These buds allow you to adjust the ear tip positions between standard and outer/open for slightly different frequency responses. In standard positioning, their sound is very neutral. While they lack some thump and rumble, they deliver more warmth to compensate. Vocals and instruments sound natural but are a bit recessed in the mix and lacking in detail. However, while it’s possible to switch the buds into an outer/open position, once you insert the tips into your ear (or into a testing rig), this outer position can shift into the standard position. Subjectively, it took some time to achieve a good fit with this setting. While we noticed there was less bass and a little more treble, the seating was awkward, causing us to adjust the fit back to the standard position.

Related to this design is a user method of using tape to change the frequency response. On each nozzle is a bass vent. The theory goes like this: if you tape over the vent, you’ll get a higher bass response. We tried this method, and you can see a comparison between our results here. There’s a small amount of deviation in the bass range when using the tape, but the bass does increase slightly.

If you’re looking to connect these buds to devices like an amp, you’ll want to know that they have an impedance of 18 ohms and a sensitivity of 101 dB/mW. That means you can plug them into most devices like your smartphone or laptop up to a dedicated audio interface without needing an amp.