Whizzer Kylin HE10 Review – Punch And Judy

The $70 Whizzer Kylin HE10 is a safely tuned and well-built single-dynamic driver iem with a good punch that impresses most by its excellent built and small form factor.

The Whizzer Kylin HE10 was provided by the company for my review. And I thank them for that. You can get it from the Whizzer Store.

Introduction

I like original earphone designs and small shells for optimal comfort. Whizzer, established in 2015, are regularly delivering on this front. This does not come as a surprise as they engage J.IDEA for design and tuning.

For the HE10, the company has developed a 10.2 mm CNT (carbon nanotube) driver for maximum clarity and minimal distortion. You find more details on the company’s website.

Specifications Whizzer Kylin HE10

The Whizzer Kylin HE10 was provided by the company for my review. You can get it from the Whizzer Store.

Physical Things and Usability

In the box are the two earpieces, cable with 3.5 mm plug, three sets of earpieces [ET100 (“straight”), VC20 (“vocals”), SS20 (“soundstage”)], a cleaning brush, a metal storage container, and the paperwork. Everything works well out of the package.

The metal earpieces are of superb build, of great, seamless fit and comfort for my ears. Isolation depends on eartips, I have the best success with the widebores (SS20). The 5N Silver-plated Oxygen Free Copper cable with 0.78 mm 2-pin connectors and 3.5 mm is equally well made. The accessories are top notch for the $70 class.

The HE10 has a rather low sensitivity and benefits from additional amplification. I calculated a sensitivity of 105 dB/mW @ 1 kHz from the sound pressure level given in the specifications.

Tonality and Technicalities

The Whizzer HE10 comes with three stock tips that yield tonal differences between 2.5 and 5 kHz. Any of these signatures is a variation of the Harman target curve with some added bass, making for pronounced V-shapes. Although the differences in these frequency responses appear to be minor, they are actually not. The VC20 narrow bores produce the spiciest (upper) midrange, the SS20 widebores the richest midrange, and the oddly shaped ET100 are somewhere in between.

I am sensitive to upper midrange glare so that the SS20 served me best and they will be used in my sound characterization.

The HE10’s tonality can be described as a safe V-shape dominated by a thumpy bass that adds warmth to the mix. The low-end dominates the sound and sets the HE10 (marginally) apart from so many similar sounding iems in its class.

Bass reaches very deep down into the lowest frequencies (one of the deepest reach of any of the earphones tested), but the low end lacks definition and finesse. It is fuzzy. Pure quantity over quality. As the focus is at about 50 Hz, the bass shelf is never intrusive and also does not overly affect the lower midrange (it affects the whole frequency spectrum). It is pleasant but not accurate. Basslines are somewhat thick and sloppy.

On the positive side, the low end has lots of robustness and punch.

Vocals, male and female, are classic V-shape, as experienced umpteen times before: a bit recessed, a bit lean, slightly warm, with decent note definition. Safe, but always dragging behind the rumbling sub-bass. With the ET100 and VC20 eartipes, energy is added to the midrange with thins notes out, pushes them forwards, and becomes unnaturally bright for my ears.

Note definition in the midrange could be better, they are somewhat washed out in comparison to, for example, the Moondrop Aria. Vocals are too lean in context with the thick bass for my taste.

Treble is far behind bass held and mids, almost buried, and lacks energy, but is has surprisingly good definition in the uppermost registers.

Overall resolution, layering, and separation are muddled by the fuzzy low end and don’t stand out compared to other iems in this class. Decent imaging is also lacking by the omnipresent sub-bass. Timbre is as natural as expected with the SS20 widebores used. Soundstage is relatively narrow but has good depth.

Dynamic response is good.

Overall, the HE10 joins the recent army of Harman-tuned models. In comparison, our $80 Wall of Excellence contender, the Moondrop Aria offers much better note definition and imaging, but also has more upper midrange glare and is more analytical than the HE10. The Truthear x Crinacle Zero RED may lack technical finesse but plays more internally cohesively and it has this fun sub-bass that sets it apart.

Concluding Remarks

The Whizzer HE10 is a safely tuned, well accessorized single-dynamic driver iem that is sonically average. It excels in its original and small shell design, great cable, and its build quality, but it introduces nothing new to the army of similar earphones, sound wise.

It is a good option for the novice to this hobby but will not thrill the advanced hobbyist.

Until next time…keep on listening!