Whizzer Kylin (A-HE03) — beautiful and bassy hybrid IEMs

Whizzer is quite popular brand for IEMs originating from China with only few items in their current protfolio that managed to attain a wide spread around the world. The availability of Whizzer IEMs in local shops of different countries is the best proof for that. We’ve seen many good comments and mostly positive feedback from the owners of previous A15 and A15Pro models along with the emerging attention for their latest IEMs — Kylin (A-HE03). We’ve also got a chance to review this latest item and ready to share our own findings with the readers.

You can purchase Whizzer Kylin at PenonAudio       

Whizzer Kylin technical specifications:

• Type: hybrid, 1 dynamic + 2BA drivers
• Dynamic driver: 10mm, beryllium
• Armature drivers: Knowles, 1 x midrange + 1 x treble 
• Sensitivity: 98dB SPL/mW
• Impedance: 28Ω
• Frequency response: 12Hz — 40kHz
• Connector: 2Pin, 0.78mm
• Plug: 3.5mm, L-shaped
• Cable: 1.2m, 5N OFC+SPC, braided
• Shell material: aluminum magnesium alloy

Other stated features:

Ultra HD experience: high-resolution Knowles balanced armature drivers provide with a complete sense of details in mid and high frequency ranges.

Aluminum-magnesium alloy shell: CNC machined, high-rigidity alloy contributes greatly in the suppression of vibration which ensures audio fidelity

Vibration suppression frame & PEK composite diaphragm: further enhancement based on the Whizzer acoustic system significantly enhances the wide-band and transient performance of low frequencies

Packaging, design and materials:

Designers in Whizzer surely know how to draw the attention to their product and definitely mastered core design guidelines and techniques.

Kylin comes in a pretty large black box covered with extra layer of white cardboard with excellent quality of printed graphics and additional details about the product. Here you’d find the product picture, brand and model name, full technical description, list of accessories, build structure of IEMs and lots of other data.

All text and pictures are neat and perfectly aligned. The design is far from being dull and tells us that this is a matured product with the necessary attention paid to each single element. Even such elements as special cutouts for easy cover removal and exposing product name simultaneously are showing how smart and rigorous their approach was during developing this concept.

The box itself is black with model and brand name embossed on sides. Top part is foldable and held by a strong built in manget.

Inner box compartment is separated into two layers. Top insert is made of soft foam which securely holds IEMs in place and there is an additional aluminum plate containing product name and serial number glued to its surface.

An envelope with a small user guide leaflet and warranty card is put in a special opening on the opposite side.

Bottom layer contains the cable and storage case with some additional accessories inside.

Box contens:

• Kylin IEMs
• cable
• 3 pairs of silicone eartips
• 2 pairs of memory foam eartips
• storage case
• user guide
• warranty card

Storage case looks very nice.

IEMs are made of two magnesium alloy parts with tiny concentric grooves at the very top around shiny gold brand logo that stands out from the surface.

There are 2 compensation openings — one on the edge of the cover and another one is on the inner side of the base, close to the output nozzle.

Channel indicators are printed there as well.

Output nozzles and protective grills are made of aluminum and resemble the golden brand name appearance.

Bases of 2-pin connectors are made of semi-transparent plastics and add some aesthetics to the overall look, especially when the cable is connected. No free play here.

Stock cable is 5N + OFC & SPC braided, with semi-transparent plastic 2-pin connectors and earguides, aluminum Y-splitter, limiter and 3.5mm jack housing. All cable joints have good banding protection elements. 

In overall, the design is gorgeous and very unique. Lots of smaller design elements, perfect crafting, ideal aligment of parts, good choice of colors and interesting shape. Kylin could be kept in ones collection at least for the design concept and quality of implementation. 

