Astrotec AM850 Mk2
disclaimer: The Astrotec AM850 mk2 was provided by Astrotec for purposes of this review. I have received no compensation for this review, nor do I have any financial interest in Astrotec. To learn more about the AM850 Mk2 , see the Astrotec website.
Astrotec was one of the brands in the first major wave of Chinese earphones in the early 2000s although at the time they were an OEM for other brands so often it wasn’t their name you saw on the package. They spent the first 10 years making parts for other companies and as that line expanded they were soon making entire in-ears for other companies. It wasn’t until 2009 when they released their first self-branded product so although the product was new, the company had a lot of experience behind it. Their early products largely fell into three lines the AM series (dynamic driver in-ears), the Lyra series of earbuds, and the AX series hybrid driver in-ears.
The AM series quickly gained a following in the community with models like the AM90 and later AM700 garnering praise for their price/performance ratios. Early models were generally fairly inexpensive with most running sub-$50 USD. Then came the AM850, it was their new flagship and the price had leapt to just shy of $100 USD. People wondered if this new model would continue to the trend or if the value was lost to the price increase. Any fears were soon laid to rest as many found the AM850 was way more than an updated AM800 and it offered the same value as their other models, but had upped the ante in sound quality.
Fast forward to today and Astrotec has released an AM850 Mk2 that is more of a re imagining than an update to the original as it shares nothing with its predecessor other than the name and a single dynamic driver. ‘
Unboxing / Packaging:
The AM850 Mk2 comes packed in a book-fold box with an outer slipcover. The front has a picture of the earpiece along with the make and model information while the reverse has the specifications in both Chinese and English. Removing the slip-cover exposes the black book-fold box. Opening the book reveals the earpieces at center with the case above and the tuning filters below. There are two sets of filters on a metal card with spaces for the 3rd set that comes preinstalled on the earpieces. Inside the case is a dual compartment cloth bag for protecting the earpieces, the cable, 8 sets of tips (3 pairs SML of 2 kinds of silicones and 2 pairs of foams), a cleaning tool, and a velcro tie for the cable.
Build/Fit:
The Shells are aluminum with a custom moulded kidney bean shape rather than being a nearly ball shaped like the original. Construction is interesting as the faceplate is actually an outer shell being of roughly half the depth of the whole on the top side tapering to a much shorter side wall on the under side. mmcx ports are tightly fit with only a very slight elevation above the shell to level the connectors. Shells are medium sized so shouldn’t cause fitment issues for all but the smallest ears. Venting is handled by a pair of vents just above the nozzle on the inner side and 3 cleverly hidden ports on the face. To see the ports on face one has to carefully inspect the logo and will see that at the terminus of the three vertical bars (when held in the same position as when worn) there is a small pinhole vent. Nozzles are partially part of the inner shell with a screw-in filter acting as the top portion of the nozzle and the lip for tip retention. Nozzles are color coded for easy recognition of which set is installed. I found the AM850 Mk2 quite comfortable for long wear.
Internals:
The driver remains true to the original as it is still a single dynamic driver used. The driver has gone through a lot of evolutionary changes over the years and the one Astrotec chose to use is a completely new 10mm dynamic driver with a liquid crystal polymer diaphragm imported from Japan. The driver has a new suspension design specifically to reduce flex and improve rigidity, and neodymium magnets for greater flux to help improve driver speed. Nominal impedance is listed as 32Ω with a sensitivity of 106 dB/mW. In addition to the driver itself the shells are engineered with a high-density pattern etched on the inner cavity to reduce reflections and refraction of the sound and the cavity itself designed to reduce resonance and further improve the sound quality. I found the AM850 Mk2 easy to drive via dongles or low powered sources but it does scale some with more potent sources.
Cable:
The cable that ships with the AM850 Mk2 is silver plated Oxygen free copper in a clear casing. At the southern end it uses my preferred style 90º housing in brushed aluminum with gold plated 3.5mm single ended jack. A proper strain relief is present at the exit point of the jack and a velcro cable tie is provided. The cable itself is a 4 strand braid that is fairly tight in weave from the jack to the splitter. The splitter is also a brushed aluminum barrel similar in style to the jack housing, and a clear plastic chin slider is provided above that. Wires exit the splitter as 2 strand twists again in fairly tight twist. The northern ends have ear hooks followed by aluminum housings of about 1/2 normal size for the mmcx connectors. The right is labeled with a red ring around the housing for easy indexing.
