VSonic VSD5 Review, Might Be The Best IEM Under USD 100!
Personally, I've been a fan of VSonic for 3 years now. They're one of the solid innovators when it comes to the budget in ear monitor segment. If I'm correct, they started the revolution starting with the GR06 / GR07 that continued with the incredible VC02 which was my very first review in another website last June of 2013.
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| VSonic VSD5 review, might be the best IEM under USD 100! |
Fast forward 2015, their development and ambition of bringing better and higher end sound for the market appears to be coming into fruition. They were successful with the VSD1 / VSD3 recently and now they're planning to do the same with the newer and limited edition, VSonic VSD5.
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| The new VSonic box / packaging I'm number 4521 out of the 6000 units that was made |
Brief info, the VSonic VSD5 is an over ear in ear monitor that looks expensive for the price tag of just USD 90. Aside from that it also said to be tuned like the EX1000 from Sony which cost near a USD 300 to 400, that alone made this VSD5 a highly interesting product.
VSonic VSD5 Specs
Driver Unit: CCAW Dynamic Drivers
Impedance: 32 Ohm
Sensitivity: > 108 db/mW
Frequency response: 5 Hz- 31.5 KHz
Rated Power: 10 mW
Maximum Input Power: 30 mW
Connector: 3.5 mm dual channel plug
Cable: 1.30 m TPU Cable, OFC wires
Price: USD 90 internationally, 3,650 Pesos via techshop audiophile
Price: USD 90 internationally, 3,650 Pesos via techshop audiophile
Unboxing / Accessories
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| Bunch of eartips included together with the ear hooks |
The accessories found inside the box of the VSD5 comes with the unit itself, 5 pairs of eartips (1 set of foamies, 1 set of bi-flange tips, 3 sizes of silicon), ear hooks and velvet pouch.
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| The soft velvet pouch |
The accessories found in the package comes with high quality, the silicon tips were soft and what I'm impressed here is the foamies they included as it's reminds me of comply and olives combined which is extremely comfortable to wear and isolates well.
Comment: I missed the days when VSonic includes a lot more accessories in their package which includes those very good Sony Hybrid like tips. However, due to the "sound quality" they're putting into the product, I cannot really blame them.
Build Quality / Design
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| Grills spotted |
The translucent smokey body of this IEM was nicely built, there are no sharp edges and it appears to made out decent type of plastic. However, I have fear that this might be prone to hairline scratches even if that's a minor thing.
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| The shin slider to help you manage the cable and the y splitter |
Unlike the VSD3, the VSD5 doesn't have a removable cable. If what I've heard was correct, VSonic implemented a non removable cable here to prevent damages from constantly removing the cable from the body which was an issue with the VSD3.
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| The nickel 3.5 mm jack |
I also noticed that VSonic did not implement a gold plated plug again here and the strain reliefs doesn't have any flexibility.
What I love the most here is the design, you get a Custom IEM looking pair that looks stunning even from afar. The cables also look very good as they boast that professional looking braids.
To sum it up, it appears that they'll last for a long time as long you're not dropping them regularly and if you take care of them properly.
Comfort / Isolation
One of the best part of this IEM is in the comfort section, it's one of the most comfortable over-ear earphone I've ever tried. To my surprise it was able to beat the Havi B3 Pro 1 which was my favorite last year until the early part of this year in that department. It's extremely lightweight, sits in my ear properly and feels like I'm not wearing anything at all.
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| VSD5 with the ear hooks |
It also isolates in a pretty nice way, good enough to block the noise from your surrounding especially from the people talking beside you even if they have loud voices. (I'm only using 50% of the volume most of the time with my Honor 6 Plus) Outdoors, it's also quite nice I just need to raise the volume by 10% and it blocks almost everything I can hear from the streets except for car horns. Caution: Avoid using this one while crossing the streets
Note: Comfort and isolation depends on the tip suited best for you.
Sound
The VSD5 from first try blew me away! It's arguably one of the best single dynamic driver in ear monitor I've ever tried. From memory, it excites me more when I first tried this one even when compared against the pricier VSonic GR07.
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| If you believe in burn-in, VSonic requires 100 hours of usage to experience true potential |
Coming from ATH IM50 w/ Furutech cables recently, the sound signature of the VSonic VSD5 is very different. It features an analytical sound that puts some nice emphasis in the highs. Having said that the sound is very precise in all parts of the frequencies. The mids is mind blowingly clear and the highs has that "I always wanted" sweet long sparkle and decay. The lows is also quite surprising as it can extend quite deep, accurate, fast and provide you with sub-bass that's extremely pleasing to the ears with when needed.
The best part of it's sound is the layering, having the Havi B3 Pro 1 with me, it's hard to find an IEM on at this price point that can compete with that set. The VSD5 did just that and it gives me chills as it can even rival even multi driver balanced armature setups here. Another amazing thing that VSonic here is with the soundstage which was very wide and 3D like without sounding artificial or software enhanced.
So far my only slight complain here is the sibilance on first try that might require a day or two before you get accustomed to. Other than that, what I can say here is I like this one better than GR07 / MA750i as it boast better details and acoustic control. It can put to shame most of its competitors and out-duel the other high end killers I've had in the past like the Havi B3 Pro 1, VSD1 and Ostry KC06.
Note 1: It's also extremely easy to drive even if it's impedance is rated quite high at 32 Ohms.
Note 2: It sounds great in most genres (nice all rounder)
Pro's - Fantastic sound for the price, near Havi B3 Pro 1 wide soundstage, great soft and long cable
Con's - Prone to hairline scratches, strain reliefs not flexible, not for everyone sibilance
Verdict
This is the best sounding IEM I've heard from VSonic yet. Definitely a must have if you seek incredible sound under USD 100. It can honestly compete even with IEMS up to 4x its price from the popular brands. The VSonic VSD5 is simply that GOOD!
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