by 
Sound Review by Hoshi星
Disclaimer: HIDIZS has graciously provided us with this sample unit in exchange for an honest review. The views discussed below are a reflection of Project A3's thoughts surrounding the product. In order to obtain an apropos result of the review, the target sample has been run in for at least 50 hours before reviewing.
Introduction
Hidizs made a name for themselves way back when they had the crowd-funded AP200 hit the audiophile community by storm, at the time players capable of operating a non-gated build of android was not the norm it is today, and they've since followed it up with a many different successes, including the AP80(Stay tuned for that), and now they've decided to enter the IEM market as well with the MS4, an ambitious entry sporting a 4*(One of the drivers being a Knowles dual unit.) driver hybrid that isn't entirely all that common at the manufacturer suggested retail price of $269 and sometimes on sale. How does the Mermaid perform? How does it compare to the rest of the pack? Finn out in the full review below.
PROS
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CONS
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● Delivers on a cohesive sound for a hybrid.
● High quality build and included accessories.
● Engaging and fun sound signature, that still delivers a resolution.
● Strong forward vocals, crisp treble, and full bass.
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● Bass can lose focus at times.
● Shell is slightly large and a bit heavy.
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Specifications:
10.2MM High Density Polymer Diaphragm Dynamic Driver
Knowles 33518 Balanced Armature
Knowles 30017 Dual Balanced Armature
CNC Aluminum Housing
15Hz-40KHz Frequency Response
112dB Sensitivity
12 Ohms Impedance at 1KHz
Gear Used & Tracklist:
Shanling M0 | FiiO Q1 Mk II | Hiby R6 | Zorloo ZuperDAC | MassDrop x Cavalli CTH
Genres
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Artist
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Songs
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Live Recordings
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Diana Krall
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Desperado (Live)
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Natalia Lafourcade
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Soledad y El Mar
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Case Lang Veirs
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Atomic Number
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Depeche Mode
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Question of Lust (Live 1998)
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Instrumentals
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Max Richter
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On the Nature of Daylight
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Santa Esmeralda
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Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
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Nils Frahm
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Toilet Brushes (Live)
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Jazz
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Bill Evans
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A Waltz for Debbie
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Chet Baker
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I'm a Fool to Want You
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Sons of Kemet
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Your Queen is Harriet Tubman
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Ryo Fukui
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Scenery
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Rock
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Avenged Sevenfold
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Nightmare
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The Stooges
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Down On The Street
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Avenged Sevenfold
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Unbound (The Wild Ride)
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Guns N’ Roses
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Sweet Child O’ Mine
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Ozzy Osbourne
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Crazy Train
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Green Day
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21 Guns
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Classical
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Niccolò Paganini
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La Campanella (From Violin Concerto No.2 In B Minor)
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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
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The Year 1812 Solemn Overture
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David Arnold
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Independence Day
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Pop
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Hu Yang-Lin (胡楊林)
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Perfume is poisonous (香水有毒)
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Fish Leong (梁靜茹)
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Love Song (情歌)
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Western Pop
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Anamanaguchi
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MEOW
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Iamamiwhoami
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Chasing Kites
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Algiers
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Dispossession
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New Order
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Bizzare Love Triangle (Extended Mix)
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Marian Hill
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Breathe Into Me
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Tyler, The Creator
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EARFQUAKE
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Tones and I
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Never Seen the Rain
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Red Hot Chili Peppers
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Around the World
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ACG
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Saori Hayami
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オレンジミント (Orange Mint)
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RADWIMPS
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前前前世 (Zenzenzenzense)
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RADWIMPS
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スパークル(Sparkle)
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LiSA
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紅蓮華 (Gurenge)
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Kana Hanazawa
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恋愛サーキュレーション (Renai Circulation)
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Unboxing:
The Mermaid comes in a large that slides out to reveal the IEMs, some warranty cards and instructions, a bevy of tips, and a very very attractive structured brown leatherette case that had a magnetic closing mechanism with a soft fabric lining and a net compartment for any accessories you might want to bring. It is very spacious and could fit not just the IEM but even some tips and a dongle or even a small player like the AP80 or my M0. (More on the Packaging quality below)
Scalability:
The Mermaid is an easy to drive model, anywhere from phones to dongles and beyond are capable of driving the Mermaid. If anything there might be benefits if the unit you have is lacking in power or you are experiencing hiss, an upgrade would reveal an upgrade most notably in bass perception and control as well as the muting of the hiss would open up the sound more, something I noticed when plugging into my laptop. However, this is only really applicable for very very underpowered devices and most modern mid to high-end phones or anyone with a dongle DAC, DAP, Amp that is pushing more power one shouldn't really feel a huge difference in terms of scaling, and gains in that end will only be meager.
