEN 10.2mm diameter Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Dynamic Diaphragm Driver that is tuned according to the Kylin Acoustic In-Ear (KAI) Target Response, which is located inside a nice looking CNC machined metal cavity designed by J.IDEA+.

Disclaimer:

I would like to thank Whizzer for providing me the Kylin HE10 for review purposes. I am not affiliated with Whizzer beyond this review and these words reflect my true and unaltered opinions about the product.

Price & Availability:

The MSRP price for the Whizzer Kylin HE10 is about 70.00 USD. More informations can be found under the link below; 

• Whizzer Kylin HE10 In-Ear Monitor

Package & Accessories:

The Whizzer is known for there attention in terms of packaging and accessories and the Kylin HE01 is not exclusion. The HE10 came in stylish box in black color that was wrapped with a white cardboard sleeve that sports some product related brandings and information’s.

Inside the box of the Kylin HE10 are the following items; 

• 1 pair x Whizzer Kylin HE10 In-Ear Monitor
• 1 piece x Detachable Cable with 0.78mm 2-Pin Connector
• 3 pairs x Silicone 20HSD (Vocal) Ear Tips
• 3 pairs x Silicone 30HSD (Reference) Ear Tips
• 3 pairs x Silicone 20HSD (Soundstage) Ear Tips
• 1 piece x Cleaning Tool/Brush
• 1 piece x Protective Hard case

Design, Fit and Build Quality:

The Kylin HE10 is very esthetic looking In-Ear Monitor with a premium appearance that has a lightweight metal housing in dark grey color with the Whizzer brand logo on the front and a stylish looking metal frame that has the KYLINACOUSTIC labeling on its surface.

At the inner surface of the monitor shell is the sound nozzle and a vent for the 5^th Generation 10.2mm diameter Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Dynamic Diaphragm Driver. Near the sound nozzle is a small branding regarding the 6th anniversary special release of the HE10 and the 5th GEN DD driver.

The sound nozzle has a slightly angled profile with a fine woven metal mesh on the top in order to prevent the insertion of strange particles such like dust or ear-wax.

At the rear side of the monitor shell is a second opening and the L (Left) / R (Right) markings.

On the top of the monitor housing is the 0.78mm diameter 2-Pin female connector that offers a tight connection.

AT the bottom of each earpiece is a V-Class Diaphragm branding.

The monitors are well crafted, especially for a product at this price.

Detachable Cable:

The Whizzer Kylin HE01 comes with a detachable cable that has 0.78mm diameter 2-Pin male connectors. The cable of the HE10 is made of 5N purity Silver Plated OFC (Oxygen-Free Copper) wire material, which has a braided design and a soft plastic insulation.

The connectors of the cable do have a black plastic housing and a metal ring with a nice finish in gold color.

It features a quite stylish y-splitter and chin slider made of metal in dark grey color. The y-splitter sports the HE10 branding.

The cable comes with a 3.5mm Single Ended headphone plug which has a strait profiled metal housing with a nice grip, which sports the Kylin branding on the top.

My only complaint comes to the 2-Pin connector, which doesn’t works well with some after market cables.

Fit & Isolation:

The Whizzer Kylin HE10 has a pretty lightweight ergonomic monitor shape, which makes it to an ideal IEM for longer listening periods. The passive noise isolation of this HE10 is on an average level that is enough to use it in fairly noise environments such as metro, bus or train.

Drivability:

The Whizzer Kylin HE10 is a quite easy to drive IEM thanks to an impedance of 36ohm and a sensitivity of approx 119db. This makes it ideal for the use with relative weak sources such like Android Smartphone’s, Tablets or USB DAC/AMP dongles.

Technical Specifications:

• Driver              : 5^th GEN 10.2mm dia. Carbon Nanotube Dynamic Diaphragm Driver
• Impedance     : 36Ω
• Freq. range     : 15 Hz – 40 kHz
• Sensitivity       : 119 dB (1 kHz, 1 Vrms)
• THD                : < 0.4% (1 kHz, 94 dB)
• Max Output    : 120mW
• Connector       : 0.78mm 2-Pin
• Cable Specs   : Silver Plated OFC (Oxygen-Free Copper) Wire Cable
• Cable length   : approx. 120cm

Equipment’s used for this review:

• Earphones     : Whizzer Kylin HE01
• Sources         : FiiO M11 Plus, xDuoo Link2 BAL Max

Albums & tracks used for this review:

