HIDIZS MP145 Review (1) – Save The Whales And Your Bath Water

INTRO

Prepping for my annual ahem visual inspection, I dove into the HIDIZS MP145 and what I found was almost more enjoyable than trying to keep my hunger at bay. Having purchased the 7Hz Timeless ($220) at nearly double the entry cost of the HIDIZS MP145 ($109 kickstarter/$145 MSRP) my curiosity wanted to know is there something that improves upon it in the planar realm?

HIDIZS found inspiration from the plight of the whales, and for those who want to support a noble cause have a look at the Whale and Dolphin Conservatory. 

The $139 (early-bird; regular $199) Hidizs MP145 was provided by the company for my review and I thank them for that. You can get them from Kickstarter.

HIDIZS wants you to know they plan on providing more information about how their partnership works by following them on social media.

“Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) is the leading global charity dedicated to the protection of whales, dolphins, and their ocean homes. As the design of the MP145 was inspired by whales, we’re proudly supporting WDC’s Green Whale work and helping to raise awareness about the vital role whales play in the health of our oceans, and ultimately our planet. Learn more about these amazing animals here, and follow us on social media to get updates about our partnership.”

Getting back to the task at hand, why use Planars?

Planar drivers are unique and opposite to dynamic drivers that rely on stiffness of the diaphragm to prevent unwanted movements. Instead, the planar operates solely on the principle of bending and vibrating the surface of the diaphragm. Usually this results in very quick transients and an extended top end that sounds airy.

SOUND

Tested with the HIDIZS AP80 Pro-X Copper, LG G8, and SMSL SU-9 + JDS Labs AtomV1

The HIDIZS MP145 is a mid-centric bright with a midbass boost signature as opposed to the U shaped response curve of the 7HZ Timeless. Bass lacks the speed and control of the Timeless and the lower registers as well. I feel like the venting might be too much on the HIDIZS MP145 and does not allow enough air suspension to control the back wave.

It is noticeable for example on Hans Zimmer’s Mombasso from the Inception soundtrack where rapid succession synth tones can easily be lost. In simple arrangements it seems dynamic and tight, but once it gets more complex the definition is lost. Amplification or high gain mode on portable players and DACs was a must to help, but it did not provide the ah-ha moment I was hoping for. Keep in mind the lower sensitivity of 104dB/mW will challenge lower powered devices.

Now looking at the upper end of the spectrum we indeed get air produced by the HIDIZS MP145, but it also sounds steely in the timbre. The 7Hz Timeless with its even more tricked out air and zing lets the MP145 off the hook for its exaggerated enhanced highs.

At times, cymbals sound over-damped and blunted when compared to the 7Hz Timeless. I wonder how it might fare against the Letshuoer S12 instead that Jurgen reviewed previously since they are priced similarly.. During the auditioning of the track Acoustic Alchemy by Georgia Peach, the cymbals are accentuated and brittle, a tough test for many IEMs I like to use. 

The midrange stands out on the HIDIZS MP145 with its clear and detailed portrayal of male and female vocals alike. There is good spacing and a sense of resolution through the midrange that is not shared through the upper treble and bass department. Listening to the HIDIZS MP145 by itself, it comes off fairly confident in abilities. 

Once compared to the 7Hz Timeless where spacing around all the individual elements shine through and there is more depth and resolution do we see the HIDIZS MP145 has some ground to make up. It’s like if you took a picture primarily with flash, the picture is clear, but the shadows do not let things pop out.

Once you add in the extra background flood light allowing shadows to disappear do we truly get a good picture. Stage width of the HIDIZS MP145 extends outwards , but depth is somewhat 2 dimensional. Unfortunately even given the extended top end, I do not pick up enough height lift.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

At this point of my review maybe you are irritated by the fact I skipped over the wide selection of eartips for balanced, vocal and bass enhancement. They are the same as what was included with the MS3 and MS5.

Or perhaps, I did not mention the 3 sets of filters also designed to tailor the sound. I also noticed when swapping the filters, there is open-cell foam jammed deep down inside the shell. With a small pair of tweezers or similar tool, it could be carefully plucked out and that might undo some of the over-damped brilliance, or we might get some other unwanted nasties. Point being, these could be a tweaker project.

HIDIZS MP145 includes the coin purse case that first made an appearance with the MS3 and seems to be the new popular way to include a case with expanding the packaging size. I appreciate that it fits cleanly in my pants or shorts without looking like I am excited to greet everyone I meet.

The silver cable is enjoyable and much appreciated over the heavy and extra cable used on the HIDIZS MS3 and MS5. It does not add unwanted weight to my ears, and looks classy. I am the anti-cablist desiring something that does not tangle (easily), is pliable and does not create micro-phonics which is what you get with the HIDIZS MP145. 

Constructed with high-purity single-crystal oxygen-free copper silver-plated wire, after saying that five times fast I believe they should hold up well over time. The functional chin slider can snug up the wires for further reduction of micro-phonics produced by the cable, as a comparison the MS5 chin slider was extremely hard to use. These were all the good points, unfortunately there were some grievances. 

GOING MENTAL

This does not impact the main importance of earphones, the packaging in my mind does not meet their goals of saving the whales. You may or may not have heard about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch floating around in the Pacific Ocean. Well, normally boxes are made of recyclable materials such as cardboard instead HIDIZS opted for a plastic box and while it may not end up in the ocean, it will most certainly end up in a landfill. My suggestion is hopefully reuse it for small storage in a drawer perhaps?

The other issue involves the shell – one of the earpieces supplied to me near the vent holes is deformed, as if it was pushed on. There is a crease noticeable in the right light despite the material being aluminum. Those blow hole covers are maybe a little thin, but could also be a one off problem.

The sharpness of the HIDIZS MP145 shell  is a strange feeling when pushing them into my ears. I prefer the simple yet boring flatness of the 7Hz Timeless face-plate. The carved out shells are rather large and the nozzles are large diameter, so those that have small ears and prefer smaller shells might find them too big.

THE WRAP-UP

I might have been praising the MS3 and the MS5, but the HIDIZS MP145 is merely decent and not class leading for a planar. I still like the 7Hz Timeless better despite having an over the top airiness, plus it is not as large. The more mid-centric and over-damped treble air of the MP145 might be welcome to those who thought the 7Hz Timeless might have too much in either end of the frequency spectrum.

The HIDIZS has a pleasing western tonality with extra airiness, but non-de script bass and average technicalities prevent me from praising, I prefer their MS3 instead for around the same price.

Disclaimer: We thank HIDIZS for providing these free of charge. I will do what I can to save the whales, I for one have cut down on using one-time use disposal plastic sandwich bags.

SPECIFICATIONS HIDIZS MP145

GRAPHS

• Left vs Right
• Eartips
• Filters

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DISCLAIMER

Get The MP145 from Kickstarter.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hidizs/hidizs-next-gen-ultra-large-planar-hifi-iems-9-sound-types?ref=aq2pt9

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.