Unfortunately, such unique cone shape of the output nozzle played a bad role when it came to fit. Nozzle diameter starts to increase right after the joint with the shells and this prevents it from sitting deeper inside the ear even with the choice of the smallest tips. This consequently leads to lack of lows and partial loss of overall sound integrity. The only solution to check the sound was to hold IEMs by the fingers which is not the best way to do it  So, just keep in mind that if you’d regularly chooise S-sized eartips for any other IEMs — Kylin might not fit your ears at all. 

Sound quality:

Tested with Hidizs AP200 & AP80 DAPs.

Lows and midbass:

Kylin are definitely bassy IEMs with quite an accent on this range. The amount of lows is a bit more than enough to our liking and lacks the details and texturing. It has a good contouring and does not interfere with other ranges but at the same time feels desynchronized and plays independently creating a gap between the weighted mixture of mids & treble and straight forward standalone appearance of the lower end. Bass is kind of lifeless — just present and overemphasized with weak connection to the dynamics and speed of other frequencies. Good thing is that such nature and extra emphasis on lows eventually leads to warmer tonality and helps to mask out sibilances or the excessive crispness on treble.

Midbass section is much more alive and engaging. Overall dynamics is quite good and the power is enough for the drums to sound naturally. The only problem is a slower decay of lower end that would also result in a bit indistinct articulation compared to some IEMs with better woofer tuning in the mix.

Mids nd vocals:

Mids are much better cooked and we thinf that it is a main advantage of Kylin IEMs. This range feels well balanced, showing no significant change between male and female vocals. The resolution decent, especially when it comes to string instruments. Female vocals might sound a bit more clear and emotional due to the influence of the lower treble but in overall mids feel very natural and musically rendered. No problems with lisping or excessive harsh peaks. The tonality is kept on the warmer side.

Treble:

Treble is bright, crisp and elevated creating another accent in the entire sound picture and giving it slightly V-shaped form. Although, this range is not as perfectly detailed as seen in multiple treble driver IEMs. Anyway, treble resolution and extension are more than average to create a good feel of airiness and transparency and to add the essential clarity. We also like that all sounds has a sufficient amount of thickness instead of being too sharp and sparkling. No problems with excessive harshness, sudden peaks or sibilances either.

Soundstage:

Layering of instruments, good treble extension and higher amount of lows help to define fairly large stage. The widest stage was spotted in drum-heavy tacks where some drums sounded very distant from the center and precisely located on horizontal and vertical axis while vocals sounded very close to stage front. Instruments in the midrange were gathered closer to a singer, while violins and cymbals fill the rest of the space between drums and vocalist.

Sound in overall:

Whizzer Kylin sound could be described as V-shaped, with significant emphasis on lows  and another but less heavy emphasis on treble. Mids are fairly balanced and natural. We would still label those as having bright tonality due to higher treble extension that attracts much more attention than lows.

Compared to Shozy & NEO CP:

Shozy & NEO CP lacks in sub-bass|bass region and the rest of the ranges are tuned more delicately and have a warmer tonality. Treble extension and clarity is not as prominent but this is due to much less accented range. CP IEMs are more neutral and sound more balanced. Mids are very close to Kylin, with the same warm timbre and absence of harsh peaks.

Compared to Kinera IDUN:

Kinera IDUN demonstarte much more neutral tuning with less impact on lows and treble. The resolution and extension of treble is as good but the gain and amount are lower. At the same time, IDUN lows lacks the presence and power. Mids also remind of Kylin sound — well balanced and accurate.

Conclusion:

Whizzer Kylin represent another masterpiece in terms of packaging and design that deserve its own place on the shelf among other most attractive concepts. Georgeous look, perfect crafting and excellent first impression. Fit is not the best though and we have warned people who would regularly use the smallest eartips. Sound-wise, there are some strong positive traits like balanced presenation of mids, natural voices, good treble range extension and fairly high resolution. Lower range is more than necessary and not very detailed to our liking but it might become a good choice for the bass oriented music fans. All in all, Whizzer Kylin creates another option to consider concerning its quite unique tuning,  sound picture and excellent appearance.     

You can purchase Whizzer Kylin at PenonAudio