And we’ll have eternal music! Earbuds Hifiman ES100 fit in your ears like a snail in the native shell

I wish I had a white Mercedes, it would be a breeze to drive it all!! With the family, of course … But fate brought me to the “gelding” from another area – the Hifiman headphones, which have become legendary among audiophiles and audiophiles around the world. So I thought, let me drive it! Let me tell you about the novelty of the famous brand.

Thanks to XChesser Audio for providing a sample for listening

Appearance and kit

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The HiFiMAN ES100 has a fancy design and very good sound. The earpiece form factor, as is often the case with fashion, is back on track and becoming popular again. And it’s true, you don’t have to cram them into your ears, they are light and compact. In the office, at home, on the street, where there are no rumbling cars, it is quite a tempting option for a buzz with music. But even in the subway there are people with earmolds in their ears. How so? It’s not just music you can’t hear on the subway, you can’t even make out more than three words in an audiobook like “The Futures of Love”: “Look out, the doors are closing…”. Anyway, forget it..

The headphones come in a box of industrial cardboard. Inside we find a “slide-in” plastic box, in which you can find: headphones, warranty papers, storage case and a pair of spare ear rings. Modest, ascetic and tasteful.

The headphones are made of plastic with metal mesh protectors on the front. The coloring and design is puzzling at first time. Reminiscent of something futuristic and industrial blue and silver. The first time I saw the ears made me smile. The cable is pretty simple, black, with a 3.5 mm L-shaped jack. In general the view, let’s say, is very peculiar.

The ES100’s ergonomics, on the other hand, are tip-top, beyond praise. I’m not a big fan of the earphone form factor, but the ES100 is very comfortable and nice. Due to the whimsical shape and rubber ear rings, the earmolds penetrate into the ear like a snail into its natural shell. So, it’s just beginning. Comfort and sound is their forte!

Technical Specifications

The view:	earmolds
Connection:	with cord
Type of headphones:	dynamic, closed
Frequency range:	15 – 20000 Hz
Impedance:	150 Ohm
Sensitivity:	133 dB
Diaphragm diameter:	15 mm
Number of drivers:	1
Cable type:	symmetrical
Headphone jack:	3.5 mm
The shape of the headphone jack:	L-shaped
The length of the cable:	1,2 m

Sound

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HiFiMAN ES100 sound is smooth, a little bit lightened, with well worked out bass, decent resolution and a little accent in the upper midrange. But with different sources HiFiMAN ES100 can behave differently.

For example, in combination with Astell & Kern ak120-II the sound was a little bit harsh and crumbly. I got distortion at medium volume and a metallic sound in the high midrange, which was very unpleasant to listen to. So, as always, “not all yogurts are equally useful…”

But it’s not all bad. Combined with MyST porta DAC1866 OCUB, QLS qa360, iBasso DX80, Shanling m2, DAC MyST PortaDAC 1704/MyST PortAMP-II, stationary MyST1866 OCU, and even Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, sound returned to its place and ears sang very well!

The only thing I could not avoid no matter how hard I tried to put on the ears was sibilants and “scattering” in the high frequencies. In case of ES100, however, this kind of fault does not “blow your mind”, it appears somehow smoothly, accurately, but nevertheless it has its place.

By the way, after 20-30 minutes I stopped paying attention to it, only the simplicity of working out the treble remained in the zone of attention. That is, where the highest-end headphones produce a clear “tssss”, the ES100 plays out the moment of truth as “tsssss”.

Otherwise the musical material is presented in a very pleasant way, musically, taking into account the smallest details and not falling apart on components.

According to genres I didn’t feel any preferences too, if not to pay attention to slight drawbacks: I mean cymbals and hi-hat of drum kit. For example AC/DC “let me put my love into you” sounds very decent.

The bass is firm and fast, it doesn’t dominate, but clearly does what it is supposed to do. Guitars roar as they should, smoothly, with enviable anger and speed. Brian Johnson’s voice clearly gives it away:

” Don’t you struggle

Don’t you fight

Don’t you worry cause it’s your turn tonight

Let me put my love into you babe

Let me put my love on the line

Let me put my love into you babe

Let me cut your cake with my knife..”

Everything is great, but there is a drop of tar. The vocals themselves, though not too obtrusive, but someone might even “enjoy” them!”, a little accented, has a “touch of metal” with an overtone. During musical ecstasy, one can also enjoy such roughness. But then again, all these nuances come up, if you pick on them, they’re mostly noticeable on the sharp and intense tunes. But the cymbals sound a bit simple and with a hiss, there’s nothing to be avoided.

Otherwise, considering the price tag, everything is very decent: speed, intelligibility, neutrality and drive are all in the range.

Conclusion

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The headphones are very good. If you ignore the impedance, even my smartphone did quite well with them. For those who prefer to listen to music in open earbuds and headphones, unequivocally, “Mast-Have!”. HiFiMAN ES100 price in American online stores is kept in the vicinity of 4000 Dollars, which, in my opinion, is quite humane for this level of headphones.

Pros

Smooth, very intelligible, detailed sound, reasonable price, usability.

Cons

A peculiar design, simple materials.