Fit:
The Mermaid is a CNC Aluminum shell that is on the larger side of things, but not heavy for the size. Though the volume can be explained due to the fact that it does have 4* drivers, and the 10.2mm DD is nothing to sneeze at. This may lead to minor difficulty in fit for those with smaller ears, but the construction itself is smooth and contoured so that there isn't any general discomfort with the fit in itself. But for most as long as they don't mind the IEM sticking out just a bit, then there really isn't much to worry about in terms of it. They aren't as heavy as they seem to either so unlike other models that are full metal built units they will not weigh down on your ears so quickly.
Sound Signature:
The Mermaid has what I would describe as a W shaped tuning that gives mild boosts in both bass and treble, but relatively to the mids less than that of V or even U shaped tunings, plus pushes the mids at a bit above the 1KHz mark to give a forwardness to the vocals. Overall the tuning is very musical and engaging without being too tiring or overbearing, fully utilizing the hybrid drivers without sounding disparate even though it doesn't totally juggle everything flawlessly.
Bass:
The bass response from the mermaid is boosted with only a dip as it transitions into the midrange, with an impressive sub-bass response that delivers the feeling of percussive impact without losing control. Rolling bass drums deliver the slam and rumble with medium decay. The mid-bass, on the other hand, is equally impressive in the impact delivery and thickness but can feel like it loses definition especially when track complexity increases thus losing some of the coherence in the response. In simpler tracks, however, the bass is thick without being bloated providing a boost for the musicality that is one of the highlights. Overall the bass is good and delivers excellent performance in its class, a powerful bass response that is mostly a technical upgrade without taking over the entire signature even when it loses focus.
Mids:
Thanks to the particular way the midrange is tuned vocals are generally forward giving them good vibrancy, resolution, and they will usually shine in the mix. There is a slight inclination towards female or higher register vocals but overall the entire vocal range is well-represented lending to clear uninhibited vocals that cut through even in more complex track layouts. This goes mostly the same for melodies and instrumentation, seemingly slightly less pronounced but instrument riffs are well defined soft. This leads to a midrange that is coherent, engaging, and avoids being dull and dry, that is one of the qualities that Mermaid has that pulls you in as a listener.
Treble:
The utilization of a multi-driver hybrid setup shines in the Mermaid and the treble is easiest to pinpoint factor about it. Highs are crisp, sparkly and full of air and openness, without feeling like it is out of place. With another dip in the lower treble-upper mid area, a lot of the harsh qualities associated with high frequencies are minimized and it still offers a lot of clarity and transparency. There's a quality to the treble that is rather pleasant, and while it's never uncomfortable, some treble sensitive listeners may find some fatigue in listening to it after long periods, however, it's what gives the Mermaid the extra edge to really set it apart from competing products as a fun, exceedingly musical all arounder.
Soundstage & Separation:
The Mermaid exhibits a good extension of the soundstage, managing to have a left to right perception that extends beyond the head. The 3D expansion is also good as generally there is no feeling of claustrophobia even in "tighter" songs. However, the thick bass obscures some positional identifiers, especially as the compositions increase in complexity, especially when it's not the vocals, which still manage to break apart from the signature.
