CVJ Angel Wings

disclaimer:  I purchased the CVJ Angel Wings for review through Amazon .   I have no financial interest in CVJ or any of its distributors.   I have received no compensation or advice regarding this review.   If you have an interest in CVJ or the Angel Wings, see their Facebook page or AliExpress Store.

 

Unboxing / Packaging:

The Angel Wings ship in a slip-cover style box with a line drawing on the front that is reminiscent of the anime characters used by some other vendors.  Unlike most packaging, there is no image of the earpieces on the package, nor is the word earphone used anywhere on the packaging.   You’d be forgiven for not knowing what was in the box unless you are familiar with audio measurements and then the specs on the reverse might be enough to tip you off.      Removing the slip-cover reveals pretty much the entire kit with the earpieces, cable, tips, and carrying bag all visible in the foam tray with only the warranty card and part of the cable hiding underneath.   The kit comes with 3 sets of silicone tips, the earpieces, cable, velcro cable tie, and cloth bag for storage and carry.  It is a fairly simple kit, but with the package retailing for $30 currently it is fitting of the price point.

 

Build/Fit:

The Angel wings use the now standard semi-custom shape and are medium-large in size.   Faceplates are resin and have wings in aqua and a medium brown with a silver thread outline and CVJ and angel wings printed in silver over the top central portion of the plate.   The inner shell is an opaque black resin  with nozzles formed as part of the inner shell as well rather than using a separate part.   Nozzles are offset to the front and have a very mild forward rake when positioned in the ear.  Comfort is good for me, but those with small ears may find the Angel Wings a bit large in the ear so I would recommend audition before purchase if you have smaller than average ears.   Overall the shells are pretty, but unremarkable as they utilize the same design and materials of most of their budget competitors.

 

Internals:

The Angel wings are a hybrid with a 6mm dynamic driver with a polyurethane composite diaphragm with titanium coating and a single CVJ produced 30095 balanced armature.   Nominal impedance is listed as 16Ω with a sensitivity of 92 dB/mW.  this is a departure from most earlier CVJ models as most to date have had a 22Ω impedance and sensitivities in the mid-100s.    The number to pay attention to is the sensitivity as the Angel Wings are definitely not as easy to drive as the impedance would seem to suggest.    These are not a good match for phone and dongles as they need considerable power to drive them well and seem a bit dull and lifeless when under-powered.

 

Cable:

The provided cable is silver plated copper in a 4 wire braid from jack to splitter and then as 2 wire twists above the splitter.    The Jack is the 90º type in a translucent clear housing with a proper strain relief at the cable exit.   Likewise the splitter is the standard Y style using the same translucent plastic and short strain reliefs both above and below the split.    At the north end cables terminate with pre-formed hooks without memory wires and hooded 0.75mm bi-pin connectors in the rounded style.   A velcro cable tie is provided for cable storage as well.  Overall the cable is a solid offering and works well with less movement transferred to the ear than the cables provided with some of its competitors.

 

 

Sound:

As noted in the internals section, the Angel Wings need more power than their specs suggest so testing was done with both an under-powered source (phone with dongle that shipped with it) and a more potent source A&K Kann Alpha in order to note the differences in signature.

Bass:

Bass is emphasized with a peak around 100Hz and a gentle taper to either side.  Sub-bass has good impact but some roll-off notable below about 35-40Hz and it is somewhat power dependent as roll-off seems a bit higher on the phone than when using the Kann.  Bass textures are also improved with more power as bass from the low powered source was less nuanced and more smoothed over.   Mid-bass is similar in that with adequate power there is good detail but as power decreases so does texture and the sound gets looser as power decreases so bass begins to sound a bit sloppy or muddy.   Even with good power, this is a warm in-ear with a fairly large bass push that matches the treble peaks in emphasis and gives the Angel Wings the lower side of its V shaped signature.

 

Mids:

Lower mids have some warmth from a bit of mid-bass bleed which helps soften and thicken the lower voices a bit.    Even though the FR shows the lower mids as well behind the bass emphasis, they don’t particularly come off as recessed and the lower vocals do have good weight.   There is a push of the upper-mids that does make female vocals stand a step forward of the lower voices, but again it is fairly polite and even with the emphasis I found no tendency to become strident.   Guitar growl is slightly less than perfect as the attack is a little blunted and could be a bit sharper.  Similarly, strings either have a touch too little energy (Cello) or a touch too little attack (violin) to sound absolutely proper.      Overall a safe if a bit unexciting tuning in the mid-range.

 

Treble:

Lower treble forms a plateau atop the upper-mid push and remains fairly level through about 8kHz where it begins to roll-off.  Again a fairly safe tuning as the early roll-off prevents fatigue if preventing the Angel Wings from sounding as open at the top as possible.    The other upside to this tuning is that the typical BA timbre is not nearly as evident here.    Snare has good rattle and cymbals are not metallic sounding but could use more energy to sound 100% accurate.   The tuning does lend itself to reproduction of the upper registers of the piano particularly well.

 

Soundstage / Imaging:

Stage was better than expected when adequate power was provided but closes in a bit when power drops.   I found the stage slightly deeper than wide with a reasonable sense of height as well . Seating the orchestra was fairly straight forward with no major issues but a few overlaps as instrument separation suffers as pieces get busier, faster, and more voices join in.

 

Thoughts / Conclusion:

The Angel Wings are quite polarizing in the press which is why I had to try a pair for myself.  Some seem to like them while others vilify them and I suspect the answers lie in what  sources are being used and what tracks are being played.  At its best, the Angel Wings is a pleasant, non-fatiguing listen with enough detail and slam to keep things interesting. At its worst, it can be a bit sloppy in the low end and smoothed over everywhere else.    If you have a device with good output power to make the most of the Angel Wings they are well worth a listen.  However; I struggle to justify the need to buy a $150 amplifier to enjoy my $29 in-ears.   So for that reason, I cannot give these a recommendation unless you already own an adequate amplifier to power them.