It is the very first take of mine on reviewing earbuds. Not that I haven’t ever used this type of earphones before but the constant feeling of something missing out of the sound prevented me from willing to write the reviews. It was the «delicacy» — a possibility to hear the tiniest nuances of each sound that is going directly to the eardrum, free of any noise and disturbances — that addicted me to the transparent presentation of IEMs. This review is not intended to give the new spin to earbuds versus IEMs confrontation. Instead, it is intended to show that even a huge fan of IEMs, one day, would face a model of earbuds that would get him very close to the verge of betrayal of all prior convictions. The model on the testing bench today is Ourart ACG.

Ourart ACG technical specifications:

• Type: earbuds
• Driver: dynamic driver, 14.2mm
• Diaphragm: ultra-thin titanium crystal
• Frequency response range: 20Hz — 32KHz
• Sensitivity: 122dB
• Impedance: 35Ω
• Distortion: < 0.5% (1KHz)
• Cable connectors: MMCX

Ourart ACG available at PenonAudio store

Packaging, design and build quality:

ACG earbuds come in small square box with extra cardboard layer that contains shiny silver brand name and logo. The box itself repeats the visual style of the outer layer and has matt black finish with interesting rough surface pattern. Top box cover has folding design with strong retaining mechanism.

This box is common for several Ourart products and reminds about the packaging of luxury items like watches, rings or jewellery. The insides consist of one insert that secures earbuds at place while all the rest of the accessories are stored underneath.

Box contents:

• Ourart ACG earbuds
• audio cable, MMCX
• 7 pairs of exchangeable foam cushions
• cable clip

Ourart ACG have quite peculiar and very uncommon design of the shells. Usually, all earbuds would look more or less similar with some minor differences in the shape of back shell panels. Rarely there are some deviations from the sound output side towards experimenting with output channels. For example, I once owned Sony Groove earbuds with slightly protruding output channels that delivered much higher amount of lows in comparison to regularly shaped similar model.

Ourart went further and played much with the choice of materials, output side design and cavity that created such stunning look. Aluminum all around, wheel spokes, exposed diaphragm — don’t even want to hide all this beauty with the provided cushions… One extra feature that is usually not available for earbuds is the detachable cable.

Channel side marks are only available on the cable side since the shape of earbuds is symmetrical. MMCX connector ports are fully drawned inside the shells and have very tight fit.

Stock audio cable is packed into pretty thick silicone braid, equipped with plastic Y-splitter, aluminum limiter, transparent resin MMCX connectors and rubber audio jack housing. Red dot at one of the MMCX connectors identifies Right channel. Cable is also featuring in-line remote with mic.

This cable doesn’t feel as a premium one but neither it shows any issues in terms of the build quality. Mic effect is here and quite apparent.

Fit: 

Probably the hardest part to describe for the fan of custom-like shaped IEMs with ergonimic design and deep output channel fit. First of all, the initial feel is as if the earbuds are trying to jump out and not held securely.  Furthermore, the presence of lows as well as the entire sound picture changes dramatically when trying to change the position of the earbuds. The best position as for me is when the output side is directed strictly to the ear canal. Funny thing is that ACG won’t stay in this position naturally resulting in some loss in volumetric feel of the sound. No possibility to avoid such behavior. No problems other than that. ACG earbuds are not heavy as they look and hold pretty well.

Sound quality:

Tested with HiBy R6Pro DAP

Lows and midbass:

As it was mentioned in the section describing the fit — the performance, body and volume of lows would greatly depend of the earbud position. Slight shift would lead to great gain or loss. Therefore, I would try to describe what ACG are capable of with natural position (not trying to hold it tight with the fingers).

Didn’t expect from earbuds that bass would be so detailed, rich and textured. It definitely has the perceivable pattern. The reach and extension varies from moderate to impressively deep depending of the fit but staying pretty good even in the natural position. Although, the contouring of lows is not that evident and precise. The amount of bass feels very slightly underpowered, more lacking in volume rather than gain. It never gets boomy even with the most bassy tracks. Accurare — yes, but not boomy.

Midbass is similarly sensitive to earbuds position varying from powerful and rich to slightly bright and underpowered. But even with the worst scenario is still able to reproduce tight and natural sound of drums with enough dynamics. Treble steps in a bit more in this case but the sound of drums doesn’t become irritating.

