Axgio Sprint Review
First Impressions: Fairly simple box,
don’t show off their inner shiny bit though which I don’t get why.
Anyway nothing especially interesting here. Inside we get the buds, the
charging cable and two baggies of tips. Ooh one is some silicones’ and
the other a bunch of foamies. Yey for foam tips. The buds have some
gunmetal polished inner which I rather like. Black plain on the outer
which seems weird but whatever. Wait, where’s the case??? No case,
really? To eBay then we go.
So after a plugging in to charge them a
bit I pair them to the Iphone 5 that’s sat on my desk. (I do like iOS’s
default displaying the Bluetooth devices battery level.) Firing up
google music, oh! It’s completely foundation less as I’ve not heard
anything else today but these sound good. Really good for some US$40
bluetooth earphone. It got to be packing in DAC, amp battery and
Bluetooth bits into a small package so I expected them to sound, so so.
First thoughts are these spank the BLU-100’s with some ease. Damn, I
thought these would be a bit meh and so a super quick thing to review.
Darn.
Source: Not that it should matter but predominantly an Iphone 5, Moto G 4G 1st gen and a Lumia 735. Note the Lumia supports aptX.
Lows: Unsurprisingly they have a
somewhat elevated bass response. It’s not the most linear either, it
trails off fairly rapidly and it’s got a fair bit of that mid/bass
hump. Honestly though I really don’t mind too much. It’s a cheap
product so were know were weren’t going to be getting an ER4 challenger
here. It fun, it’s rhythmic and it’s playful. It’s not trying to be
some paragon of neutrality and it just runs with it. It’s goodly
rounded with a tiny slant towards punchiness. There is a bit of bloom
and softness to the impacts which I’m not sure if intentional or not.
Either way it pairs up well with the elevated scale to be big and hearty
yet not overbearing. Actually it’s really a fun and lively little
bugger. Dark enough when it’s asked to be dark and soft enough when it’s
asked to be rich and mellow. I find myself really rather liking slow
and sweeping tracks, such an John Steven’s rendition of “This Love” the
lows being genteel, woody with a full bodied roundness. They are really
pleasant on the ear. Flicking to Miss GaGa’s “Teeth” the bass kick it
up a notch and does its best to be mean and aggressive as the track
demands. Is it quite brutal enough? Na it’s a bit cheerfully mellow to
be convincingly brutal. Still these are supposed to be a cheap little
gym / run IEM. It’s really quite credible audio wise.
Mids: Again I thought it should be meh
yet I find myself genuinely enjoying it. Its clearly not a top tier
master but for some cheap Bluetooth thing you could really actually live
with it!!! Des’ree’s “Darwin Star” while she has to battle to sing
through the wall of low end noise, she vocally belts it out. Slicing
right through like some grand master samurai sword and yet retains that
faint and delicate quiver. I think I like this more than I ought to.
Male vocals aren’t quite as well rendered as they start to bleed into
the mid/bass humpy zone but the girlies are great. The detail level and
nuances are to a degree captured and not just what you need for crappy,
gym motivational beat line music.
You know maybe these are too nice, too
creamy for really being gym IEM’s. These aren’t giving me that cold,
hard, grrrrr aggressiveness. They are a big old German Shepard playing
with a squeaky toy. They aren’t the fearsome police barking and
snarling at you to make you shift that backside of yours.
Highs: Pretty restrained. There is a
little flourish of treble shimmer of the top but it’s never near centre
stage. For my tastes, bang on. You can’t get treble perfect at a low
price so better not to try and shred people’s ears. Given that it’s
Bluetooth and it’s very, very likely to only ever play back compressed
music dialling down the treble is wise. It’s well, it is there but it
really rolls of with some speed and what is there isn’t energy filled.
Again that’s works for me but treble heads will not be pleased.
The quantity is also fairly slight. It’s
fairly clear but never hard or edgy, it never has that cutting edge to
it. It’s all shimmer and the more you throw at it and the more there is
the more it becomes a general shimmer rather than anything particularly
distinct.
Soundstage: While it is quite good in
terms of simple scale and body, there isn’t what I’d call any real
distance. You’re in a moderate sized room with a big hearty speaker set
up. Placement is, well it’s a bit so so. You can generally get a
vague impression of location from the mids in the front and the bass and
highs off behind. Placements is best when there isn’t much going on.
