As always, for all standard information about build, specs, aesthetics etc I point you to the various other “reviews” you can find online about this IEM, quick are mentioned in the Interesting links section at the bottom of this post.
At-a-glance
| PROs | CONs |
| Neutral-bright tonality, with a personal timbre | Some sibilance, also depending on pairing |
| Very good mids | Microphonic cable | Nice and lively highs | | Spectacular soundstage | |
| Very comfortable (to me at least) | |
| Low price, superb value | |
Full Device Card
Test setup
Fiio X3 mk-III / Tempotec V1 + Fiio BTR5/USB. Single Ended port. Stock tips. Lossless 16/44.1 – 24/96 – 24/192 FLAC regulat music tracks.
Signature analysis
| Tonality | Very much neutral, with a timbre shade calling for some “intimacy” (nothing to do with a narrow soundstage though) | Sub-Bass | Rolled-off but still existant when called for. Rather dry, un-lushy. |
| Mid Bass | Fast and tight, very much so considering it comes from a DD. Lean in the quantity. Zero bleeding on the mids. |
| Mids | The best part of the signature (mid bass being second best). Somewhat forward but not too much, textured, almost purely neutral. |
| Male Vocals | Smooth, warmish, quite bodied. Very nice. |
| Female Vocals | Also very nice, bodied, very musical. Some sibilance may appear on some tracks, more so depending on pairing (more on this below); deeper insertion helps reduce or even cancel the effect. |
| Highs | More prominent than on E4000, less articulated then on E5000, nice nonetheless, smooth but very lively, “good” in a word but |
Technicalities
| Soundstage | Very sizeable, wider than deep |
| Imaging | Precise and consistent. |
| Details | Just average, not a monster. |
| Instrument separation | Also quite average, although free of real congestion |
| Driveability | No “big” amping is required but 102dB @ 16Ohm need to be taken seriously in terms of source. The Meizu dongle needs 50/100 source volume to get the same SPL I get at 90-92/100 volume on my Samsung S6. SPL apart, underamping turns into thinner & duller sound. |
Physicals
| Build | Cheap yet very convincing. Housings are made of sturdy ABS |
| Fit | Bullet shape by definition offering the best fitting options (easy to calibrate depth, angle, orientation etc), but subpar mechanical stability (difficult to keep them “firm in position” during workout for example, sometimes even while talking or yawning) |
| Comfort | Very subjective. I personally find them extremely comfortable. For many, they are unfit for side sleeping though. |
| Isolation | Bullet shape does not offer any concha shielding. Deeper insertion typically helps getter a stronger seal improving isolation too. |
| Cable | Fixed, robust and solidly connected. Wear over-ear to remove microphonics |
Specifications (declared)
| Housing | ABS |
| Driver(s) | 6.4mm dynamic type |
| Connector | – |
| Cable | OFC black cable, 1.2m |
| Sensitivity | 102 dB |
| Impedance | 16 Ω |
| Frequency Range | – |
| Rated Power | – |
| MSRP at this post time | JPY 2530,00 ($24,00) |
E1000’s allowance to (modest) sibilance is probably worth a digression here.
Firstly, it is quite source-sensitive. Meizu HDP (Cirrus CS43131) stimulates it much more than BTR5 (ESS ES9218P) or Dosmix TPR22 (Qualcomm WHS9415).
Secondly, it’s not easy to EQ-it off (or well, at least I couldn’t). Unlike what happens on many other IEMs (name one: Pinnacle P2 – stay put for my notes coming soon) where shrills or other offensive treble artifacts are the consequence of some tuning bumps in the highs section possibly aimed at forcing some fake airiness sensation (?), E1000’s treble tuning appears quite smooth with a sole evident relative peak at 5.8K, and taking it down by a few dBs does not really cancel shrilling for good, while it does change the overall pleasant brightness that section has following its original tuning.
Simply put: E1000 does not react well to shrilling correction by EQing. The situation gets better (as usual) opting for a deeper insertion – if that is acceptable comfort-wise. Those who are seriously sensible to sibilance better choose something else anyway.
