EP321 MEMS 2DD + 3BA + 1 MEMS Driver In-Ear Monitors

Hexa has less bass, Hype 4 mk2 has a tack in mid-bass that makes for a different signature. I have all 3: Hexa, Hype 4 mk2, EP321 and prefer the last one of the three. SLIIVO SL224 (also have it) might be close in tuning. I did not make a thorough comparison, just a general feeling.

I picked these up as well and was a bit worried I wouldn't like them as I am very sensitive to sibilance (I had to return the Dunu 142s because of it) but these are spectacular; the treble is absolutely lovely but it doesn't feel unnatural or overpowering at all, and the bass is just present enough to make them not feel "reference." I adore this set, it's my new daily driver.

I've not tried a whole bunch of sets, but recently I took a flier on the Binary Acoustics EP321, and I'm very impressed. Incredibly precise treble.

I don't know if they're right for OP, but I got a set of these and they are really, really incredible. (Once I found the right tips.)

My personal favorite is the binary acoustics EP321 mems, or the dunu 142, the blessings 3 are good but honestly they are way too long in the tooth and there are so much better options these days.

Yep, solid 3d printed resin on the mems, they feel quite solid. I have a review coming out on Monday if you are interested in my much wordier full thoughs.

My favorite iem recently has been the binary audio ep321 mems, but it's not an iem for everyone.

