Watch full review here: https://youtu.be/HINKywfQp-g

Price:

$379 (PHP 21,000.00)

PROS: 

• Beautiful shell
• Very snug fit and seal
• Very comfortable
• Thick, rich, and nuanced bass with great texture
• Organic sounding mids with good note weight and definition
• Well-extended treble with good microdetail
• Technicalities punch above its price

CONS:

• Lackluster inclusions
• Not the widest/most immersive stage
• Occasional roughness in the treble
• Tuning switches has minimal changes

WHO THIS SET IS FOR

• People who want a thick, rich and nuanced bass
• People who want a neutral bass boost set
• People who want a snug fitting and good sealing set
• People who want a technically competent, warm sounding set

WHO THIS SET ISN’T FOR

• Hardcore timbreheads
• People who want a smooth, natural sounding treble
• People don’t like tuning switches
• People who want more accessories

RECOMMENDED GENRES:

• HipHop
• R&B
• Pop
• Funk

SHORT REVIEW:

The Yanyin Canon II completely redefined my idea of what I liked in IEMs. It provides such a rich, deep and nuanced bass while keeping a harmonious balance on the midrange and treble. Never has a set captivated me this much, and it truly is a feat considering its $379 asking price. It’s not perfect, as the treble might come across a little gritty and a lack of accessories. But all is well considering how good this thing sounds as a whole. RECOMMENDED!

FULL REVIEW

Every once in a while, you get to try something that makes you rethink your preferences. As a treblehead, I tout myself for enjoying clean, crisp, and transparent sound that’ll bring out all the detail in the music that I listen to. 

But what happens when a seemingly unassuming set arrives at my doorstep and shatters my perception of what I think I like? And what makes it so damn good, despite its completely opposite approach to what I like? Let’s talk about the $379 Yanyin Canon II.

DISCLAIMER:  The Yanyin Canon II was sent to me in exchange for my honest thoughts. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity. I was not paid. Rest assured, my thoughts and opinions on this product will be my own honest opinions and will not be affected by the facts beforehand. 

PREPARE THE CANON, TOO!

Prior to the Canon II, I was not familiar with Yanyin. I was aware that they made the original Canon (as it would be weird to call the first product in a lineup with a 2) as well as HBBs collaboration with them named the Mahina. Both were rather boutique sets but very well-received by the community. 

In fairness, they are quite a new brand in the grand scale of Chi-Fi. But that doesn’t mean they’re inexperienced. They consist of enthusiast audiophiles with the goal of delivering top-tier audio performance without breaking the bank. In this review, you’ll see why Yanyin is a brand you might want to start paying attention to in the upcoming years as they’ve begun to show their potential with the Canon II. 

Unboxing and Inclusions

The Canon II admittedly does not come exactly in the prettiest box. It’s a very simple black box with very difficult-to-understand text so you’ll have to make the effort of reading the text. 

But opening the box, you’re met with a rather pretty postcard of the Canon 2 that covers the goodies. 

Here’s a full list of the inclusions: 

(4x) Eartips SML

(1x) Pleather Pouch

(1x) 3.5mm Cable

(2x) Yanyin Canon II IEMs

(1x) Tuning Switch

The Canon II is definitely not going to be winning any awards in regards to its inclusions, but they are welcome nonetheless. The eartips aren’t the best earips to pair with the Canon II, but they are functional enough to be used in a pinch or when you have literally nothing else. 

The carrying pouch on the other hand is quite nice. It feels very premium with its faux leather finish, velvet internals and big enough webbing to fit the case of eartips and maybe a small DAC. It’s nothing too special, but it’s once again very welcome. 

I can’t help but feel like more inclusions would’ve definitely made the Canon II a more desirable set to get for the price of $379. You have companies giving high-quality modular cables, premium ear tips and cases for under $100, so the only reason I can assume that Yanyin was not able to was that they put all their focus into providing a pair of fundamentally good in-ears

BUILD & FIT

Before we talk about the beauty that is the Canon II on the outside, let’s talk about its internals; The Yanyin Canon II features a hybrid driver configuration of 1DD and 4BAs. However, that 1DD is special as it’s not your usual DLC LCP, or Beryllium diaphragm. This uses bio. diaphragm. In simple terms, this basically means it’s paper, but many sets in the past have featured this bio-diaphragm and all of them feature a rich, deep, and thick bass. Think the Sony MDR R10 with its textured bass. That should give you an idea of what the Canon II might be. 

