Intro
Hidizs was founded in 2009,and since then,they have been producing high quality products which garnered a lot of positive feedback from fellow audiophiles.Today i have the MD4 with me,it is a 4 custom balanced armature developed and tuned by Hidizs.One BA for the high frequencies,one BA for the mids,two BA for the lows. On top of that,you also get 4 types of tuning which is adjustable via the switches on the IEM itself.This is all done via electronic crossover.
Packaging
Premium,premium,premium!I have to say it thrice because it looks very premium. Upon unboxing the MD4,I am greeted with an abundance of eartips,in fact,three types of ear tips all with three sizes,so there isn’t a reason where you can’t find a suitable size for your ears.
The brown storage case has a “leather-ish” look and it feels very sturdy and classy looking. I am very sure whichever IEM you store inside,they are bound to have good protection from the storage case.
Build/Comfort
MD4’s build quality is superb,from the unboxing experience until holding the IEM,it screams premium all the way!The faceplate is handmade according to Hidizs,the frame is made out of aluminium alloy with rose gold framing,even the nozzle itself is using aluminium alloy as well.There is certainly nothing that seems or looks cheap on MD4.
The shell size is slightly bigger than most of the IEMs I own,but in terms of fitting and comfort wise,I have no issues with them at all,comfortable to listen to for several hours without feeling discomfort,no weird edges that cause discomfort to my ears.
Source
Foobar2k -> TRI TK2 -> MD4
Tidal -> Questyle M15 -> MD4
Hidizs AP80 Pro-X -> MD4
Sound (Based on Warm tuning with FInal Type E eartips)
I personally liked how the warm tuning gave me a good sense of balance between musicality and details. To me,it is slightly colored yet the detail retrieval capability is there and not compromised.It sounds pretty organic to my ears.
Bass
Bass is fast and tight,evident in Alice Cooper’s Go To Hell,the kick drum has got good thump and texture to it,certainly not thin sounding
In terms of speed,it exhibited good performance in Slipknot’s Duality,no problem keeping up with the speed of the drum
Sub bass perhaps is the weaker part of MD4,slightly rolled off,definitely not for basshead nor listening to EDM,you can still listen to EDM but you will miss the “fun” factor as the rumble is not that much
Overall,i like how the bass is tuned and it is nicely done and not overly emphasised nor rolled off
Mids
Vocal’s positioning on warm tuning is somewhat intimate and very pleasant to listen to
Male vocal and female vocal has got good texture and organic sounding on warm tuning mode,i find them to be very pleasant
Instruments in this range has got good note weight and the timbre is realistic
The lower mid range is lush sounding on orchestral track and the upper mids are tuned right to my ears and it’s not harsh/fatiguing to listen to
Treble
Safe to say,sibilance and harshness is not something you will find in MD4’s warm tuning mode,even on treble’s tuning mode
The treble on warm tuning mode is smooth and has good speed and good note weight
On warm tuning mode,i am kinda surprised to hear that it also has a good amount of air and sparkle to it
Instruments in this range does not sound harsh and very pleasant to listen to
Soundstage/Imaging
I am actually quite surprised that the soundstage on MD4 is good given that it has no vent at all and using a straight tube design,but do take into consideration that the eartips that i am using might be contributing to this bigger soundstage perception that i am having
Soundstage of MD4 has good width,which i perceive as slightly out of head and good height as well to complement to this big soundstage that i heard from MD4
Imaging is no slouch either,instruments can be pinpointed easily even on complex track such as Slipknot’s Duality and some orchestral track
Comparison between different tuning modes (Listening to the same track RHCP’s Black Summer on all modes)
Balanced
On this tuning mode,everything seemed to sound forward and intimate
In terms of tonality and timbre,they are more or less the same as warm tuning mode
Note weight remained the same
However i do notice that the vocal seemed to sound a little bit pushed back despite everything else has been brought forward
Imaging capability remained the same but soundstage is more in your head rather than wide but still retaining good sense of height
Bass
The vocal positioning is similar to warm tuning mode
As the tuning mode suggest,the low end has been slightly lifted to give the extra thump,however it is still nowhere near basshead level but it definitely add some fun factor to the listening experience
It is slightly darker sounding compared to the other two modes earlier,the treble response is smooth and non fatiguing
Both male and female’s vocal texture sounded a little thicker
Soundstage rendition is similar to warm tuning mode
Treble
Strange that the vocal positioning is similar to balanced tuning mode,it seem to sound a little pulled back
Soundstage is similar to balanced mode
As the name suggested,the highs are slightly boosted to give a perception of more details but it is nowhere near analytical of course nor fatiguing or harsh to listen to
Bass is fast and tight,punchy but of course lacking some of the impact from both the warm and bass tuning mode
Driveability
MD4 is very easy to drive being a pure BA set
It is not picky in terms of source,they seem to pair well with both TRI TK2 and Questyle M15
Doesn’t seem to benefit from giving it more power
It will sound good even from Apple’s Lightning Dongle,but of course it does better job when paired with better dac/amp
Final Thoughts
To me personally,MD4 is not some IEM that wowed me upon first listen,it is something that grew on me,as i listened to it much longer,i grew to like its versatility that it offers in terms of the tuning switches.The tuning switches does actually impact how the music sound by altering the frequencies response via the crossover based on the input from the switches. This to me is a big win as I am getting four kinds of sound signature which I can switch whenever I want,but I am sticking to the warm tuning mode as it is my preferred sound signature paired with my setup.A recommended set overall for anyone that’s looking for versatility!
*MD4 is sent over by Hidizs F.O.C in exchange for this review.I am in no way influenced by Hidizs to produce this review nor do i receive any compensation for this review
If you are interested in getting a pair of MD4,head over to the following link Hidizs MD4
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