Mids and vocals:

Mids are not that influenced by the change in the position in terms of main characteristics and perception. They always feel full-bodied and natural without excessive tendency to accent female voices and upper part instruments. One of the main advantages is pretty high resolving potential leading to alrge amount of details here while keeping lovely balance and sweet thickness. No screaming, no extra bright emotions — everything is pretty even and melodic. Moreover, all instruemtns are perfectly distinguishable in the entire mix.

Treble:

Ourart ACG is another impressing side of of the sound… It is very clear, higly detailed and feels extended even in the natural position. At the same time, it sound pretty thick and perfectly controlled. The amount of presence is slighly excessive in comparison to mids but the sound doesn’t feel overly bright. Ourart has managed to maintain very good balance between the clarity and presence of treble that might even become an example for some hybrid IEMs. Of course, some micro details are lost due to the fit specifics together with the delicacy and intimacy but this is the physics that is inevitable for all earbuds in comparison to IEMs.

Soundstage:

Might have been larger and deeper if the fit would be more tight. Range layering and instruments separation are both excellent and not influenced by the position. It is about the lack of volume of lows and midbass that would not fill the space to make the stage wider and deeper. Anyway, very disctinct performance of all instrumetns in overall partially compensates a bit limited stage size.

Sound in overall:

Ourart ACG sound could be described as slightly tending to bright tonality, with excellent bass texturing, full midbass presence, thick and detailed mids, impressive resolution, very clear and detailed treble. Sound greatly depends of the earbuds position and varies from balanced and full with the best position to brighter tonality with limited extension and presence of lows at their natural position.

Comparisons:

The main conclusion that I’ve made is that Ourart ACG sound very close and even outperform such respected IEMs like BQEYZ KB100 (for example) but only after getting used to their specific fit. Another conclusion is that I’ve never heard anything like this before while testing other earbuds in $10-50 range. But the precise comparisons can only be done when I’d have other earbuds on hands.

Conclusion:

Never preferred earbuds over IEMs but Ourart ACG forced me to reconsider this attitude. Strong feeling after testing its performance that shifting is now possible, especially when less distancing from the surrounding environment is a must. My doubts about earbuds audio quality seems to be disproved by Ourart ACG performance, at least for myself. Sound is full of details, rich with textures, well balanced and very disctinct — totally competitive to high-quality IEMs. If to ever consider earbuds after some experience with IEMs or in case if  upgrading from other model — Ourart ACG seems to the best mass-market option currently available.

Ourart ACG available at PenonAudio store

One of the least common and most peculiar shape of IEMs nomination spotted in the wild goes to Ourart — a brand mostly respected for its excellent and breathtaking earbuds (ACG/Ti). While the first IEMs on my review (WINE) had standard bullet-like shape, Ourart Tini is far from the regular design, to the extent of some frustration when opening the box. But before going into the debris of design and fit deviations, let’s go over the specs, packaging and box contents.

Ourart Tini technical specifications:

• Shells: silver plated, 316-grade steel
• Driver type: 2x3x4mm open hole BA driver
• Sensitivity: 95dB
• Impedance: 40Ω
• Frequency Response Range: 20Hz — 20kHz
• Cable connectors: MMCX
• Audio Jack: 3.5mm, angled
• Cable Length: 1.2m

Ourart Tini available at PenonAudio store

Packaging, design and build quality:

Not sure if this part about the packaging would be correct cause I’ve received Tini IEMs as three separate pieces: storage case with IEMs, bag with all eartips and audio cable. It is not clear whether this model is always supplied like this or it should have more common packaging. Anyway, in my case Tini arrived in small white cardboard box, free of any prints, that contained beautiful polished black plastic storage case with IEMs.

First impression is like holding storage case dedicated for some precious jewelry. This feeling gets even stronger with the first glance at IEMs when opening the case. Really reminds of some pure silver studs that you’d take out of the drawer before escorting a friend to his final journey (wedding, I mean  ). Just kidding. Other accessories were located in separate bags. So, the full set is like this:

• Ourart Tini IEMs
• audio cable, MMCX
• 5 pairs of two flange silicone eartips
• 2 pairs of three flange silicone eartips
• storage case

Such beautiful storage case has couple of drawbacks as for me: it collects finger prints and scratches with its polished and very soft surface and it doesn’t allow you to store IEMs together with exchangeable eartips and audio cable. Therefore, I would say that you would need something else to do the same job well.

