Acoustically Peaceful Revolution – Z Reviews x Juzear Defiant IEMs
Z Reviews x Juzear Defiant is a $85 USD pair of In-Ear Monitors Earphones, with one dynamic driver, and 3 balanced armatures, that you can purchase in two colors, either the Jade Green we have in our review today, or the Rainbow. There are a lot of IEMS in the entry-level range, but Defiant will be generally compared to the market, also we will see how it sounds like in detail, and whether it is a good purchase from HIFIGO.
Introduction
HIFI Go or HIFIGO is a popular shop for Chifi and Earphones, DAC/AMPs, and many other products from the audio sphere, being one of the main competitors to Linsoul. We have not reviewed a product from HIFIGo for a long time now, but they are a reliable shop, and many of my personal friends order from them when they have sales. HIFIGO has their own website and shop, but also sell their products on Aliexpress, and also on Amazon. This is our first review exploring a product from JuzEar so let’s see how it goes.
As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge thanks to HIFIGO for providing us with the sample for this review.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/44tQ7lC
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_ontvgWs
Build Quality – Design
Juzear Defiant is a rather simple IEM made with high-precision DLP 3D printing, with a mid-range BA arrangement, and micro-performation pressure relief. At the heart, Defiant is an IEM with a 4-Driver arrangement, with a 10mm dynamic driver for the bass, and 3 balanced armatures delivering the midrange and the treble.
Powering the IEM, we have the JuzEar Defiant x Flare cable, which is an upgrade cable that can be purchased separately for other IEMs, featuring a hybrid 6n SPOCC + SCCW built, with a 70 strands per conductor, 280 conductors in total wires, and with interchangeable connector jacks.
Technically, the Defiant has an impedance of 32 OHMs, and a SPL of 109 dB, with a promised passive noise isolation of 26 dB. The weight is quoted to be rather low at 6.1 grams per each shell, and indeed they feel very light, almost hollow in person. The assurance precision (margin of error) is within 1 dB, while Defiant has a THD of 0.8%.
Subjective Usage
Juz Ear Defiant is rather comfortable, it sits really nice inside of my ears, and the included eartips are the sticky type. Fitting is medium-shallow with a good seal, but no driver flex, no void, and fit feels secure. Earhooks have the right tension, and the cable included has a bit of memory wire effect, it remains a bit bendy bendy, and takes a long while to become completely straight, but it does not conduct microphonic noise.
Passive noise isolation is not quite as high as described by Juzear and I rate the Defiant between 15 and 20 dB of passive noise isolation, which is still pretty impressive. Once music is playing, you cannot hear anything else but the music. Defiant is generally beautiful in the Jade Green color, while the rainbow cable is a bit colorful for my taste, even looking a bit like the USA flag with the red and blue theme, but overall it looks and feels fairly high-end and not cheap.
Sound Quality
Pairings – To test the Juzear Defiant, I have paired it with a selection of sources, including Rose Technics RT-5000, Dethonray Listening M1, Dethonray Clarinet, iBasso DX340, Lotoo PAW GT2. Juzear Defiant is really easy to drive, does not need a special source, and will sound excellent with a portable source. It is not very sensitive to source noise, and will hide it, also it scales well with entry-level sources, but it is an entry-level product, it will not scale enough to justify usage with a flagship source.
Overall Signature – If you check out the Frequency Response Graph offered on the HiFiGo website, Juzear Defiant looks quite basshead, with armstrong bass emphasis, of about 10 dB above the midrange, and a healthy bass at that, with the bass uplift starting at 20 Hz and ending at 80 Hz, and with the treble making a comeback after 1 kHz, and keeping strong until 8 kHz, above which it rolls off quickly, then making a comeback, then rolling off entirely above 15 kHz. Overall, it feels V-Shaped, with a slightly distant voice, this kind of signature works really well for rock, pop, commercial music, but won’t have a good synergy with classical in particular due to the distant midrange. Soundstage is quite wide and airy, while instrument separation is fair and Juzear Defiant goes more for blending than it goes for a surgical separation of audio elements.
Bass – Starting from the bottom end, Defiant did not feel basshead at first, it has a full bass with a good extension, down to 20 Hz, but bass is on the slower side of things, creating a bit of warmth and bloom rather than raw rumble and deep shake of the sonic scape. Bass is uplifted all across the scope, from ultra sub bass all the way to upper midbass, at 80 Hz, above which it retreats rather quickly to avoid veiling and boominess, thus Defiant never sounds boomy, just warm and deep. That deep bass really comes alive with technical death metal and deathcore where it simply shakes the earth and your eyes inside your head if you’re taking the Defiant loud, but otherwise the bass does not come alive, a song needs to have information recorded in that area for the bass to be felt.
Midrange – Defiant is recessed in the midrange, especially lower midrange, so male voices sound a bit more open and thinner than the default variant, despite the extra warmth in the bass. Overall, it is snappy, quick and has a fairly detailed sound which comes through as revealing. Female voices are at a higher advantage, and at times it feels like Juzear tuned the Defiant to sound great with ACG, J-Pop, K-Pop and Pop in general, as it has a sweet voicing that works really well for anime soundtracks, openings, and for VTuber songs.
Treble – At the top we have a fairly bright presentation up to 8 kHz, so it gets in some of that more metallic cymbal crash, while treble extension goes as high as about 16 kHz before it rolls off entirely, and fairly quickly above 16 kHz. Music is generally not fatiguing nor harsh thanks to the treble texture, but treble can be an issue if you listen to a lot of bright tuned music. Defiant has a tendency to sound bright unless bass is intentionally played, as there’s not a lot of bass bleed, so when someone is playing a bass guitar, that is loud and thick, but for a song that does not have bass intentionally recorded, instruments do not have a lot of body.
PRaT / Textures / Dynamic – Defiant sounds clean, has a good texture and resolution for this price point, it is generally crisp sounding, considering the price point. It has a more relaxed, laid-back texture, it is not cutting edge nor is it analytical, it is easy on the ears and slightly musical.
Volume Control – Defiant sounds more strongly v-Shaped at higher volumes, and more natural, more balanced and more compressed at lower volumes. It struggles to sound as crisp and detailed at very low volumes, and the THD limitation can be felt at extreme volumes, where it can struggle to stay controlled (above 120 dB). For the price point, it handles volume equally well compared to the competition.
Soundstage – Defiant has a blended soundstage that is wide, it sounds closer to how speakers present music, layering and separation is not very high, instead it sounds groovy and instruments blend together nicely. It is quite good for rock, metal, but will sound better with non-technical music as the sound is generally a bit musical and smooth.
Value and Conclusion
Juzear Defiant is a rather cheap IEM by any standards and it tries to make a stand to lower the current status quo, but being priced at 85 USD instead of the usual 100 USD, it provides a strong package for the price point with a nice sound if you’re looking for its type of sonic signature. Considering the modular cable, Defiant is one of the best price / performance earphones you can buy at this price point.
At the end of the day, Juzear Defiant makes a nice entry for an entry-level IEM, reminding us of HiFiGo and their excellent, fast and reliable services, plus Defiant delivers a really neat, punchy, vivid sound with a thick bass, but a lightweight midrange, a V-Shaped presentation that is fun and enjoyable with all music styles. If you need a high-quality entry-level IEM, Defiant is fully recommended if you want to get a taste of that Chifi sweetness.
PROs
- Flexible cable, comfortable shells, no driver flex
- Beautiful design
- V-Shaped sound with a thick and fat bass
- Fairly sharp and punchy treble
- Good ergonomics in general, secure fit
Cons
- Distant voicing
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/44tQ7lC
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_ontvgWs
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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