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Wild Beast – JQ Elk (8+1 Pro Gen 2/Si Bu Xiang) Review

Project A³by Project A³2 comments
Sound Review by Mikan
Disclaimer: JQ Audio 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. The sample has been run-in for at least 50 hours prior to reviewing in order to achieve an accurate representation of the product.









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TL;DR
Not Recommended if you like:
  • Studio-like sound
  • Treble-focused sound
  • Vocal-focused IEMs
Recommended if you like:
  • Bass-focused IEMs
  • Fun, engaging sound
  • Trying high-driver-count hybrid


Introduction:
JinQu (JQ) Audio are famous from its flagship lineup – 8+1 Pro and Ingenuity. Originated in Shenzhen, the brand has already developed four models of IEMs as of today. Elk is the updated generation for the DD+BA hybrid for the company, and the previous generation, 8+1 Pro, are well received in the enthusiasts community for its natural timbre and great price and performance ratio. Marketed as a more capable all-rounder than the last generation, we are going to review the Elk to see if that is the case or not. Available at Taobao official store.



ProsCons
  • Luxury packaging with numerous accessories
  • Relative-neutral sound with bass boost
  • Spot-on timbre
  • Excellent resolution
  • Original cable could not unleash its potential
  • A bit aggressive in terms of overall sound with the bundled upgrade cable
  • Average soundstage



Specification:
  • Configuration: 8BA+1DD
  • Frequency Response: 10 - 44000 Hz
  • SPL: 112 dB
  • Impedance: 36 Ohms



Gear Used & Tracklist:
iPhone 6s | Topping DX3 Pro | Bluebird X3
Genres Artist Songs
Live Recordings Diana Krall Desperado (Live)

Natalia Lafourcade Soledad y El Mar

Case Lang Veirs Atomic Number

Depeche Mode Question of Lust (Live 1998)
Instrumentals Max Richter On the Nature of Daylight

Santa Esmeralda Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

Nils Frahm Toilet Brushes (Live)
Jazz Bill Evans A Waltz for Debbie

Chet Baker I'm a Fool to Want You

Sons of Kemet Your Queen is Harriet Tubman

Ryo Fukui Scenery
Rock Avenged Sevenfold Nightmare

The Stooges Down On The Street

Avenged Sevenfold Unbound (The Wild Ride)

Guns N’ Roses Sweet Child O’ Mine

Ozzy Osbourne Crazy Train

Green Day 21 Guns
Classical Niccolò Paganini La Campanella (From Violin Concerto No.2 In B Minor)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky The Year 1812 Solemn Overture

David Arnold Independence Day
Pop Hu Yang-Lin (胡楊林) Perfume is poisonous (香水有毒)

Fish Leong (梁靜茹) Love Song (情歌)
Western Pop Anamanaguchi MEOW

Iamamiwhoami Chasing Kites

Algiers Dispossession

New Order Bizzare Love Triangle (Extended Mix)

Marian Hill Breathe Into Me

Tyler, The Creator EARFQUAKE

Tones and I Never Seen the Rain

Red Hot Chili Peppers Around the World
ACG Saori Hayami オレンジミント (Orange Mint)

RADWIMPS 前前前世 (Zenzenzenzense)

RADWIMPS スパークル(Sparkle)

DAOKO Cinderella Step

Kana Hanazawa 恋愛サーキュレーション (Renai Circulation)




 
Unboxing:
As an upgrade from the original generation, the Elk also has an entire new packaging with a lot of accessories. After sliding off the jacket from the box, which requires plenty of force, and open the box, there is a badge on the foam welcomes you immediately. In the box, there are four adapters, including an airplane headphones adapter, a 4.4mm adapter, a 2.5mm adapter and a 6.35mm adapter, a badge with the serial number, a box with the bundled cable inside a pouch, a warranty card, the earphone carry case with the IEMs inside, and 12 pairs of eartips. Also, there is a toy gold coin and alcohol prep pads inside the cable box, an interesting choice for bundling those. Overall, the packaging for Elk amazed me, and should be the only Chi-fi IEMs provide such comprehensive accessories til date.

The upgrade cable which could be purchased in combo is also included separately with the similar pouch for the stock cable.



