40$ Dynamic iem’s That Sound Good And Are Waterproof To 12 Feet Indefinitely

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by rhythmdevils, Jul 13, 2020.

  1. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    As in they’re made to swim with. Yes. Crazy but true.

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    Brief summary for those that want to get a sense and move on.

    Available Here: https://h2oaudio.com/products/surge-waterproof-sport-headphones
    Cost: 50$ But 40$ now during summer sale
    Features: Waterproof to 12 feet indefinitely meaning you can literally swim or surf with these. Or wash them under running water. I haven’t tried it it scares me but I’m sure it’s fine.
    They also sell lots of underwater gadgets like underwater iPhone cases that strap onto your shoulder and iPod mini cases that strap onto the back of your head (and a short cable version of this Surge+ to go with it)

    Sound:
    One of the most well tuned headphones I’ve heard. They’re not perfect but they really just sound normal. They sound like music. Great neutral bass with good extension, gorgeous midrange, hardly any (read none for most people) upper midrange weirdness and peak free treble that lacks refinement and air. Pretty fast ish sounding iem even though it’s dynamic. Big soundstage with good separation. Lack of ultimate high end type refinement. I think that because of their good tuning they sound much better than their technical capabilities. Which is something we should see more often.

    Lovers of the HD650 who want a cheap iem should definitely grab a pair of these. They’re faster sounding than the HD650 though (from memory) and don’t do that thing where the HD650 sounds like it rounds off the leading edges of notes (though the HD650 is more refined and detailed especially with a good amp and source the way most people run them around here.) But I think they’d appeal to a similar crowd/listener as HD650.

    Disclaimer:
    Full size headphones are very easy for me to hear. It takes me about a minute or less to hear their sound basically because they’re all so far from neutral and have so many problems. And I was used to listening to full size headphones. I’ve never listened to iem’s until recently. I find myself wobbling and more unsure and my impressions changing day to day. I realized part of that is due to fit. And part is possibly due to experience with iem’s or maybe just where I’m at in life right now I don’t know. I’ve given these a lot of time though and my opinion remains unchanged.

    Treble:
    Probably their biggest weakness. It’s not bad but not great either. It is neutral if not on the warm side south of neutral a bit. These are not treble head iem’s in any way. But for people who want balance and neutrality. The downside of the treble is that it’s just not as refined as more expensive iem’s. It, in comparison sounds like it lacks air as well. It’s also kind of rough sounding. But it’s not bad enough to get in the way for me with most music. The worst it’s sounded is with Dire Straits Money for Nothing and Walk of Life because these songs have such cleanly recorded cymbal work. But most of the time these iem’s always just sound like music to me. I would call the treble not great as opposed to bad or problematic.

    Upper Midrange
    Not perfect but pretty good. Marv’s upper midrange test track (or one of them) - Radiohead’s High and Dry guitar solo has a little ringing but not much. Pink Floyd’s Time on Dark Side of the Moon hurts when it comes in with the bells. So there’s some ringing going on. But I doubt anyone will ever hear ringing on these iem’s. I’m just sensitive and know exactly what to listen for. At the same time I can’t help but wonder if there’s a bit of an upper midrange recession somewhere. It’s hard for me to hear upper mid recession but I just get a sort of spider sense thing that says it’s there. If there is, it does not affect vocals in any way.

    Midrange
    Really good. Just perfect tonality for male and female vocals. Pretty fast, kind of airy, with really good sense of weight that reminds me of orthos. Again, lacks ultimate fidelity and refinement of top end headphones but I can’t ask for more at this price.

    Lower Midrange
    This is one of the highlights of this iem. There is no suckout or recession in the lower midrange like nearly all headphones. It’s completely flat or close to it. Renders proper richness to vocals and notes and electric guitar while never being thick sounding or bloated or even warm. The sound of Marry Lattimore’s harp playing is a real treat. Hearing the weight of the plucked harp strings is something I think very very few headphones at any price render. These do. They sound fantastic with her music. Same with piano. Sounds perfect. And metal is awesome. Rich but clear.