The usually totally spot-on final colophon for the model:
Clear, well-balanced sound from low through to high tones. A sound spread and sense of realism much like you would experience listening to live music.
https://snext-final.com/products/detail/E1000
The key to E1000 is neutrality (or almost).
In facts, E1000 is one the most neutral budget IEM I heard to date.
Trebles do taint it with a bit of brightness, not enough to call it bright, and maybe not even enough to call it bright-natural, yet probably due to how all the rest of the spectrum is so natural, and no hint of warmth comes from the low end, the “clear” accent on the high side is instantly noticeable, and it is indeed there.
I wouldn’t arrive to call it an all-rounder – also due to the fact that I don’t believe in all-rounders in the first place – but a fact is that E1000 is a very good, competent pick for very many genres varying from pop to rock to jazz and classics, with the sole attention point to its moderate HF sibilance chance.
In the face of an IEM like this some purists like to argue on its “cheap” build (pure ABS), non-removable cable, no strain releaf, whatever. Personally, I can’t care less, already phylosophically I mean, and in this case very rationally too.
Firstly, I am in front of Japanese-controlled-quality refined product, not the usual noname first-price chifi “stuff“. To keep price low they took something off, sure, but final quality is all there, and it does show frankly both in the sound and the “simple” build.
Furthermore: at €24 E1000 grants an output quality of such a level that to cure my worries I could also imagine to buy a spare unit, for €48 total cost, and it would still be hard to find a better chifi IEM, and I would also get an extra E-series eartips full set (€9 value) to upgrade some of my other “chi-unrefined” models.
Comparisons
| final E1000 | final E2000 | Hifiman RE-400 | TIN T4 | |
| Driver(s) | Single Dynamic Driver | Single Dynamic Driver | Single Dynamic Driver | Single Dynamic Driver |
| Tonality | Bright neutral, personal timbre | Open V-shape, personal quite musical timbre lacking 1% of spice to be more engaging | Warm-neutral. Mid-centric balanced signature. | Slightly bright neutral, engaging dynamics |
| Bass | Flat midbass and rolled off subbass. Dry, fast and punchy. | Rolled off, but fast and clean subbass. Lightly elevated, tight and softly punchy – somewhat too timid – midbass | Fully extended, flat, fast sub- and mid-bass. Definitely lean but punchy when called for. | Modestly elevated mid and sub. Fast, clean. |
| Mids | Somewhat forward, textured, almost purely neutral sounding. Both vocals are nice and musical. | Full, rounded. Sound more prominent due to unexhalted bass. Good vocals | Natural, clear, quite detailed warmish mids. Very nice vocals. | Clear, natural sounding and flat. |
| Highs | Prominent, quite articulated, not much extended. Some rare sibilance. | Average extension, modestly airy. 6K peak adds some “sparkle”. No harshness | Moderately extended, some sparkly accent and very nice details. Totally effortless. | Clair, quite extended, well articulated. Excessive at times. Unfrequent light sibilance removed by tips or deeper insertion. |
| Soundstage | Very sizeable, wider than deep | Above average, wider than deeper. | Just a bit out of the head, not very deep | Above average |
| Imaging | Precise and consistent | Quite precise and consistent | Quite precise, but the group is kept too close together giving a congested impression | Above average, consistent |
| Details | Just average, not a monster. | Average. | Above average in the trebles, and even (to a lesser extent) in the sub-bass | Above average |
| Separation | Average, no congestion | Just about average. | Good, but often jeopardised by “close-imaging” | Average |
| Driveability | A good phone is barely enough | Light amping recommended | Any phone is OK | A phone is OK |
| Fit & Comfort | Extremely easy fit, subjective comfort | Extremely easy fit, subjective comfort | Extremely easy fit and top comfort | Fit might be an issue for some. Comfort is OK when fit is easy. |
| Other notes | Almost-reference flatness and ease of use at a supercheap price | Nice “spiced-neutral” musical tuning, could use some further spice to really shine | Superbly natural sounding, truly flat-neutral, extremely relaxing | Reference neutrality with a hint of brightness, great dynamics and above average technicalities |
| Economics | $ 24,00 | $ 42,50 | $ 79,00 ($ 50,00 deals) | $ 109,00 ($ 79,00 deals) |