HIDIZS MP145 Planar Magnetic IEMs – Sound Of The Largest Driver
HIDIZS MP145 is a $159 USD pair of IEMs or In-Ear Monitors, with a huge planar magnetic driver, and with a unique open-back or at least semi-open design. Today we will take a deep dive into their sound, and see how they compare to the market, including similarly priced IEMs such as IKKO OH10S Photochromic IEMs (199 USD), KiiBoom Evoke (199 USD), and Kiwi Ears Quintet (219 USD).
Introduction
HIDIZS is back once again with an IEM that has a seafood / sealife / sea fantasy reference and as we had a lot of rainbow and mermaids, we now have the MP145 which seems to be inspired from orcas and whales, when desginign the shape of MP145. One thing I can say for sure is that they got the size too, as this is one of the largest IEMs regardless of the price range, but it also sounds big, so if you have larger ears it should be a good fit. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and youtube channel.
I’d like to thank HIDIZS for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion. We are not receiving any incentive for this review and Audiophile-Heaven has no affiliation with HIDIZS beyond this review. This review is a description of my personal experience.
Product Link
You can grab one from www.amazon.com here: https://amzn.to/3vutoHf
If you’re in the UK, you can grab one from www.amazon.co.uk here: https://amzn.to/3TNCiJW
And if you’re from Europe, you can grab one from www.amazon.de here: https://amzn.to/3tAejU0
Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort
The overall comfort of the HIDIZS MP145 is average for my ears, as the IEMs are huge. They do need the space to accommodate the huge planar magnetic driver which is 14.5 mm in size, but this leads to an IEM that I feel at all times and I fear might fall out at any time. The passive noise isolation is quite good, and they leak quite a lot, thanks to the special back design they have. We have exceptional cable quality, but the size of the IEMs and angle of the connector makes the cable have problems staying coiled around my ears, and MP145 is made for someone with really large ears, otherwise it falls out and doesn’t follow the contour of the ears.
The package is rich, and as we’ve grown used to seeing from HIDIZS, there is a high quality transport case included in the package, along with a nice set of tips and sonic filters too. MP145 is easy to drive, and it will get loud fast, but it tends to inherit noise fast, so you need a source with a low output impedance, and low noise floor as well.
For today’s review I’ve been using a wide selection of sources, including Shanling UA1 Plus, Hiby R3 II, FiiO K9 PRO, JDS Labs Element III MK2 Boosted, Shanling H5 and iFi Audio Go Bar. All of those have an easy time driving the MP145, and this is not an IEM that is hard to drive.
There are some tuning filters included in the package, but the best sound to my ears is with the ones that are installed by default, as I usually feel filtering the sound dampens the clarity, so the least filtering is almost always the best. The sensitivity of MP145 is somewhat low at 104 dB, at least compared to other entry-level IEMs, but they have a 30 OHM impedance which should help eliminate noise and hissing with most sources. The 19 grams per IEM shell is heavy and they feel quite heavy in my ears.
Sound Quality
Despite the comfort not being my cup of tea, MP145 sounds quite excellent, and it is one of my favorite IEMs when it comes to the sonics, it has a bright treble, deep and clean bass, and super clear midrange. Everything is exactly where you’d expect it to be, the soundstage is wide, and has enough space for all instruments to play individually, the tonality is quite good, with natural transients and textures, and resolution better than what you’d expect from the price point. The speed of sound is super fast with HIDIZS MP145 and it responds accurately to impulse, having a fast impulse response with all music styles, despite the slightly soft transient and texture response, making a pleasing listening experience at all times.
The bass is one of the deeper and cleaner bass we’ve heard in the price range, and I mean, it has a quality you typically get around 300 USD, or even more. The bass extension goes as low as about 30 Hz, it has exceptional control, low distortion, and can stay loud even at higher volumes with no increase in distortion. The bass has most of the energy in the sub bass and mid bass, with a peak forming around 60 Hz below which the bass tends to even out gently in presence, but only with a moderate amount of dBs, creating a really balanced and crisp presentation. The bass has a natural amount of bass presence and clarity around 80 Hz and that is kept until 120 Hz, which creates no veil but creates a strong presence and body for all instruments, which works well for all music styles.
