Whizzer HE01

disclaimer:  I was sent the Whizzer He01 for purpose of this review by a representative of the company.  I have no financial interests in Whizzer, its subsidiaries or distributors.  I have not received any remuneration for this review, nor have I received any guidance on the content.  If you have an interest in the Whizzer He01 or other Whizzer products, please see their website and follow them on facebook.

 

Unboxing / Packaging:

The He01 arrived in a black slide-out style box with He01 and Whizzer embossed in gloss black on the front and the specs in Chinese and English on the reverse.   Pulling out the inner box reveals the earpieces in a foam surround on the top layer and the case and accessories hiding underneath.  Tabs on the foam make it easy to lift out and expose the case beneath.  Manuals are in a separate compartment in the lid (visible in the 4th picture below).    Kit includes the earpieces, cable,  cleaning brush, 12 sets of tips in 2 styles on wheel shaped cards, and round case.  The case is of the same style seen with many others but is made of a thinner gauge material so is lighter weight than some others of the same style.

 

Build/Fit:

Outer shells are silver painted with a Whizzer logo in copper while inner shells are clear with copper nozzles.   The copper ring around the driver is very visible was well which makes copper the primary color when looked at from the underside.   Shells are acrylic and shaped in a half circle/tear drop design with the nozzle exiting the lowest point with a distinct forward rake. Nozzles have a lip for tip retention and seat fairly shallow so isolation is only average.   Size is medium small so fit should not be a problem for all but the smallest ears.  I had no issues with fatigue during extended wear once I found a proper fitting tip.

 

Internals:

The He01 uses a 10.2mm dynamic driver that Whizzer lists as the 4th generation Bright Series.  (Luckily this doesn’t translate to an overly bright signature).   The Driver uses a composite diaphragm and a 1.2 Tesla magnetic structure.  The driver is housed in a copper ring that Whizzer refers to as the HDSS acoustic filtering system.  I did some digging and was unable to find exactly what the acronym HDSS stands for in the advertising materials.    I did find that in some places the Bright series is listed as the bright idea series so that explains at least some of the naming conventions.    The driver has a nominal impedance of 18Ω and a listed sensitivity of 112 dB/mW.   I found it was easy to drive and while it scales some qualitatively with better sources extra power is really not needed and actually can cause some distortion at higher volumes.   I found the He01 does best at moderate volume as it had some tendency to distort in the lows at high volume using a high potency amp.

Cable:

The provided cable is made of 80 strands of 5N OFC in 4 clear casings that runs as a double twist pattern from the straight 3.5 jack at the base to the matching splitter and then continues as single twists up to the ear-hooks.   Hardware is gunmetal gray with a copper accent on the jack housing and HE01 in a darker gray on the splitter.  A clear plastic chin-slider is provided and connectors have matching clear housings with copper rings and a red dot on the right for indexing.  Connectors are 0.78mm bi-pin with a round hood that overlaps the body of of the raised connector on the earpiece.  This may make finding a replacement cable a little more challenging as the connector type is a non-standard design.  (Standard 0.78mm bi-pin cables work but look a bit awkward.)   The cable is a bit tangle prone so using the provided Velcro tie is advisable.

 

Tips:

The HE01 does come with two types of silicone tips that Whizzer labels as Reference and vocal respectively.  I found vocal to cut bass slightly while reference offered a more balanced profile. Unfortunately tip sizes were such that the large was uncomfortable while the mid was slightly too small to seal well so my listening tests were done using spin-fits instead of either provided tip style.

 

Sound:

Bass:

Sub-bass has a mild emphasis with a center around 55Hz and roll-off only evident in the lower 20Hz range.  Rumble is good when called upon but not overshadowing of other elements.  Attack speed is faster than decay which gives the He01 a warm tone.  Mid-bass has good weight as well and the He01,while not basshead material, has enough slam to make it thoroughly enjoyable for genres like EDM.  I do find that the He01 is not quite as detailed as some others in the class, but has a warmer more relaxed tone that many may prefer.

 

Mids:

Lower-mids do show some bleed from the mid-bass but again that warm, slightly dark and relax tonality gives it a very musical tone.   Male vocals are well weighted and have good energy in the mix.  Guitar growl is slightly blunted due to the slow decay, but still acceptable at the price point.  Strings have good body without getting heavy and a nice tonality although violins can get a little harsh in the upper registers at times.  Female vocals are slightly ahead of their male counterparts but don’t leap forward and are not aggressive or strident.  I had to provide tracks with sibilance to find it but it will be reproduced if present. (I tested as with the warmth and laid-back nature it is very forgiving in this respect).

 

Treble:

Lower treble shares the same plateau with the upper-mids and gives the He01 a little brightness back in an otherwise very warm signature.   This drops away quickly above about 4kHz though which gives the treble a little grain and unevenness.   There is some energy added back in the 8kHz range that borders on territory where some will find it piercing but does a fair job of walking that line and providing enough energy to give snare rattle and cymbals reasonable timbre without getting harsh.   There is also a minor peak in the 12-13kHz range before final roll-off above that.  The He01 sounds fairly open and manages a little sparkle at the top but overall is a very polite in-ear and all but the most treble shy will probably find it acceptable in that respect.

 

Soundstage / Imaging:

Stage is wider than deep with some sense of height but overall is a fairly intimate presentation.   Seating the orchestra is straight forward as instrument separation is good and layering is at least as good as most at this price point.    There is some compression evident as tracks get particularly complex, but this seems to be limited to the lows and was not particularly pronounced.  Imaging is good with movements easily tracked but nothing out of the ordinary in most regards.

 

Comparisons:

Moondrop Aria

The aria is an all metal shell with an industrial look vs the acrylic art/deco look of the He01 so visually it would be hard to get farther apart.  Signatures are not quite as distant but the Aria is faster and a bit brighter while the He01 is warmer and a bit more relaxed.     Those looking for an analytical signature will prefer the Aria while those looking for an engaging listen may well prefer the He01.   The He01 was also a good bit more forgiving of poor source material in my testing.

Kinera BD005 Pro

Here we are a bit closer in build with both being acrylic shells of roughly the same size and weight.   Looks wise, I prefer the He01, but others will likely prefer the BD005 and both are arguably good looking so not much to differentiate the two there.   The BD005 Pro is a bit faster in decay and doesn’t have the warmth or bass quantity of the He01.  The BD005 fires back with better bass texture and a bit cleaner treble comparatively.     The treble shy will prefer the He01,  those looking for getting the last bit of detail will likely opt for the BD005 Pro.

NF Audio NA2+

Ok, now we have a 15 round decision with no clear winner.  Both are good looking but polarizing (one due to perceived fragility and the other the retro look), and both have signatures that emphasize sub-bass and tune treble to be polite.   The He01 is slightly warmer and musical while the Na2+ is a bit truer to the original recording as it adds very little and is closer to neutral.    Detail goes to the Na2+ but not by enough to walk away with the decision.

 

Thoughts / Conclusion:

The He01 enters a tough market as there are a lot of good options in the roughly $100 market and arguably the single dynamic driver is the most prominent player in that space so it has more than a few other similar models vying for your dollars.    It has a warmer more relaxed signature than a lot of its competition which does indeed carve out some space for it among the others and many will find it a more engaging and listenable signature than a lot of the more analytical models that have more detail accompanied by a more labored delivery and less warmth to their tone.   The looks will be polarizing as some will like the copper and pearl look while others may think of them as Grandma’s jewelry.   It would be a shame to let those looks keep you away from the He01 though as it provides a really engaging and enjoyable signature for lazy Sunday listening.