Comparison:
I pitted the Mermaid with a natural counterpart in the Shozy & Neo BG that fills an almost inverse niche to show the vast array of options you can find at this price point, and as an extra challenge, I pitted it against the first generation Polaris, a long-time favorite of mine for having some similar aspects tuning philosophy wise, of course, the Polaris was still a step above in many facets but at nearly double the price it isn't a surprise and the Mermaid fills a lot of the same needs without breaking the bank. Overall the MS4 feels more adaptable over the more specialized competing products and it held up extremely well compared to a well-regarded product from one of the more lauded manufacturers.
Shozy BG
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Hidizs MS4
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Polaris 1
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Suggested Retail Price
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$279
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$269
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$599
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Driver Config
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5BA
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1DD + 3BA*
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1DD + 1BA
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Scalability
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Mobile/Dongle friendly, scales with better sources.
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Mobile/Dongle friendly, scales with better sources.
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Mobile/Dongle friendly, scales with better sources.
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Fitting
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Compact and highly molded shape.
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Large chunky but smooth and molded shape,.
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Angular and medium size, but thoughtfully crafted to conform to general ear shape.
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Comfort
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Light, and comfortable for long term wear.
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Medium weight sits outside the ear. Medium-term wear.
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Lightweight sits just inside the ear. The shape may cause pressure. Medium to long term wear.
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Sound Signature
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Transparent, slightly on the warmth side.
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W-shaped tuning.
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Upper-mid bump, Japanese style tuning.
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Lows
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Dry, quick, typical performance of a BA
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Full and thick bass. It can lose focus at times.
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Full sub-bass, with a more reserved textured midbass.
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Mids
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Clean, laid back midrange, with good resolution.
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Full and engaging midrange.
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Drier lower mids, but fuller expressive upper mids,
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Highs
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Resolving but smooth.
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Crisp, airy, with good sparkle.
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Articulate and smooth.
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Soundstage
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Open and wide staging.
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Slightly wide, ample depth.
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Intimate with good depth and placement.
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Separation
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Good articulation and placement.
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Average, bass congestion can hamper separation and imaging.
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Pleasant separation and above-average layering.
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Remarks
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The subdued and relaxed sound that brings plenty of resolution at the price.
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Fun engaging all-around IEM that does a great job of checking a lot of sonic boxes.
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The expressive sound that brings the most of out of vocals while still providing punchy bass and smooth sparkly treble.
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Sound Conclusion:
The Hidizs Mermaid MS4 provides a great mix of build quality, sound, and value. A fun, engaging sound that is brimming with musicality means that while it isn't the most neutral or reference IEM the timbre it provides is hard to compare, it has full bass, lush vocals, and crisp treble combined with good resolution and technical capabilities that make it a great jack of all trades IEM. For those looking for an all-around workhorse or those that need to only have one every day and every night IEM, they can't go wrong with the Mermaid. At this price point, Hidizs did it's best to deliver on the hybrid dream and it's one of the best entrants in the price category.
Asethetic talk by Steve
Back then when I was still working with Kinera , the ms4 was one of the reference I purposed we shall look into during the asethetic decision meeting. There are some reason that I appreciated them and today we got a chance to talk about it. A brand that I have high expectation with.
Colour
The sample that I got was the black champagne gold one. The gold that they tuned is accurate without being too yellowish or dull. And If you are looking into the trend, it's all about minimalism and futuristic concept now. Probably since the first iPhone has released til the latest design of Tesla cybertruck..LOL Anyway, by doing so Colour combinations plays an important role. The Ms4 did a great job on making colours simple, elegant and accurate on the black and also the silver one. However, the hue of the red and blue seem to be a bit Cut and dried and by comparing with the other two, I doubt they sell better with the black and silver but since they offer 4 options for customers to choose from is definitely an advantage while most of the competitors only produce 1 to 2 maximum for a project.. I personally think if the red and blue would be fine tuned a bit to a more burgundy darker tone like how the Mazda - glossy burgundy did and a metallic navy blue would look more luxury than the current ones.