    Bass
    Extended all the way down effortlessly. Absolutely neutral. Tight and detailed. Not as great in any particular aspect as the best iem’s (I’m guessing) but really quite good. Follows this iem’s theme of just sounding right and normal and getting out of the way but not being spectacular. Not once have I raised an eyebrow or even noticed anything negative about the way these render bass. Not for bassheads. Unless there’s a tip that makes them bassy. I haven’t found one.

    Accessories
    f**k off. Comes in a cardboard box. Lots of tips in various sizes and a clip similar looking to the one used by the Audeze iem’s it comes detached and I didn’t try to attach it. But maybe useful for swimming.

    Build quality
    I just have to mention that I’ve owned many inferior sounding previous versions of these in the past and they’ve all gone dead in one driver in a year or so. However, the company declares that their products are built to last and come with a one year warranty. I have a feeling these are built better than previous models but I don’t know for sure and feel obliged to mention this. They’re only 40$ right now though.

    The cable is microphonic (this is not an audiophile product) but the 3.5mm straight plug strain relief is the best I’ve ever seen on any electronic device. Super flexible. Just awesome and makes me smile every time I notice it.

    Conclusion
    These are not for bassheads, or people who like "bite" in the upper mids or for female vocals to stick out louder than the rest of the spectrum (they render female vocals properly). They’re also not for treble heads.

    These are iem’s for people who don’t want to hear their gear and want to just enjoy their music. They are superbly tuned. For being waterproof I’d expect a dull hazy mess but these are fast ish with a similar sound signature to my Yamaha orthos. They have a beautiful weight to notes while not loosing clarity. Soundstage is excellent as far as I can tell. Possibly partly because of the huge bore nozzles (6mm). But they have their limitations in the refinement and detail retrieval departments. I wouldn’t say they are incredible end game iem’s I would say they are uniquely tuned iem’s at any price point and if that tuning is for you, they’re great for the price. And waterproof.

    Comparisons
    Final Audio E1000
    No comparison. Surge+ wins in every category. I hate the E1000. Nothing good about them and weird harsh peaky chopped off treble. Price is similar enough, get the Surge+.

    EDC3
    Different sound signatures and that’s what will determine which you prefer over technical abilities. EDC3 has more upper midrange and treble presence (more than neutral) so if you like that, you might find these lacking in "presence". Not sure it’s worth commenting more but I will say I think the EDC3 is more refined and resolving.

    B400
    This is a worthy comparison. The B400 sounds more refined and even to me going straight to B400 from the Surge+. Especially in the treble which is more spacious and clean and even on the B400. But the B400 is definitely shelved in the upper frequencies and the Surge+ is less so I think. They both render the High and Dry guitar solo with a similar small amount of resonance that my mackie reference monitors don’t have but which no one will hear. I prefer the B400 with my cheap Sony tips, Azla tips or Spinfit 145’s but I could probably live with the Surge+.

    That’s the real take home here. I could live with the Surge+ as my only iem and they only cost 40$ and are waterproof to 12 feet indefinitely. I would want better for sure and well the treble might bother me I guess but I wouldn’t feel disgusted listening to these. That is impressive because I’m a picky bastard.
     
  2. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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  3. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I was probably too harsh on these. They’re really great especially for the price and after hearing multiple Campfire Audio iem’s I have to say these are some of the most well tuned iem’s at any price point.

    they really deserve some hype. I should send Jude a pair...
     
  4. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    “I was probably too harsh on these”

    [​IMG]
     
  5. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Whoa, how did I miss this? We need more stuff like this. More stuff that sounds tonally right for cheap, not necessarily more detailed, more laser focused, more faster, but crappy unbearable with the genre of female vocal. Going to get this to measure and pass around. @shotgunshane?

    We need the next coming of the Brainwavz B2, but less bright.

    Maybe a comparo loaner of 3-4 cheap IEMs that sound decent?
     
  7. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Agreed. I think they may be a happy accident. But they’re tuned so well. I only notice their shortcomings when comparing to much more expensive BA iem’s. But these are dynamic and have no upper midrange or treble weirdness. Which is unique even to expensive iem’s.