I cannot recommend them enough

Good day, everyone. So here is my review of a relatively new set of IEMs from the brand Binary Acoustics, the EP321-MEMS (2DD, 3BA, 1 direct drive MEMS driver). First off, a disclaimer: HiFiGo did provide these to me for review free of charge, and all they asked for was my honest thoughts in the form of an online review, so take this review with as big a grain of salt as you believe that merits. That said, all opinions here are fully my own, and I have made the attempt to review these as if I had bought them with my own personal money. Also keep in mind all of my opinions are based on the price range unless stated otherwise, so when I say excellent, I mean excellent at the price range. So with that out of the way, I'll continue with the review. These are currently selling on Hifigo for $309.99. Most of this review was done powering them out of my Fiio BTR11, but I also tested them with both the DTC DACs from DUNU. TLDR: This is probably the hardest review I've ever had to write, not because I have too much or too little to write about, but because this will probably read more like a love letter than an actual review. These feel like they were made for me specifically. These have firmly planted themselves in position 4 of my favorite iems of all time at any price point, only beaten by multi-kilobuck iems. The fact these are 300 dollars genuinely seems too good to be true. As someone with a fairly esoteric tuning preference, I understand not everyone will agree with me on this one but I genuinely believe these are something special that everyone should try just in case they make you feel like they made me. Starting from the unboxing experience, nothing special or noteworthy. Everything comes well packed and wrapped, so I doubt there will be any issues in shipping, but at the price point there are other iems that feel better to unbox. As for the accessories package, It's the only part of this iem I can find minor nitpicks in. It comes with a beige cloth case that closes via zipper, it feels ok in hand but it could be a bit sturdier. It's a good size for a grab and go package, being able to fit the iems, the cable, a dongle and a case with eartips without bulking up too much and not fitting in a pocket. The cable is probably my biggest issue with this iem. It's a silver 2 wire twist, and I just don't like it very much, it lets the iem down. It's thin, memory prone and doesn't have the best behaviour when wrapped, at least it's not microphonic. The hardware is minimalist but generic and the chin cinch is functional but unexceptional. It uses normal 2 pin connectors that are at least flush to the iem body. It also doesn't have a swappable termination so it's either 3.5 or 4.4, at this point with iems so much cheaper than these having swappable terminations it really is a shame that this one doesn't have any. All this to say that the cable is functional but the bare minimum, there are much better cables in iems many times cheaper and the quality of the cable doesn't match the masterpiece of the iem. The ear tips are in a similar boat, it comes with 2 sets of generic black eartips that are identical to one another, so while they aren't bad, they don't allow for much customization of the sound. They matched the IEM ok but with how much I loved it I tiprolled and discovered that there are tip styles that would have fit these much better. The cable and eartips feel like an afterthought, but given how much I love the iems I am probably being harsh on the few sticking points I can find, thankfully both those issues are both really simple and cheap to solve. As for the IEMs themselves, I like them in terms of aesthetics, with a small caveat. The faceplate is a CNC-machined stainless steel plate with some sort of polishing on it that, somehow, at specific angles makes it reflect an absolutely beautiful array of colors that looks like stained glass, but most of the time it just looks gunmetal. So while it still looks cool, the effect of the polishing is a bit too subtle, and it also has scratched relatively easily, so to keep them pristine extra care is required. The body of the iem is a really high quality 3D printed clear resin shell that looks and feels extremely premium. The inside is very slightly custom molded but not excessively, making it quite comfortable in ear, being relatively compact and light overall. The clear resin lets you see into the drivers and the acoustic structures, which is really cool, especially the MEMS driver. The resin nozzle is on the short and stubby side, with a small lip in the middle to hold onto eartips. The nozzle has 3 acoustic tubes with acoustic filters but no wax filters. The only vent is a small one in the faceplate which serves to relieve pressure buildup, so I can use them for a long while without issues or discomfort. They also have no drive flex. The unique selling point of this iem is the MEMS unit, which is a relatively novel type of driver. I will not claim to understand how it works, because I simply don't, but in the past this type of driver was used very rarely and only in really expensive products because to work it used to require a special energizer, similar to estat headphones. But somehow Binary Acoustics managed to miniaturize the amplifier and allow it to work using normal audio inputs. From this you would think it would be a hard iem to drive, but in my experience that's not the case, it works perfectly out of any 3.5 jack. According to the marketing this driver works in the treble, which gives this iem a very detectable and unique texture to the treble which I enjoy to a frankly ridiculous degree. The tips provided are pretty good but in my experience the deeper the fit you can get with these the better they sound, so I recommend finding the stubbiest, shortest tips you can, I used the tips that came with the CCZ cz10 which are very short and leave the nozzle almost at the edge of the bore. Now for sound impressions, keep in mind I would describe myself as an unashamed extreme treblehead, but I will try to keep the impressions as tuning agnostic as possible, but in this case I suspect I will fail horrendously. My overall sound impression is that these are tuned scarily close to my preferences, they are a bright leaning v shaped iem with absolutely stunning treble. They are more on the analytical side (if you don't like them you would call them dry). Everything about them is focused on speed and clarity, they sacrifice lushness a bit to achieve this but to me there are few iems that even begin to compare to the precision of these. They make every music genre sound magical but what they do to jazz and classical music is something really special. Starting from the bass, while the amount is relatively restrained, its texture is excellent. Its