Scalability:
Mainly contributed by the high sensitivity and low impedance, Elk can perform in its maximum potential with my devices listed above. The volume needed for my comfortable listening experience is way less than other earphones that I have tried.


Fit:
The earphones are built with durable polycarbonate shell, which JQ claimed that the source material is Egger resin. The build quality on par with Ex2, which the nozzle is also made with metal. For the faceplate, it is black marble-like with the logo embedded. With the medium eartip provided, Elk snugs into my ears securely, and it is almost non-existent during the listening sessions because of its lightweight.



Sound Signature
Engaging sound with energetic bass

Elk is tuned as an engaging yet neutral sound with a bass boost.

The bass is elevated with no bass leaked into the lower mids, and the other region is relatively calm and flat. The overall signature is similar to a mild U-shaped signature but with more boost in the bottom region.



Lows
Pros
  • Appropriate rumble and texture
Cons
  • Overwhelming when listening in a louder volume
Reference Tracks / Remarks:
Black Eyed Peas – Mamacita (feat. Ozuna & J Rey Soul)

Powered by the 10mm biocellulose dynamic driver, Elk has an intimidating bass to listen to: just right bass texture and rumble, and appropriate attack. However, due to its sensitivity, after pairing with the upgrade cable, the bass is quite intense to listen to, especially when it is operating in higher volume. When compared to the 1st generation (the original 8+1 pro), Elk has a punchier bass, and the original generation is more bass shy and does not have the rumble and texture that Elk can provide.



Mids
Pros
  • Relatively neutral with no audible emphasis
Cons
  • A bit recessed compared to earphones with no bass boost
Reference Tracks / Remarks:
Eason Chan – Exaggerating
Linkin Park – Blackout

Similar to other bass-emphasised IEMs, namely 64 Audio N8 & Empire Ears Legend X, the mids performance of Elk is hindered by the bass. However, due to Elk’s calmer elevation from the lower subbass region than that of the others, it does not give me an impression of the mids being distant which the above-mentioned earphones did. The electric guitar and the synthesiser in Exaggerating do not sound recessed nor distant, so as Chester screams in Blackout. 8+1 Pro Gen 1 has a warmer sound in terms of mids, which also differs from that from Elk.



Highs
Pros
  • Nice extension
  • Airy
Cons
  • A bit unnatural in terms of timbre
Reference Tracks / Remarks:
Charli XCX – Anthems
Daft Punk – Contact

Compared to the last generation, Elk has a massive improvement in the treble department, with a much-extended presentation and a just-right treble boost, airiness is provided, which the original 8+1 is somehow lacking. Although the vastly improved treble, the metallic timbre for cymbals & hi-hats is a bit unnatural when playing Contact, which the decay of those clashes is a bit too long. The most surprising part is that the mentioned timbre does not affect the performance of Elk for treble-focused mixes, Anthems sounds enjoyable, contradicting what I expected with the performance from Contact: harsh and unlistenable.



Soundstage
Pros
  • Decent dimensions even with the bass boost
Cons
  • Average compared to similar priced products

The soundstage from Elk is somehow average. Due to colder & more extended treble than Ex2, the perceptible soundstage in first listen is smaller than Ex2. Actually, the soundstage for Elk is more or less the same with Ex2, as the depth is shallower yet the width is wider. Again, this is already an improvement from Gen 1, which the soundstage is two-dimensional and having no depth.



Separation
Pros
  • Mostly accurate positioning
  • Can separate every element in tracks
Cons
  • -

Even though with a substantial amount of bass boost, the separation that Elk offers remains competent. The vocal positioning is in the centre of my head, without any shift. Also, every element in the music could be heard easily, which is always a pro for 8+1 Gen 1, which the most similar aspect for the two generations.



Musicality
Pros
  • Immersive when playing electronic/rock tracks
Cons
  • Reduced performance when with acoustic tracks
Reference Tracks / Remarks:
The Pretty Reckless – Death by Rock and Roll
David Tao – Free


Thanks to the punchy bass with the hefty boost from Elk, genres require bass impact, for example, electronic & rock, sound superb and engaging with the earphones. It is also doing well with other genres with its relative neutral tuning in mids & highs, but a bit weak for acoustics, such as folk, when the bass department is not flexing its muscles. Overall, a total flip from gen 1 where only tracks not requiring bass impact shines.