Sound:
The filters do change the signature with the neutral (black) showing the most balanced signature and the Tide (silver) and Air (gold) both showing some lift in the mids and top end. A graph comparing the three filters follows the sound discussion which was all written based on the black filters.
Bass:
Sub-bass extension is moderate with roll-off evident below about the mid 30Hz range. Above that point the sub-bass has good impact with enough speed and clarity to keep it from becoming monotone. Mid-bass is just slightly behind sub-bass and again has good speed and clarity and good textures. There is no mid-bass bleed to speak of and no bloom or boom. The downside is bass quantity won’t please those looking for big thump but what is there is well controlled and very proportional to the rest of signature.
Mids:
Again with the neutral filter in place, the lower mids are mildly recessed but have good weight and enough presence that lower vocals still cut through the mix well. Guitar growl has some rasp and edge but sounds a little smooth. There is a bit of warmth here which helps with note weight but again gives the sound a smooth sound rather than emphasizing the smaller details. Strings have good energy thanks to an upper-mid push that is the dominant feature of the signature. Higher vocals also benefit from this lift but stand well in front of lower counterparts in the process and can become a little fatiguing particularly with the Silver (Tide) Filter in play.
Treble:
Lower treble is well forward of the rest of the signature and gives the AM850 Mk2 and overall bright signature despite the sub-bass lift and lower-mids warmth. Because of the treble push, there is the perception of detail as a lot of information is reaching the ear. This is often called false treble as the detail perception changes as the treble level is reduced and when EQ is applied here the perceived detail does indeed decrease in parallel with it. I do find I like the AM850 Mk2 better with a bit less treble than even the black filter provides so some judicious EQ is warranted. Percussion has good snap and rattle but cymbals can be a bit splashy and tinny. I also find that instrument separation is not as good in the treble range as it is in the lower voices as the amount of room the treble has to work in seems a bit reduced. After the lower push, the true treble and upper treble drop back to baseline levels which keeps the AM850 mk2 from sounding harsh. there is some air at the top and final roll-off is above 14kHz which allows the AM850mk2 to have some sparkle as well.
Soundstage / Imaging:
Sound-stage has good dimensions with a bit more width than depth and adequate height. Seating the orchestra is a mixed bag as lower voices are correct but upper voices can sound a bit narrow and crowded in. This is due to instrument separation and again the treble is somewhat crowded compared to the lower mids and bass regions. Imaging is acceptable but nothing out of the ordinary. There is no congestion or compression as tracks get busier.
Filters:
Thoughts / Conclusion:
The 0riginal AM850 became hugely popular because of its value proposition and Astrotec was clearly hoping to recapture some of that magic in the AM850Mk2. The market has expanded quite a bit since the days of the original though and today’s models face much stiffer competition. Nowhere is that competition more pronounced than in the budget single dynamic driver segment.
The AM850Mk2 has a premium look and feel with the semi-custom shaped all metal shell and a very good kit. The case is a bit on the small side if you carry both the in-ear, the padded bag to protect the earpieces, and the filter disk which is unfortunate but not a deal breaker at the price. The lows are near reference tuned with no big lifts or gaps and the lower mids despite a slight recess follow that same pattern. Above that, things go a bit astray with the upper-mids and lower-treble taking a big step forward and making the AM850 Mk2 bright and a bit brittle at times. With a bit of EQ, this can be tuned back to reveal a much more neutral and natural sounding in-ear. Without EQ, I find the treble a bit fatiguing.
The original AM850 had a market largely to itself and benefited from the sparse landscape it found itself in. The new AM850 Mk2 has the opposite situation and while it is a solid in-ear for the spend, there is an awful lot of competition in the sub $150 USD and some of those competitors offer more detail or more linear signatures and may be stumbling blocks for the AM850 Mk2 to find the same reception that its predecessor enjoyed. Choice is always a good thing and those who like a bright in-ear will find the AM850 Mk2 more appealing than many of the other single DD in-ears in the price range.
-
7/10
-
6.5/10
-
6.5/10
-
7/10
-
7/10
Summary
Pros: Great build, removable cable, polite tuning
Cons: too polite a tuning for some, limited extension at both ends, case too small