decay is lightning quick, it slams very powerfully and viscerally and it feels like it has expert control, the notes are placed exactly where they need to be. It doesn't rumble as much but the impact bass notes have when they hit is very impressive. It maintains the mids completely clean with no bleed at all. This is definitely not a basshead iem, the bass amount is on the leaner end, but what it does have is very well done. The mids are more analytical than musical, with clarity as their primary focus. It's quick, articulate and very heavily detailed, but lacks some of the warmth found in other sets at the price. String and brass instruments particularly impress me in terms of texture and detail. This set reproduces both male and female vocals superbly but I think female vocals particularly impress me with these because of how well the upper registers are reproduced. The treble is by far my favorite part of this IEM. There is a single other IEM I’ve ever tried with treble I've liked more (and it's 4000 dollars). The best way I can describe it is as deliciously sharp, it's incredibly incisive and sparkly, without sounding tinny or crunchy at all. It also has very extended air and it feels like if there is any information exists in higher registers of the recording you are going to hear it, nothing is hidden or covered by anything else, it really is exceptional. Surprisingly enough I do not think it gets sibilant but I do think some people might find it fatiguing, it does present a lot of information that might be overwhelming after a while. As for the technicalities, these are a standout in the price range, the microdetail they present is insane and they play even the fastest/more complex tracks perfectly so instrument separation and layering is perfect. The sound stage is more on the intimate side but the instrument positioning is photographically pin point. Now for the comparison section, I'll try and compare them to things in a similar price range, but sadly I haven't had the opportunity to try every IEM, so some that I have been asked for comparisons that I haven't tried are: the Thieaudio Hype 4 mark 1/2 and Origin, the DUNU Vulkan, any of the SA6s, the Softears Volume S, any Simgots, the Punch audio Martillo/Portazo, the Aful Performer 8, the Ziigaat arete 2, the tanchjim soda or the kiwiears orchestra 2 . Vs. Moondrop Blessing 3: A venerable elder statesman of the price range, but he isn't as sprightly as he used to be, there are better options in the price range, including the ep321 which beats it in every aspect. Vs. Moondrop Harmon: I really am running out of clever ways to say these are a bad set of iems that don't beat even the aria 2s, much less anything in the price range, especially the ep321. Vs. Ziigaat Arcanis, Estrella, Horizon: My opinions on these have not changed, the way ziigaat does treble just isnt for me, its tinny/metallic and I cant stand it, so given how much I value treble and how good I think the high end tuning of the ep321 is, its evident I would take the ep over the entire ziigaat lineup at the same time. Vs. Ziigaat Odyssey 2: The only ziigaat I would say I like, the build quality and bass on it is quite enjoyable, and it covers up the misgivings I have with its treble quite efficiently, still I would absolutely not even begin to consider it over the ep321, its treble is better, its technicalities beat it, and even beats it in bass quality. Vs. Hisenior Caño Crystales: Not a set I particularly enjoy, its way too energetic in the bass and in the treble, it eats up the mids and is instantly fatiguing to me, although I can imagine some speed demons loving these, personally the ep321 is much more enjoyable to listen for any extended amount of time. Vs. Elysian Pilgrim: A very solid IEM made by a great brand, and they offer an extremely well done neutral tuning, but to my ears they are neutral to a fault, making them unengaging to me, the ep321 doesnt have those issues. Vs. Moondrop Dusks (I was only able to try them with no DSP): A better version of the b3s, following the now ubiquitous new meta tuning, it is probably a more familiar style to most people than the ep321 but the treble magic it has put it above the dusks for me, and its not even close. Vs xenns magrid tea pro: The iem that all other iems in the price range are compared against, they are more organic and musical than the ep321, but less clear and incisive. I feel like most people would put them as side grades to one another but, at risk of being repetitive, I like the EP321 over it quite heavily. Vs DUNU vulkan 2: I go very in depth in my vulkan 2 review so I'll keep it short,the EP321 have replaced the vulkans as my favorite treble set in the pricerange. Vs the DUNU 242: Another iem I go into great detail in its own review, the choice between these and the EP321 is more a taste based situation as the mids of the 242 are on a whole other level but the treble and bass of the EP321 is better, so it would depend if you prefer your mids or your treble, I personally prefer my treble so I’d go with the EP321. Vs the juzear harrier: The more iems I listen to in the price range, the more I realize these do not compete well, the only person that I would recommend the harrier over the EP321 is someone that has no treble tolerance, but in every other case the EP321 beats it handily. Vs the Aful Performer 8s: Another iem I made a quite in depth review about previously, it's still competitive in the price range but the EP321 matches my preferences much better, so I'd take the EP321 over it in most cases. In conclusion I don't think I could love the EP321 more if I tried, it's a masterpiece of an iem and at the price I could not recommend it more, although I understand it's not an iem for everyone. If these sound like something you would enjoy then go for them, you will absolutely not regret it. Songs I use to do preliminary tests on IEMs (I listen to much more if I have the time, but these are a minimum before I solidify my opinion.) ALI WILD SIDE Tuki HYURURIRAPAPPA Ski mask the slump god Faucet Failure Beelzebub's Cathedrals of Mourning Aliceband Wolf Fukashigi no carte An Unkindness Fragments Big wild City of Sound Antonio Banderas Canción del Mariachi Malcura Gerudo Valley Berlioz deep in it Thank you guys for your time; I'll be happy to answer any questions or pass on any suggestions to HiFiGo. Good day!

The binary acouatics 321mems, they are absolutely enchanting

Depends on your definition of affordable, but for me is the binary acoustics ep321 mems. There is only a handful of items I would take above it, almost none of which are below a kilobuck. And it only costs like 350 dollars, which although still very expensive, is not something someone cannot feasibly save for

Binary EP 321 Mems is the best at that price