I love quality Bass and was very exited to try this new Dual Dynamic Driver technology.
Compared to Clairvoyance and Monarch MKI - these fall somewhere in between: a musical monitor that is still fun and engaging. This pair is a less expensive way to try double dynamic driver setup, which sounds impressively good, outperforming both in Bass details and quality. But, obviously, not as good when it comes to details in Mids and especially Highs: you can't beat EST drivers in their effortless extension and lushness, yet these are still impressively capable.
You will struggle to find any major negatives in these.
Perfect for Electronic music.
Hype 2 is smoother and more fun to listen to, not fatiguing. Hype 4 is more analytical, more detailed. Both have slightly different sound and style, specifically meaning that Hype 2 is a solid everyday everything joy machine at a very good price.
Hype 4 sound has more resolution, more details, thicker midrange, wider soundstage, more space and air around sounds.
Hype 4 is slightly more in your face, slightly more intense. Juicy. Punchy. Thick. Fresh out of the box, sound a little (almost not worth mentioning) bright and a touch fatiguing: a good burn-in will smoothen them out into perfection!
Side note about Burn-in: laugh all you want but I nearly returned now my favourite headphones because they sounded so bad out of the box. 50h later, change is significant. Modern driver diaphragms are made from incredibly thin and rigid materials which require more cycles to break-in.
Stock Cable sounds really good: able to push a lot of details and keep everything sounding well rounded. Looks and feels fantastic. Perfect match. *Apple Lightning to 3.5mm Dongle (24bit/48kHz DAC/AMP), iPhone, Onkyo App - IMPRESSIVE.
Then I pushed them a bit further with DSD 11.2MHz and PCM 32/384kHz files, DSP off, High Gain, from Sony NW-WM1A DAP. Those two file formats are where magic truly begins and even on High Gain these IEMs did not even stutter - smooth and effortless all the way.
As expected, Hype 4 + 4N Silver Cable sounds absolutely - MAGICAL.
The difference with SPC stock Cable is this one is balanced (4.4mm), better clarity, better definition, better resolution and instrument separation / edges / borders, more solid composure of all elements resulting in a smoother more uniformed sound, more engaging and realistic. Holographic effect appears often.
Both stock silicone and foam Ear Tips are high quality, comfortable and highly resolving. Perfect match.
Larger storage case is really the perfect size. And it looks good. Included microfiber cleaning cloth is always a nice touch.
Very happy to see Shallow Recessed Sockets: these are much better and stronger than usual Flush Sockets. However, I wish they used stronger and more durable Deep Recessed Sockets.
Build quality is superb, high gloss shells, metal nozzles, neat bass port opening.
Faceplates are simple but are definitely an art: I can't stop looking at them, mesmerizing. When you put them under the light and move around their colour changes from blue/green to all blue to all deep purple.
These have smaller shells than Clairvoyance and in my opinion fit better and deeper.
If Hype 2 is a perfect gift for someone special or a friend you want to get into Hi-Res IEMs on a tight budget, Hype 4 is for someone who is already aware of quality sound but not ready for Monarch MKIII.
A complete package.