The Audeze iSine 10 is a very unique IEM. utilizing planar magnetic technology in a portable form factor, Audeze’s three i-series units are certainly curiosities in the IEM market. Another curious point about their trio is that these are open back portables, which certainly limits their use, as they won’t isolate you from the outside, nor isolate the outside world from you jamming out. Priced at 400USD, these are Audeze’s least expensive i-series model.

Included in the box along with the unit are three sizes of standard tips, three sizes of ribbed tips, a strange carry case, clear earhooks, matte black earhooks, gloss black earhooks, two sizes of earlocks, a shirt clip, and a standard audio-only cable. For the eartips, I found myself preferring the standard tips. The carry case seems poorly thought out, as it is a plastic structure to place the unit into, and wrap the cable around, and then place in a pouch, which closes with magnets. The issue with this is that use of either the earhooks or the earlocks prevents them from fitting. Because of this issue, I have been storing mine in a Pelican 1030. Also available is the Audeze app, which opens up a ten-band EQ, allowing ±10dB. The iSine responds quite well to EQ, owing to its low distortion, though I haven’t felt a need to use it.

These units are pretty well built. While the housings are plastic, Audeze clearly knows their plastics, as these feel very sturdy. The Cypher cable also feels plenty sturdy, being a relatively thick ribbon cable, which does a wonderful job of staying straight, and flowing nicely, with no obnoxious stiffness. Connecting with a 2-pin connector, the cable does not rotate, and unplugging it and plugging it back in feels sturdy, certainly sturdier feeling than MMCX. The microphonics on this cable are startlingly low. I tend to be very heavy-footed when I walk, finding microphonics in even the quietest of cables, but not with the Cypher. I have run with these, and I still hear zero microphonics. Whatever Audeze has done right here, I applaud them for making the quietest cable I have used. The Cypher housing has three buttons for media controls, which I have had no issues with. While the cable is a little bit long for portable use, it is a very nice cable overall.

The iSine 10 is not very comfortable. The housing itself is big and heavy, and forces you to use either the earhooks or the earlocks or risk them falling out during use. Since they are so heavy, this makes the earhooks sometimes press too hard onto the tops of your ears. The actual Cypher DSP/DAC/amp section only adds to this weight, though this really can’t be helped. I have had to be constantly adjusting the earhooks, bending them in order to fit me properly, as straight out of the box, the earhooks compressed my ear against the housing, which was quite unpleasant. After bending the entire earhook structure out by about ten degrees, they’re actually manageable. Another comfort issue is that sometimes the actual housing can press against your ear sometimes, which, with the hard plastic they are made from, is unpleasant to say the least. There really could have been even a thin layer of padding on the ear side of the housings and at least a rubber sheath on the earhooks, and these would be much more comfortable for sure. Despite these comfort issues, they are comfortable enough for short sessions, which, fortunately, fortunately for me, is what I purchased them for. Comfort could potentially be helped by modding them, like I suggested, someone braver than I could stick a thin layer of foam on the housing, and add a little padding to the earhooks, and these would be much more comfortable. If anyone has a 3D printer, you could try 3D printing a headband that could snap on like the earhooks, and you could make the head portion the right width to put a ZMF pilot pad or something similar around.

The sound that comes out of these more than makes up for the subpar comfort. The bass extends very deep, and has a very satisfying thump to it. I am used to the rolled off lower bass of HD600 and Pinnacle P1, and I am loving hearing sub bass I didn’t even know was there. On some Yosi Horikawa tracks, the very low tones come in waves, and it feels like my whole head is gently throbbing. I am typically not too picky about bass, but these are simply rocking my world in the bass department. The midrange is where I hold my one complain; vocals can sound very slightly stilted and unnatural on some tracks, though this really is nitpicking, as I did not even notice this until after a week of listening. Instruments, however, sound absolutely wonderful. Oddly, some other vocals sound extremely liquid and sweet. In Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” those vocals, especially at the beginning, sound like honey being pumped into my ears. With that beautiful planar speed, combined with their great imaging, strings especially sound like a pinprick of shimmery goodness. The midrange as a whole feels pretty even throughout, not clearly favoring the lower or upper mids. The highs continue the trend of the midrange: very precise, fast, and fantastic. I have heard people say Audeze products are typically dark, but these just aren’t; the highs may take a backseat a bit, but they are far from lost. Imaging at these higher frequencies only gets better, the gentle symbol hits of The Eagles’ “Take It to the Limit” sound like they are coming from the head of a pin. Soundstage on these is also fantastic; being open back, one would expect this to be the case, and these do not disappoint. The wide, expansive soundstage combined with the fantastic imaging lead to a wonderful sense of space between instruments, which really draws you into the music, immersing you in a sea of sound. There also is what I can only describe as a sense of depth to these, that I am struggling to describe well. It almost feels like there is some front-back and top-bottom imaging to it. If most other headphones are painting the sound on a surface, these are injecting it under the surface. Unfortunately, due to them being open, a good amount of their detail can easily be lost depending on the noise level of your surroundings.

All in all, I really enjoy the Audeze iSine 10. These certainly feel like an innovation, bringing planar technology to the in-ear market, and doing it well. With their fantastic sound, these have me very curious about the iSine 20, and the rest of Audeze’s lineup in general.

-TheOmegaCarrot