    I’m putting together a budget loaner package comparo with these to send around, just been waiting to see if they’ll send me a pair for it. But I have a brand new back up pair here so...
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    How is the bass? TBH, I don't find the bass quality on the more expensive (but also DD) Drop x JVC HA-FDX1 all that great now that the dust as settled on them. While texture and timbre throughout are great, bass notes are smeared and muddy. If you haven't had a chance to hear the FDX1, I will send them to you.
     
  9. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    How about the KZ ZS-10? Another $50 IEM winner IMO.
     
  10. crenca

    crenca Friend

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    Well Aunt Bee, I missed this post as well. I have had these for 8 months or so, but have only used them lap swimming where water gets in between and messes with the tonality big time (but is good enough for exercise). Just plugged them into a GunMB A2 > Asgard 3 chain. I have to hold my head in an uncomfortable position because they wire is so short, but the bass is pretty weak - I'd say nothing of note sub 60 hz or so. The third drop on "Doin It Right" is MIA, and the rest of the bass is light to "just a suggestion". Overall they are brighter than I like and have some of that sub $200 grain, but it's all tolerable and voice mids and up sound even and normal.
     
  11. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    You sure you have the same model? If so we must fit differently because the bass is great on my pair with extension all the way down. I’ll have to pull them out and listen again.
     
  12. crenca

    crenca Friend

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    Pretty sure - they look exactly the same. Packaging is long gone but Amazon says I ordered:

    "Waterproof Headphones for Swimming - Surge S+ (Short Cord)"

    I have not played that much around with tips, and choose them based on how well they kept out the water (none of them do all that well in the end. I have to dump out the water every ten minutes or so). I could not get all that comfortable head position wise but I thought I got them 'good enough' - let me try a DAP so I can concentrate on the fit better and get back to the thread...

    edit: Working with a DAP (the short cord version is only about 12 inches, just enough to reach around your head to waterproof DAP that clips on the back of your goggles) I managed to ensure solid insertion/fit. I hear a bit more bass, but not significantly so...more than a "suggestion" but still on the light side I would say. Since I normally listen to Focal's and ZMF my expectations of bass is probably not reasonable for something like this product ;)
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2020
  13. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

    Staff Member Pyrate Flathead IEMW
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  14. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    They change them all the time and the older versions aren’t nearly as good. The speed and potential is there but the good tuning isn’t.

    has to be the blue surge+ and look like the pictures I posted.
     
  15. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Yup. Just retested them with my 2 bass test tracks and they passed with flying colors. Extension all the way down and control. I’m really happy with their bass response I think it’s one of their strong suits esp for the price.
     
  16. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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  17. Alondite

    Alondite Acquaintance

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    How do these compare to the RE400? They sound quite good and you can get them for like $30 on Amazon which is a great price. They've been my buy-break-repeat IEM for years now.

    But these seem like they'd be great for me. I work outside, often in hot weather, and in the past I've had sweat drip down into my ears and then into the housings and eventually they just stop working. Am I to understand that shouldn't be a problem with these? If not, and if they sound good, I'd be more than willing to shell out the extra $10 for these over the RE400.
     
  18. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I haven’t heard the RE400 but I prefer these to the RE0 simply on the basis of tonality even if the treble on the RE0 is a bit more refined. The rest of the spectrum is better to my ears. And from memory.

    I haven’t tested their waterproof claims it scares me but assumably a little sweat wouldn’t be a problem. They say you can wash these under running water.
     
  19. Alondite

    Alondite Acquaintance

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    It's been a few years since I've heard the RE0, but from memory, the RE400 is a bit darker, warmer, more full-bodied but otherwise quite similar. The difference is pretty much what you would expect given how they measure.

    I think I'll nab a pair of these when my current RE400 die. Or maybe I'll just grab a pair anyway and post a comparison given that they're both solid performers in the price bracket. Thanks for the info.
     
  20. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    The RE0 always sounded dry and dull to me like a poorly amped unmodded pair of HD650’s or a bit worse. That’s what ruined them for me. These don’t have that dullness they sound quite fast and yet still have no FR peaks or resonance issues and are full bodied in that they have flat lower midrange, no suck out or slow roll off like most dynamic drivers.
     

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