Ourart Tini are made of steel and have shiny polished surface all around. It is a unibody construction with the only opening for MMCX cable ports at the bottom which are drowned inside the shells.

Output channels also end up with the opeinings that are protected with the aluminum grills. There are no engravings, prints or other visual elements on either channel. Either can act as Left or Right since the shape of both is the same.

One suitable design finding, apart from all other irregularities and presentation, are the beveled upper edges that allow to form the geometry when channels are placed close to each other. Some people might even have troubles with guessing what it is…

One complain from my side towards the choice of material and crafting is about the coating that looks as silver before the first contact with fingers. Gets spotted afterwards and needs constant polishing with soft cloth. Same effect is obsered with silver items — they get darker due to skin acid.

Stock audio cable is packed into pretty thick silicone braid, equipped with plastic Y-splitter, aluminum limiter, transparent resin MMCX connectors and rubber audio jack housing. Red dot at one of the MMCX connectors identifies Right channel. This cable doesn’t feel as a premium one but neither it shows any issues in terms of the build quality. Mic effect is here and quite apparent.

Fit: 

At first I was afraid that such shape would have very negative effect on fit comfort. I was partially wrong. Fit-wise is totally ok despite such rectangular and sharp-edge design. The source of success with ergonomics here comes from a combination of low weight and thin profile. If I had never seen the shape before wearing — I would never tell that it differs much from bullets with wires connected at 90 degrees to the shells. The problem for some people might be in pretty short output nozzles that require 2 or 3 flanged silicone eartips instead of using regular ones. Such eartips are not that comfortable for me, furthermore, I feel that the bass portion gets partially lost unless the best position is found.

Sound quality:

Tested with HiBy R6Pro DAP

Lows and midbass:

As one can expect from a single BA driver — lows have apparent boundaries and highly emphasized textures but the reach of deep bass and the volumetric feel of it is far from any dynamic or hybrid contender. This further accompanied by the fit and use of flanged eartips. Once you’ve found the best position — lows step in and become totally evident but the lack of presence still leads to it hanging behind in the entire picture of the sound. Bass decay is fast, textures are reach, but the overall amount might have been better. Midbass is consequently given out by the sharp higher portion and lack of volume to recreate the natural drum tightness and power. It is normally exposed and balanced with mids and treble but the lower part — floor and bass drums require extra power while snare, hi-hats and crash cymbals are perfectly exposed.

Mids and vocals:

With such leaning towards the higher frequencies, mids are expectedly thin, emotional and vivid. Good that BA driver is capable of delivering extra clarity and details here instead of falling into to much lisping and screaming on female vocals when pushed to the limits. Male vocals are kept similarly reach with details but kind of slightly compromised by the excessive brightness. This cannot be called full-bodied sound, rather — sharp and cold. Strings, violins, bow movements, wind instruments — this is what Tini IEMs are capable of. Good overall dynamics, micro details and resolution + the accent on treble — all dedicate to most of the instrument and voices in mids to stand out and glisten.

Treble:

Main virtue of Tini sound is excessively clear and sparkling treble range. It is well balanced to mids but forces the extra influence there. Overall clarity and transparency of the sound is very high and reminds of other bright and crisp IEMs like LZ A6Mini with piezo driver to reproduce treble. Resolution and amount of details are exceptional which also leads to the perception of high resolving potential of Tini in overall. But the final tuning with the accent on such capable treble forms very bright and cold tonality.

Soundstage:

Ourart Tini show only a moderate soundtage due to a lack of volume in the bass region that also affects midbass positioning on stage. Instrument separation and range layering are both quite good with no tendency to mix but the width and depth of the stage are not perfectly defined in the condition of thin and cold sound.