Vocal Performance
Pros
  • Correct positioning
Cons
  • Maybe muffled with some male vocals/vocals recorded with analog recorders

Similar to separation and musicality described above, Elk provides a decent vocal performance in the price range: a much stiller and firmer rendition than the budget-tier IEMs. However, male vocals or those which recorded with tapes may sound a little bit too warm when pairing with Elk, on par with Gen 1.



Instrumental Performance
Pros
  • Not recessed presentation for electric guitars & synthesisers
  • Juicy presentation for bass
Cons
  • A bit artificial for drums

Even though the tuning is somehow similar with KBEar Diamond with the bass boost, the recessed mids presentation from Diamond has been alleviated by Elk with the multi-driver configuration. Together with the enjoyable bass, it is almost good as a total all-rounder. However, the acoustic guitar sounds a bit less airy and the drums sound a bit artificial, especially the cymbals/hi-hats than I would consider as a total all-rounder.


Overall Sound Performance
Pros
  • Punchy bass
  • Fairly neutral presentation
  • Excellent Separation
Cons
  • Slightly artificial in treble timbre
  • Bass might be quite intense to listen to
  • Soundstage is a bit narrow
The tuning of Elk pays its dividend in the overall sound performance by bringing the punchy bass, correct positioning, nice separation, and providing right amount of airiness in a whole package. However, it should also be taken account that the bass might be too strong for people who are used to listen to bright-sounded earphones, and the timbre for metallic instruments is a bit artificial.

Comparison Chart
How we compare: We chose other similarly priced earphones or similar offerings from the same brand that Project A3 has reviewed in the past, to ensure that we remain as impartial as possible in our comparisons.
JQ Audio Elk Kinera Nanna
Suggested Retail Price US$599 (with upgrade cable) US$899
Driver Configuration  1 dynamic driver and 8 balanced armature drivers 2 Sonion Electrostatic drivers 1 Sonion balanced armature, 1 dynamic driver
Scalability  Mobile-Friendly DAP Suggested
Fitting Snug and lightweight Snug and lightweight
Comfort Excellent Very Good
Sound Signature Neutral with bass boost Slight L-shaped response, thick bass, slight lower-mid emphasis and treble focus.
Lows Appropriate texture and rumble, with an spot-on response.  
Reverberating bass response, with a solid mid-bass to sub-bass transition.
Mids Relatively neutral. Ethereal, lifelike mids with realistic timbre. 
Highs Unexpected high extension. Decent high extension, hyper realistic highs section.
Soundstage Average when compared to similar-priced products Superb horizontal width and extension
Separation Smashing resolution. Superb imaging, effortless to distinguish between vocals and instruments
Remarks Recommended for people who like bass-emphasis without sacrificing mids & treble. Perfect for a timbre-accuracy and life-like music often unheard of in IEMs.


Conclusion:
JQ brings Elk as a complete overhaul to its BA+DD hybrid lineup, and it is certainly an upgrade from the first generation. It is an ambitious move to launch such a product with premium packaging and tuning which might not praising everybody due to its bass. It is the best earphone in this price range I have tried as of today, and I recommend it to people who like fun signature yet to stay relative neutral for not letting bass to negatively impact the whole spectrum of music.

Be sure to follow Project A3 on Facebook for more reviews*.






*All ratings are accurate as of 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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2 comments:

  1. UnknownAugust 4, 2020 at 12:46 AM

    Do you have other choice in these price range? Please make comparisson...
    Thank you...

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  2. UnknownAugust 6, 2020 at 7:26 AM

    Do you have other choice in these price range? Please make comparisson...
    Thank you...

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Wild Beast – JQ Elk (8+1 Pro Gen 2/Si Bu Xiang) Review

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Project A³
Project A³ is a collection of individuals that are passionate and dedicated to consumer and enthusiast audiophile products. Originating from various countries and involved in different fields what they all have in common is an appreciation for listening to music in the best way possible.
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