But moving to externals, the Canon 2 is your usual resin-made IEM with a very beautiful looking green and black colorway that honestly makes it look like a starry space filled with green-colored celestial bodies. 

As the trend goes for many ChiFi sets today, the Canon 2 features 2 dip switches. I’ll talk more in-depth about what they do, but having only 2 was definitely a breath of fresh air for me as I don’t have to fiddle around with different configurations that might just end up having little to no changes whatsoever. 

But probably the best thing about the Canon II’s exterior is its fit. This thing fits so snugly in my ears that I ended up using this for commutes more than I wanted to. It was such a stable fit in my ear and didn’t induce any air pressure build-up meaning this was arguably the best-fitting IEM I’ve tried since the AFUL Performer IEMs. Seriously, this was an absolute treat to wear from the moment I put it in all the way to the 8th hour of my listening session. 

SOUND

NOTE: As the Yanyin Canon II features tuning switches, I will be describing the sound on the stock configuration which is the all-up (II). I’ll be comparing the other modes in its own section

Sound Signature

The Yanin Canon II features a warm neutral sound signature with extra low-end emphasis, somewhat warm and rich mids, and a neutral mid to top end. There’s a very slight sharpness in the upper frequencies that might come across as a little unnatural sounding, but it was kept to a minimum thanks to the emphasis on the low-end

Drivability and Source Pairing

Despite the 27/40ohm and 112db sensitivity rating of the Canon II, I HIGHLY recommend pairing this with a cleaner and more powerful source. I found that on cheaper sources, the bass can often sound mushy and smoothened out, but even something like the old ZIshan U1 with the AK4493 chip made the Canon II sing like it has never done before. Also, using a better source will allow the Canon II to sound pretty good on low listening sessions which was an absolutely treat for me. 

Bass

I’m not kidding when I say this, this is probably the best bass I’ve heard in any set under $1000 that I’ve personally heard. There may be some voodoo magic happening here but the bass of the Canon II is just so rich, thick, and texture while keeping it clean enough to not intrude on the midrange. It’s almost crazy how a 300hz tuck would sound this good, considering I usually prefer a more linear bass presentation. But the Canon II showed it had a lot of tricks up its sleeve just from the bass alone. 

I especially loved listening to Bruno Mars’ songs on the Canon II. Chunky has never sounded more chunky than on the Canon II. The bass guitar from the first verse exuded such texture and nuance that I have not heard in an IEM anywhere else. It walked the fine line between being boomy and being tight and I LOVE IT. No set has ever sounded just dirty enough to make it sound heaps fun while hiding a tie and a suit under its party clothes. 

Another track is Get On the Floor by Michael Jackson. This is a track I love to listen to when testing the bass quality and quantity balance of sets. And boy, this is by far the best set to do it out of all sets I’ve spent a considerable amount of time on. Each slap and pluck is so nuanced and textured that you might even think this was tuned specifically to make this track sound good. 

Mids

When you have that much focus on the bass, you’d expect the midrange to be somewhat sacrificed. Not on the Canon II. At least, if you’re not into thin and lean-sounding vocals. The overall midrange presentation of the Canon II exudes richness and nuance in both vocals and instruments. I would say that lower mids have a slightly more defined emphasis compared to the upper mids, but the upper mids are just as nuanced and rich sounding as the lower mids without pushing itself to be the star of the show. 

 Going back to Bruno Mars, That’s What I like sounded absolutely amazing on the Canon II. Bruno’s Vocals along with the accompanying instrumentation had near perfect harmony. I also want to note the bass on this track on the Canon II is absolutely fantastic, but we’re done fawning over that. The mids are so well balanced on Bruno Mars’ vocals and just goes to show how you can get a pretty meaty low end without sacrificing midrange clarity and nuance. 