Sound in overall:

Ourart Tini sound could be described as having cold and bright tonality, with crisp, transaprent and detailed treble, quite thin and emotional mids with no negative outcomes and high resolution, highly textured and contoured lows lacking in presence and volume. Best to be used for such genres as country, instrumentals, jazz, etc

Compared to Earnine EN1J:

EN1J are also based on single BA unit and have pretty narrow perceptional appeal in terms of different ranges. Those IEMs seem to be developed strictly for the monitoring type of use with mids plaiying the main role while both extremes are quite limited and less pronounced. Bass presence and reach is higher that in Tini but the treble is not that extended and crisp. Although, mids are perfectly exposed and there is no feel of it being thin and cold.

Compared to Rose Mini2 MKII:

Mini2 by Rose are pretty impressive IEMs concerning single BA nature, small dimensions and shape. It has better and more regular fit + the sound is less scewed towards the treble and more capable in terms of lows. I would say that Mini2 sound more balanced in overall while Tini are brighter and crispier.

Compared to Tanchjim DarkSide:

DarkSide IEMs are producing totally opposite sound — warm and dark with lots of bass presence, large bass volume and weak treble. DarkSide and Tini are like two extremes soundwise. One lacking treble, the other lacking lows. Both far from being marked neutral or balanced.

Conclusion:

Ourart Tini adds to the collection of single BA driver IEMs with different sound tuning and tonality. Bight, crisp and vivid in its nature, Tini maintain high resolving potential on mids and treble providing large amount of details and clarity of the sound. Thickness of mids and bass presence are not among the virtues compensated by the evident textures, contouring and emotional appeal. Looking at the competitor models, this one has its unique signature for those who prefer cold and bright sounding IEMs.

Ourart Tini available at PenonAudio store

Starting a series of reviews for Ourart brand with their most expensive IEMs — Wine. Heard a lot of positive feedback about other Ourart models of earphones, such as Ti7 and ACG, and the picture in my mind now is that this brand is one of the leaders in this segment. That makes it even more interesting to evaluate Ourart Wine IEMs and to see how good are those in comparison to various similar products from other brands in the same price brackets. Earphones are harder for me to review since I don’t have this much of experience and the sound is usually less revealing because of less tight fit but there would still be a review for ACG from me as well. Wine, which is more familiar by shape and sturcture, is the product to start with.

Ourart Wine IEMs are available at PenonAudio store

Ourart Wine technical specifications:

• Drivers: dynamic beryllium & titanium composite driver
• Frequency response: 10 — 35000HZ
• Sound pressure: 120dB
• Impedance: 32Ω
• Total Harmonic Distortion: <0.5% Mean (Not 1KHZ) 126mV
• Balance Degree: <±1dB
• Cable Length: 115cm
• Audio Jack: 3.5mm
• Cable connection: MMCX (pin shell diameter is less than 6.05mm)

Packaging and design:

Ourart are masters of creating positive vibrations upon receiving their products. Traditionally, Wine comes in strict matt black square box and outer slipcover, both with the shiny metallic brand logo and name imprints.

Top box cover is foldable. Inner box compartment reveals neat packing: IEMs rest on a special soft podium with all the additional accessories underneath.

There was one more foamy insert in the top cover from inside to secure IEMs from falling out of its openings. Box walls are quite thick and the whole structure feels stiff and reliable.

Box contents:

• Ourart Wine IEMs
• audio cable
• 2 pairs of two-flange eartips
• 1 pair of memory foam eartips
• 3 pairs of silicone eartips
• plastic cable clip
• a pair of removable silicone earguides

Unfortunately, no storage case was inside… But the choice of different types of eartips and presence of the additional earguides make Wine box contents stand out a bit from the crowd.

IEM shells are made of two parts of CNC-aluminum. Parts are almost equal in size, painted in black and crimson red. Top part (with the output nozzles) contains slogan imprint «Wine tasting music» and one compensational opening close to the output nozzle.

Nozzles form one piece with the body, reach quite far in length and covered with the aluminum grills. Several sockets on nozzle body help to retain eartips securely.

Base (black) parts have a couple of design elements: shiny beveled edges of the bottom cavity and brand logo imprint at the center there. One more compensational opening is located on the side of the base together with the MMCX ports.

Not sure what Ourart means by declaring smalled MMCX diameter but I was able to connect other MMCX cables like Penon Audio Custom with 2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced audio jacks. Both went in, fit the shell openings and clicked to place.