The midrange is clean, crisp and well separated, with a strong focus on female voices, which sound emotional, clean and tonally accurate. Male voices are on the slightly thin side, and this is because the upper midrange has a stronger presence than the lower midrange, so there’s a tendency for the sound to be V-Shaped, with the bass and sub bass being stronger than the lower midrange and the upper midrange and treble being more forward than the previously mentioned lower midrange. MP145 presents the voices, especially female vocals in a more pleasing, more tonally enjoyable way than most IEMs can below 500 USD, and it creates a wide soundstage, where instruments are well separated from each other.
The treble is a sharp, bright and airy kind of high-end, which seems to be characteristic for IEMs with a large planar magnetic driver, MP145 sounding about as sharp and bright as you could expect. The transient character in the treble is wet, which helps the treble stay smooth in the textures, and easily enjoyable, despite the strong energy, presence and clarity it bears. Quite the contrary to what you may expect, the treble is at the quality, and extension where I want to listen to music that is brighter, and which has more information in the treble while using MP145, it renders bright and sharp sounding songs so nicely that I enjoy ACG, metal and rock music far more than smoother and leaner music. Dynamics handling is excellent, and while I keep noting that entry-level IEMs tend to suffer from compression, especially at louder volumes, MP145 doesn’t suffer at all from this and the sound is controlled and punchy regardless of the volume. MP145 is the kind of IEM that sounds better at higher volumes than at medium and low volumes. It is surely pleasing, and the outstanding sound heavily overshadows the large shells that can cause discomfort.
Comparisons
HIDIZS MP145 vs KiiBoom Evoke (159 USD vs 199 USD) – Evoke is also a clarity / precision centered IEM with excellent ergonomics, and I actually have an easier time recommending the evoke for most ears, but MP145 has more bass, more punch and more substance, where Evoke is a bit more neutral and linear. Both are good options, and you would likely be happy with both, MP145 feels better made as it has hefty, metallic shells, but those shells are larger and heavier, which are cons to the comfort, making the Evoke an easier choice. The background noise / hissing level is higher with the Evoke, which is more sensitive to the sources I pared it with.
HIDIZS MP145 vs Kiwi Ears Quintet (159 USD vs 219 USD) – Quintet is a smaller IEM with reising shells, and it actually feels more comfortable than MP145, being considerably lighter and more ergonomic. The sound of the quintet is actually more colored in the midrange, which makes MP145 a better option if you’re looking for clarity and precision, it is a better IEM for most people looking to enjoy some tunes with no coloration and with a more natural voice / voicing. The resolution is higher for MP145 which sounds more detailed, cleaner and more crisp compared to the Quintet. Overall, MP145 is the better option if you have larger ears and can deal with the size and the weight of the IEMs.
HIDIZS MP145 vs IKKO OH10S Photochromic IEMs (159 USD vs 199 USD) – The package is good for both IEMs, and the comfort is ok too, both being large and somewhat heavy. The cable of MP145 is of a better quality, but the shells are heavier, larger and less comfortable than the shells of OH10S. The sound is actually on equal footing, both sound really detailed, clean and crisp, and I like the sound of both. OH10S has a bit more bass and treble sparkle, it is more U-Shaped, which makes rock and metal sound a bit better, same for pop and electronic music. All in all, both are good options, both are great if you want to hear a high-quality Chifi presentation.
Value and Conclusion
Given the rather pocket-friendly price of 159 USD, we can safely say that HIDIZS delivers great performance for the price once again, with a good build quality, and although those are some IEMs made for large ears, they have a nice package, good cable and good resolution / clarity for the price point.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a really clear, clean sounding IEM, with the sonic quality that would easily be priced twice the price it carries, with a bright treble, and a clean bass, and if you have large ears, HIDIZS MP145 is a great opportunity to have fun and enjoy some good tunes now in 2024.
Product Link
You can grab one from www.amazon.com here: https://amzn.to/3vutoHf
If you’re in the UK, you can grab one from www.amazon.co.uk here: https://amzn.to/3TNCiJW
And if you’re from Europe, you can grab one from www.amazon.de here: https://amzn.to/3tAejU0
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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