However, I should note that this is not the most open-sounding midrange. Due to the warmth and somewhat tamer upper midrange presentation, it ends up putting a lot of instruments in front of you more than around you which is a respectable trade-off for having such a rich presentation. But this does mean you’re not getting a very immersive or out-of-your-head listening experience with this Canon II. 

Treble

This is arguably the Canon II’s Achilles heel as despite providing a respectable amount of treble emphasis and extension, it suffers from something many hybrids struggle with which is finding that balance of sparkly and tight treble with good microdetails and a smooth treble to compliment the low end. Due to the somewhat looser nature of the Canon II’s bass, the treble tries its best to slow down. But the treble still pushes ahead very slightly when it comes to the attack of electric guitars and the following reverb sounds slightly disjointed. It’s not that big of a problem, especially if you’re in it for the bass. But it’s something you should take note of when purchasing this and expecting perfect timbre. 

Tambalan by UDD is a great example of how good the treble of the Canon II can be, but also where it might fall short. This song has very well-defined percussive hits that complement the rich and nuanced bass. While sounding quite crisp and detailed in most instances, the chorus really brings out the somewhat incoherent nature of the Canon II that puts the percussive over the bass. Again, not necessarily a deal-breaker per se but timbre heads beware. 

Technicalities

Now this genuinely surprised me. Warm/bassy IEMs usually compromise technicalities for musicality. But not Canon II. 

Despite its warmth, it stays resolving with good separation, layering, and imaging capabilities. I’ll talk more about the imaging capabilities in the gaming section, but damn these are surprisingly capable. You could tell they really refined the drivers on the Canon II due to how musical-leaning its tuning is for how well instruments are separated and layered. And don’t get me started on dynamics. 

That Bio-film diaphragm may just be magic because for the amount of bass this has, it never sounded muddy and every note just sounded too snappy and well-defined while having a thickness that usually comes across just as muddy. 

But like I said previously, this isn’t the most out-of-your-head listing experience which is to be expected for IEMs. But the Canon II in particular doesn’t try to do that with its tuning either as it’s more linear and pushes detail more than inducing a more expansive head-stage. 

VARIANTS

Up Down (10) – Balances the bassier and fun nature of the 11 configurations with the tightness and sub bass focus of the 00 configuration 

Down Down (00) – Pushes the midbass down and makes this a more vocal-oriented set. I thought I’d like this configuration more, but it emphasized the roughness in the treble which I didn’t like as much. 

Down Up (01) – Very similar to the 10 configuration but slightly louder. 

REAL WORLD USAGE

Casual Use

While desktop use was great and I had a lot of fun watching YouTube videos and movies, commutes were where the Canon 2 really stood out. Its very snug-fitting shell, great seal, and warmer-leaning sound signature guarantee that for from the start of your commute til the end, you’ll have an amazing time. And for the days I had these, these absolutely amazing and blocked off a lot of fundamental noise while slightly blocking out the smaller noises like low engine rumbles, high-pitched sounds and the like. I was able to enjoy both music and visual media on the Canon II and it was just an amazing experience that I didn’t expect an almost $400 would be able to do, considering many sets here are more music-focused than anything. 

Gaming Use

Gaming is another segment that the Canon II excels in due to its tuning. I found that many games NEED extra low-end emphasis to bring out smaller, low-frequency sounds like footsteps and ruffling that might not be present in leaner sets. This means that games like Valorant and Escape from Tarkov were an absolute treat on the Canon II. However, the trade-off with the stage makes it barely out of my top reccs for gaming IEMs. Especially for the price, I still think you can get cheaper sets catered to gaming better than the Canon II. But if you’re going on double duty with music and games, the Canon II won’t disappoint. 

COMPARISONS

Before I talk about comparisons, I just want to say that this price range is a wild west right now. Not a lot of competent sets here, so I might end up comparing the Canon II to stuff either more expensive or cheaper than the Canon II. Just a heads up!

VS AFUL Performer 8

Probably the closest comparison I can think of against the Canon II, the Performer 8 has a more linear sound presentation with extra treble spice compared to the Canon II. Where I was genuinely surprised was with how both sets achieved a very impressive bass presentation while doing it differently.