• Lunatic Soul – The Passage (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Deftones – My Own Summer (Shove it) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• 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)
• Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Spotify)
• Yosi Horikawa – Bubbles (Spotify)
• Adele – My Little Love (TIDAL)
• Randy Crawford – On Day I Will Fly Away (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Hayley Westenra – Odyssey Album (Dezzer HiFi)
• Dionne Warwick – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Sarah McLachlan – Angel (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
• Sertap Erener – Aşk (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Edith Piaf – Non Je Ne Regrette Rien (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
• Aretha Franklin – I Say A Little Payer (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Sonya Yoncheva – (Giuseppe Verdi) II Trovatore, ActI (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• George Michael – Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
• David Bowie – Heroes (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
• Elton John – Rocket Man ((Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Barry White – Just The Way You Are (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
• Isaac Hayes – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Sting – Englishman in New York – (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
• Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• B. King – Riding With The King (Tidal Hi-Fi)
• Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Tidal Hi-Fi)
• U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Muse – Hysteria (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Rush – YYZ (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – Nobody Weird Like Me (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
• Bro Safari, UFO! – Drama (Deezer HiFi)
• Rok Nardin – Berserks (Spotify)
• Bear McCreary – Valkyries “God of War OST” (Deezer HiFi)
• Armin Van Buuren – Vini Vici (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Daft Punk – Doin’ it Right (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Jo Blankenburg – Meraki (Spotify)
• Lorde – Royals (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
• Massive Attack – Angel (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
• Toutant – Rebirth (Deezer HiFi)
• Gogo Penguin – Raven (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
• Gogo Penguin – Murmuration (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
• Alboran Trio’s – Cinque Lunghissimi Minuti (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Portishead – It Could Be Sweet (Spotify)
• Max Richter – On the Nature of Daylight (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Charly Antolini – Duwadjuwandadu (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
• Ferit Odman – Look, Stop & Listen (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
• Chopin – Nocturn No. 20 In C-Sharp Minor (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Fazıl Say – Nazım Oratoryosu (Live) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Deezer HiFi)
• Otto Liebert& Luna Negra – The River (Flac 24bit/192kHz)

The Sound:

The Whizzer Kylin HE10 has a nicely tuned, highly entertaining V shaped sound signature with a tad warmer than neutral tonality. The lows do offer a quite impactful, deep yet controlled response. The midrange sounds pretty transparent and lively, while the treble area is produced with a nice sense of airiness and sparkle without to create issues such like sibilance or sharpness.

This review has been written after a burn-in period of approx 45 – 50 Hours. I have used the stock 30HSD reference silicone ear tips that are included to the package. My sound impressions below are mainly based on pairings with sources like the FiiO M11 Plus ESS Digital Audio Player and xDuoo Link2 BAL Max USB DAC/Amplifier Dongle.

Bass / Midrange / Treble / Soundstage & Imaging:

The Whizzer Kylin HE10 shows a pretty impactful, deep yet controlled bass response, with a slightly focal point in the subbass region. The subbass area is produced with a good level of depth, intensity and extension, while listen to songs like Massive Attack’s “Angel” and Portishead’s “It Could Be Sweet” or Daft Punk’s “Doin’ it Right”.

The midbass region is slightly less highlighted compared to the subbass region, while it is able to create en efficient amount of impact, bottom and fullness, when I do listen to percussion such like a kick and snare drum. I didn’t notice any audible and remarkable muddiness and mixings in this area, which shows how capable and well tuned the 10.2mm CNT Dynamic Diaphragm Driver is.

What I really like about the midrange of the Whizzer Kylin HE10 is its pretty transparent and airy atmosphere, and the mildly warm tonality that is not overdone. The space and separation of instruments and vocals is surprisingly good for a Single DD Earphone at this price tag.

The lower midrange of the Kylin HE10 is produced with an adequate amount of body and depth that was audible while listen to male voices or to violins, toms or acoustic guitars. The upper midrange on the other hand is the area where the Kylin HE10 shines, with its clarity, attack and liveliness. Female voices from Adel to Sertap Erener from Sarah McLachlan to Edith Piaf are reduced in a fairly lively and emotional manner, without to be sibilant or harsh, even at higher volume level.

The treble range of the Whizzer Kylin HE10 shows a good sense of presence and brilliance, which has a focal point in the lower treble register. The lower treble range of the Kylin HE10 adds the overall presentation good sense of clarity and dynamism. The lower treble area sound in general more detailed and dynamic compared to the rest of the treble register.

Instruments like hi-hats in metal music do sound slightly recessed, while the hits are countable and the extension is on a sufficient level. Crash cymbals on the other hand have a reproduced in a pretty controlled manner, even at higher volume level. The general treble intensity and quantity is not too much or to low for my taste.

The Whizzer Kylin HE10 has a fairly open soundstage atmosphere with good sense of depth and wideness. The separation and placement of instruments/vocals is pretty good fro a In-Ear Monitor at this price level.

Conclusion:

The Kylin HE10 is a budget friendly In-Ear Monitor that offers a very entertaining sound profile with a good mix of powerful yet controlled bass response, lively and transparent midrange, and a treble range that is energetic but not to sharp. This sound is packed in to a quite comfortable and very esthetic looking monitor that comes with a pretty rich set of accessories, which makes it to a decent IEM option below the 100 US$ mark.

Pros & Cons:

• + Entertaining Bass Response
• + Lively & Transparent Midrange Presentation
• + Energetic yet Controlled Treble Tuning
• + Pretty Esthetic & Comfortable Monitor Design
• + Great price to performance ratio

• – The 2-Pin Connector Design doesn’t works well with some after market cables
• – Average Passive Noise Isolation for my ears

Thank you for the Read!