Echobox Finder X1 Quick Review

Echobox Finder X1 Quick Review

Thanks to Echobox for the sample.

Brief: Unyielding titanium dazzlers.

Price:  US$199

Specifications:  Housings:  Solid Titanium, Drivers: 9.2mm PEEK (PolyEther Ether Keytone) dynamic driver, Cable: Silver plated copper, Cable Length: 1,2m, Impedance: 22 ohms, Sensitivity: 96dB/mW, Frequency Response: 15Hz -35KHz, THD: less than 1%, Plug:  3.5mm Stereo, gold plated.

Accessories:  Cable synch, Case, 3 pairs of tuning filters, 3 pairs of Comply’s, 3 pairs of single flange silicones and 2 pairs of biflange silicone tips

Isolation:  Pretty good for a dynamic as is the case with many these days.  So they’re fine for most uses, walking out and about, on a bus etc etc but probably not what you’d ideally want for a long flight or Tube commute.  They would do if it’s what you’ve got but you know.  Also more than sufficient to get yourself killed if you forget to use your eyes when near traffic.

Comfort/Fit:  Par excellence.  Fit me great worn up or down but as ever, YMMV.

Aesthetics:  I’m currently huge on monochromatic, everything black, white or some shade of grey.  Plus I’ve always had a thing for bare metal so the darkened, not quite glossy, not quite anodised finish the buds and jack have is pretty much perfect to my eyes.  There are right up there as one of the best looking IEM’s ever.

Sound:  Dazzling.  If there was one word that I had to use it would be dazzling.  So, even with their sound variable filters they are inclined to be hyper articulate and crisp in the uppers.  Add in my own treble sensitively and I found the treble filters to be blindingly bright.  The reference ones were also highly intense.  Dazzlingly intense, like a CK10 that’s gone wild, MTV “Spring Break” style.  WAAAAAA!!!!!  The bass filter, it has a little filter to tame some of that crazy treble energy and they become something very interesting.  Their treble is still CK10 like but with an ever so slight dynamic hint.  They move like lightning and are just as dazzling, the extension seems to soar extremely high.  It’s so nimble, so agile, it can go from a thousand miles an hour to full stop in the length of a pin head.  Mids are light tonally, a little cool and upper end slanted but once more the X1 is so fast, so clean, so accurate, its hyper accurate, too accurate to be real.  The more ethereal and openly dry vocals you can find the better they are.  Sweeping, soaring, floaty with a butterfly like delicacy then they can explode out of nowhere.  It’s spectacular if maybe not the most relaxing listen ever.  The bass, it’s not centre stage but it’s clearly cut form the same cloth.  So taut, so nimble, so viciously articulate.  Its depth is highly impressive, does a nicely linear job of it too though I find sometimes I wish is was a little less austere in its presentation.  You know, relax a little, mellow and go with the flow.  Nope, the bass here is ridged and extremely disciplined.

In short, this is the dynamic based, bass boosted successor to the CK10.

Value:  Since you can’t buy the CK10 cost is irrelevant though these are considerably less than they ever used to go for. Plus who else has earphones made of the same stuff that the SR-71 was???

Pro’s:  The thing is titanium.  Looks sublime.  Sound beyond dazzlingly spectacular.

Con’s:  Highly treble abundant.  Utterly unyielding and unforgiving.  Can’t do mellow.