The Performer 8 is tight, it’s clean but it goes very deep and has a very distinct low-end kick that gives a lot of life to the music you listen to while keeping the mids sounding neutral thanks to its somewhat eargain-cut tuning. 

The Canon II on the other hand boosts that bass to a borderline boomy level, but just under it to provide a very fun but still well-done presentation. 

And funnily enough, both sets suffer from top-end sharpness and edginess that might contrast the slower low end. The incoherency isn’t as bad on the Performer 8, but it pushes the treble a little too much to the point of it sounding borderline sibilant. This is a problem that the Performer 5 had but to a lesser degree. 

But in the end, I’d personally choose the Canon II as it balances out the overall sound better than the Performer 8 despite the Performer 8 sound just a tad bit more “neutral” and cleaner than the Canon II

VS Simgot EA2000

A complete contrast to the warm neutral tuning of the Canon II, the EA2000 is bold, bright and brash. It throws a lot of treble energy onto you with enough bass to taste. I would say both sets are complimentary and it’ll end up depending on your preferences, but the EA2000 exhibits a level of coherency despite the insanely overly emphasized treble with an equally as snappy low end with a lot of texture, tightness and cleanliness. 

The EA2000 has a cleaner bass presentation with a more nuanced texture and detail (probably thanks to the PR) but is fundamentally borked by the upper mids and treble being overly emphasized compared to the Canon II’s generally more balanced sound. 

Both sets are great, but timbre heads or treble sensitive would probably be better off with Canon II

VS Softears Studio 4

Another contrasting set in configuration and tuning, the Studio 4 has one of the most neutral tuning I’ve heard in any IEM. Seriously, tuning-wise the Studio 4 is probably the best IEM that I’ve tried and that’s insane. 

But that just means that it doesn’t have the same kick and fun that the Canon II has. While the Studio 4 aims for neutrality and proper monitoring prowess, the Canon II is what you’d use to enjoy your mix by adding a little bit more low-end and top-end spice.

Surprisingly, both sets have similar technical abilities. The Studio 4 dampens a lot of the sharper transients while the Canon II’s low end balances out the emphasis in the top end. 

Very complimentary sets and two that you should consider if you wanted a formal and party in-ear duo. 

VS Letshuoer S15

From hybrid to planar, the S15 features a warmer, more natural-sounding tuning compared to the Canon II. This also means that the S15 ends up being a more chill listening experience compared to the Canon II’s fun and energetic sound.

Where the two fundamentally differ is how coherent the overall sound it. Despite being a planar set, the S15 captures this perfect balance of speed and musicality that no other planars have achieved before. This means that it isn’t as sparkly as other planars do, but it puts it ahead in terms of tightness and resolving ability compared to the Canon II.

Where the Canon II leaps ahead, however, is just how much more enjoyable the Canon II is when listening to more energetic genres. The S15 follows a very similar philosophy to the Studio 4, but takes a warmer, more midcentric approach that makes it a considerably more linear-sounding IEM compared to the Canon II. 

Once again, another complimentary set and two that ride the fine line of too fun and too boring. 

CONCLUSIONS: 

In my impressions video, I called the Canon II one of the best to do bass under $500, maybe even $1000. And I stand by that. The Canon II’s bass is the perfect blend of musicality and tightness that no other IEM has achieved under $1000 that I’ve tried. 

And the fact that it does that while keeping the mids and treble generally well balanced and compliments the bass is an insane feat, even if the $379 for a 1DD + 4BA might seem a little steep. It’s worth every single penny in my opinion. 

But it’s not perfect. No IEM is, but the Canon II still suffers from hybrid issues with the treble just being a tad bit faster than the decay of the bass. This is common for a lot of hybrids, even at higher price ranges, so in a way I understand the limitation of this form. But that just goes to show that even the best has its downfall. And the Canon II is the closest I can get to the perfect definition of fun. 

Thank you so much for reading my review of the Yanyin Canon II. Big thanks to Joseph Yeung and Yanyin Technology for sending over the Canon II for review. If you would like to order one, consider using the non-affiliated link below: https://www.linsoul.com/products/yanyin-canon-ii

If you have any questions or concerns, contact me on my Facebook page or at obodioreviews@gmail.com

Enjoy music and have a great day!