Stock audio cable consists of aluminum jack, Y-splitter and MMCX connector housings, have channel indication and 3.5mm SE gold-plated jack. The only concern goes to straight thin wire in silicone braid that tends to mess up more than thick twisted wires. Clever design from Ourart is that MMCX ports are recessed into the body of IEMs — this would hold better against side force and make the connections last longer.

Fit:

Fite-wise I would say that Wine IEMs are protruding quite par from the ear and feel a bit heavy due to the overall size and additional weight of aluminum MMCX connectors but, at the end, even the smallest silicone eartips do a good job for me concerning tight and secure fit. I never had any troubles wearing «Bullet» type shaped IEMs and Wine are not an exception. If the weight would bother you — try earguides that would support IEMs and remove the weight entirely.

Sound quality:

Tested with HiBy R6Pro DAP

Lows and midbass:

Lows in Wine are quite exposed and showing up in some big amounts. Texturing of bass is moderate but the reach of deep bass is surprisingly good. The amount of bass here forces to say that IEMs are tending to darker sound with warm timbre in overall. Using it with DAPs that emphasize bass even more is not welcomed. It is much better off to go with something very detailed, neutral or even a bit cold like Dethonray DTR1.

Midbass is totally ok, sounds natural and perfectly weighted. There are some minor influence of treble part in upper midbass portion that would sometimes place more accent on track leading rythm but not too much to sound distructing.

Mids and vocals:

Mids are standing in a line with bass, well-exposed and moderately detailed. Some difference in gain between the upper and lower mids does show up and making male voices a bit laid back and distant while female vocals are having very good expression and brought to front. Same goes to the instruments — strings and bows are more apparent and better resolved. Interesting that female voices don’t get too shouting at higher volume even with such scewness in tuning.

Treble:

Treble is quite laid back, especially the upper part. Lower treble is more or less balanced to the rest of the ranges. Such presentation is free of any piercing sounds but it also leads to less extended and transparent perception. The part of the treble that is perfectly audible is accurate and detailed while the tiny sounds roll off very fast and get shadowed by bass or mids. This also makes Wine sound warmer and darker.

Soundstage:

Soundstage perception is a bit contradictory here as the high volume of bass and some scewness in mids create and good feel of width and depth but what is missed out is the clarity and transparency of the sound that might have helped with the precise location of the instruments on stage. Little more gain on upper treble — and everything would be fine. Again, that is why Wine are better off with brighter sources.

Sound in overall:

Ourart Wine sound might be described as dark and warm with big bass presence, good bass depth, engaging midbass, moderately detailed mids with some extra expression on female vocals and laid back treble. Instrument separation and stage are moderate.

Compared to Rose Mini2 MKII:

Rose Mini2 MKII have quite different nature due to BA drivers. The resolution is higher in overall, instrument separation is better and the treble is more crisp and exposed. At the same time — less extension and presence of bass, less natural midbass… I would say that Rose is better for music with lots of instrumetns (like orchestra, rock, etc) whereas Wine are better for slow and mellow genres like blues.

Compared to Tanchjim Darkside:

Tanchjim Darkside also belong to dark sounding and bassy IEMs. If I were to choose from the two — Darkside have almost similar sound picture with less scewness in mids and less bass presencet. Wine are more comfortable in terms of fit, have deeper bass, more expression on vocals and less accent on treble.

Compared to TFZ No.3:

Another dynamic IEMs with warm timbre and tending to dark sound. Very comfortable in terms of fit, have better resolution and less scewness on mids. Treble is similarly limited in extension and clarity, plus less deep bass reach and volumetric feel. But in overall Wine and No.3 are very close to each other soundwise.

Conclusion: 

Let’s say that Ourart Wine are interesting pair of IEMs, at least in the correspoding price segment when directly compared to its competitors. Fit, build quality, first impression, packaging design are great. In terms of sound — pros are the deep bass reach, engaging midbass and emotional vocals. Ourart could have worked more on the overall resolution and balance but the other contenders show quite similar results. Therefore, the goal is met and now there is another good option among the respected class rivals, especially for the bassheads or dark sound fans. The only advice is to combine with bright and resolving DAPs instead of warm sources or a mere smartphone.

Ourart Wine IEMs are available at PenonAudio store