Craftmanship
The craftsmanship overall is pretty decent. Jointings are smooth, no spiky edges on the faceplate and shell,No bubbles on the UV faceplate finishing, no paints chips went off from the shell neither. However, micro details still got rooms of improvements such as a bit of glues on the edge sticking out from the joint of the UV finish and the faceplate frame, also the metal font - the Z letter on the left earpiece is slightly uneven. ( photo above), this is forgivable though as this method of letters are seperated and this is much harder in Craftmanship as well unlike the ones you see that are joined together like the logo of Oriolus with a tiny line joining all the letters together. The way that Hidizs did definitely looks much refined but also need to be aware of those tiny issues as well.
Design details
Now this is the major point I wanted to talk about and the reason why I admire Hidizs on the ms4. They demonstrate how to use things that everyone did but in a special way of making the ordinary not so ordinary - the brushed faceplate. Normally you would see those companies are using 2 layers to form a faceplate which means the faceplate and the uv finishing on top. Now the way how Hidizs did is actually adding a bottom layer which is kind of a frame of the faceplate, making a 3in1 type of faceplate instead of the typical ones you see. I don't know if that move makes a HUGE difference in sound aspect but just speaking of Aesthetic, I personally liked it a lot, a highlighted Colour and design elements to make things better and look more glamorous than just the brushed faceplate itself. Also the brushed metal faceplate is refined, no scratches seen and brushed are detailed and even as well. Along with the logo of Hidizs I personally think the presentation is gorgeous and successfully bringing the used of brushed metal to the next level . The design of the Hidizs logo is classy, fashionable like the luxury brands Gucci and Chanel ( Symmetrical design rule ). A big thumbs up to the brand image they established and how they applied it to the actual product. However, I don't think adding the official website(see photo above)onto the shell is an appropriate move, adding informational prints onto the shell somehow ruined a bit of the design, so they might want to think twice before adding these stuff next time. Overall on the design details are brilliant, can be better, but definitely nothing harmful.
Silhouette
Nothing much to talk about on this part, typical ciem kind of silhouette, for those who liked it will always like it. IMO I think it's time for Hidizs to develop something more "themselves" like how the moondrop did with the kanos and kxxs.
Cable
The cable itself is nicely braided, soft and neat , the design of the splitter and plugs however is not my cup of tea. It's still a bit hardcore especially with the industrial texture on the plug and splitter that doesn't seem to match their brand image, I think they should look into something more elegant and simple for these components, I personally think the Oriolus did well with the electroplating parts with the champagne gold colour which Hidizs might wanted to look into in the future.
Packaging
The whole presentation looks formal and organized. Got all you need for the eartips and paperwork stuff. The biggest pro in this part is The earphone case, definitely the best I had in its tier, a elegant sturdy hard case looking fashionable and practical as well. The thing I don't get is the pleather ( plastic leather) porch inside the case, while they already offer a much better quality one. they might consider swapping with a velvet cleaning cloth would be a better idea instead of the pleather porch. Also the upper deck of the inner presentation is good, the plastic pieces for you to lift over is user friendly but looking cheap. Changing it into a velvet or satin ribbon would be much nicer in general.
Conclusion
In general, the Hidizs ms4 might not be the winner for all, after all, Aesthetic is very subjective but undoubtedly they had put much effort and passion into the aesthetic aspect. Unlike other OEM or brands hunting for quick money, for a company coming from DAP, this is no doubt admirable and definitely deserves our respect, did even better than some specialized in IEM in China. The whole presentation from package to the IEM might not be the best but pretty confident it's one of the best in the 299USD category. Looking forward to their latest projects ahead to see what they can do with the magic trick again.
FINAL RATINGS
*All
ratings are accurate as of the date of publication. Changes in price, newer
models may affect Project A3's views on the performance and value of the
reviewed product.
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