Separation, hmm it’s not super. Vocals pull away from the rest but
highs and lows are pretty much all rolled together.
Fit: I was rather pleased with their
fit. They were a bit big bud wise but the curvature to their body was
excellent. I heartily suggest that other makers have a look and try to
get some design tips. They are big yet they fit me perfectly. I wasn’t
so keen on the memory wire but it fairness I’ve never encountered a
memory wire and thought “ooooh that was so handy I’m glad that was
there.”
Comfort: Ever so closely tied to fit and
generally if ones good the other is too. Fit was great and so the
comfort was too. Big wireless buds that essentially weighed nothing and
I could wear for hours at a time.
Aesthetics: The outer black of them is
just like everything else out there but the inner section being some
glossy gunmetal type colour, I really actually liked that. I’d be happy
if the whole thing was the same. Glossy but not a bright glossy, in
your face blingy. Otherwise they are black. Nothing that really
demands mention, they look fine.
Microphonics: Sadly there was some. The
wire connecting the two side was a just a bit long for me and it
regularly hit my collars if I turned my head about. It didn’t matter I
wore them under my chin or at the back of my neck. I almost always wear
polo necks so I have colours and it did irritate me a bit. It wasn’t
like it was a huge problem but it did exist as an issue.
Isolation: For a big old dynamic really
good actually. I’d expected them to be more vented but they stood up
with the better end of dynamics. It’s the fine for on a bus, in a gym,
out for a run but you know, not really for a flight or Tube commute. If
you do run with them, for the love of god do look where you’re going
because you won’t hear people around you or that bus that’s right
behind. Eyes people!
Cable: Well it does have a cable, a very
short cable just linking the ear pieces but it’s a fairly noisy thing.
Looks fine in terms of durability but what really got on my nerves,
whoever it was that arranged the buttons on the controller / mic
thingy. Everyone uses the layout volume up / play pause skip / volume
down. Oh but no, the play pause skip on off pairing super button is at
the end rather than in the middle. Why? I know it’s not the end of the
world but expect to regularly hit the wrong button until you get used
to it.
Build Quality: They seem rather nice.
There is something rather plastic looking about the black plastic back
of the buds. I don’t know what it is but they just don’t look like
something anyone’s going to mug you over. It all feels sturdy but
there’s just something I can’t put my finger on.
Accessories: You get a selection of tips
including foam ones, yey! You also get a micro USB cable. While it’s
nice to give the cable you need to charge them, I suppose they have to
don’t they? Just I don’t know about you but I’ve got at least 3 million
Micro USB cables already and a little case therefore would have been
more welcome. Of course if you want a little case there as ever eBay.
Value: Cracking. I mean you can’t not
compare these to the BLU-100. These are cheaper and they are better.
Annoying cable aside there are fab for cheapo Bluetooth earbuds.
Conclusion: I must confess I’d never
even heard of Axgio when they contacted me to review these. I didn’t
expect much from them, you know a new entrant to the audio world.
Things are usually a nice try, good effort but they just doesn’t quite
get everything right on their first time out. Well these really nail
it. They are of course a Bluetooth, wireless, so built in DAC and amp
and battery so I really can’t quite put them head to head with what
US$40 gets you with a wire from the best value brands. Still I’m way
impressed at their first outing. I mean these come in a hair cheaper
than the BLU-100 and they are better, hands down. (Sorry Brainwavz, I
love you guys but Axgio have bested you for now.)
The rate at which electronics and drivers
are getting better / getting cheaper, is scary. The Sprint is clear
evidence of this. Though it’s annoying because it pushes the quality of
IEM’s ever closer together and makes it harder to put some distance
between products. Still these are little belters for the price. Maybe a
little rich and creamy for gym motivation but for just listening they
are excellent.
So,
buy one? Yes. I don’t love the cable, tie or no and I’m not wild over
the button arrangement. However that’s pretty much it for downs. Its
audio quality is great, its base is rhythmic and lively with a rich
warmth still. Mids are flowing and oozing with great clarity for the
money. The highs are shimmery and pleasing. What’s not to love, at
this price and wireless to boot!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment