Vsonic GR07 MK-II

Now that I’ve lost my last surviving earphone (an unauthorized ownership transfer, if you get what I mean), I’m no longer accompanied by my Westone 3. Still, a portable pair of earphones is needed, as bringing full-sized headphones out is a no-no for me.

Designed and manufactured in the land where most of our stuffs are made, Vsonic’s GR07 has a surprisingly good reputation in the audiophile community. Those who seek this pair of IEMs are mostly looking for the best bang-per-buck ratio available in the market.

In a nutshell, the GR07 is a dynamic IEM (as opposed to balance armature, or BA drivers gaining popularity lately). What makes it stands out from the rest is the use of bio-cellulose diaphragm, for increased sound quality, as well as its (patented) variable angle adjustable nozzle, for a better fit.

The MK-II (usually pronounced as mark two) is the latest product revision for GR07 – spotting cabling made out of 40 strands of silver (yep, Argentum) core for each of L/R channels, and 82 strands for ground.

Packaging

The GR07 MK-II comes in a minimalist white box (ala Japanese products). What’s interesting is it came with a self-sealing synthetic leather carrying bag, in place of a zipper pouch in the previous version.

The bag is generally more preferred over a pouch due to its ability to fit inside any standard sized pocket, in exchange for lower protection of the contents inside.

The GR07 MK-II comes with a generous amount (15 pairs) of ear tips, which one of them is Comply foam, and 3 pairs of hybrid foam-filled silicone eartips (interesting…)

Build

The jack a standard L-shaped gold-plated 3.5 mm TRS jack with strain reliefs. One must be extra careful with L-shaped jacks as putting it inside your trousers would strain the cables.

The silver cables are insulated with soft silicone, which doesn’t seem to offer much protection against tugging and other kinds of physical torture. Extra care is advised when handling the earphones (bah, I broke even Kevlar wrapped cables last time, boo-hoo).

Sound

Now, to the interesting part of this review – the sound. At the time of writing, I have yet to complete the recommended 300 hour burn-in, so the following perceptions might vary with a pair of fully burnt-in GR07 MK-II.

The sound stage is kind of standard for an IEM, slightly bigger than Westone 3 in my opinion, but definitely a no-match to a pair of full-sized headphone.

Treble extension is surprisingly good for IEM of this price (less than 1/2 the price of Westone 3, just to let you know), I do not perceive any difference in extension when compared to (my memories of QwQ) Westone 3 -  the highest of highs are finely reproduced.

The only complaint I could give to the treble response is the instability when it comes to the sound of crashing cymbals – they are very harsh and grainy to my ears. “Sibilance” is perhaps the term that I should coin here.

The mids are very smooth with just the right amount of clarity, making this pair of earphones perform exceptionally well in vocal tracks. No complaints here!

Good extension is achieved in the bass, the GR07 MK-II is able to deliver the deepest of bass without a hitch. As for bass quality, “natural” is what I put it – not as tight as most BA drivers which lacks the timbre of good ‘ol bass, but all within good control.

Bass-heads will probably not be satisfied with the bass quantity, as this pair of earphones is designed with neutrality in mind, which is a good thing especially when listening to classical instruments. For a phatter bass response there is always an EQ away, anyways – as the GR07 MK-II will not fail to deliver if you really demand it.

Conclusions

“No surprises” is what I would give if you ask me for a verdict. It’s definitely a good pair of earphones – cheaper ones like Fischer Audio Silver Bullet would not even come close in terms sonic accuracy, but then again, they’re just around 1/3 of the price of GR07 MK-II =P

For a pair of IEMs at half the price of Westone 3, it came with only one drawback related to sibilance, I would say it really gave an awesome bang-per-buck ratio.

Recommended.

シフト！

No, it doesn’t necessarily go faster when you step harder on the gas pedal, unless you’re (a lucky kid) driving an automatic or simply afford a kick-ass engine.

On a 1.1 ton body equipped with a very modest 1.3 litre powerhouse, shifting technique could make it between totally un-drivable to a arguably fun-to-drive machine.

Driving an ICE requires gradual shifting, jumping queues (unless you know what you’re doing) will not get you anywhere and might even stall it.

Driving with the throttle wide open, unless in very specific conditions, will not go any much faster than an optimized throttle, but burns fuel like igniting a bucket of petrol.

There are two types of shifting techniques – early shift and power shift.

(all techniques are based on Mitsubishi 4G13 SOHC EFI on a 1.1 ton chassis)

Early Shift

This is the most economical way of shifting, suitable to be used in city driving conditions where it is unnecessary to accelerate rapidly. It exploits the low RPM torque of the ICE, right before the torque dip.

Basically has the following mappings on flat terrain:

1. 0 – moving slightly
2. moving slightly – 30 km/h
3. 30  – 40 km/h
4. 40  – 50 km/h
5. 50 km/h and beyond

In the case of congested traffic, reduce all numbers by 5 km/h.

Power Shift

This is to get you moving as fast as possible, suitable for sprinting from toll booth into the highway and overtaking. It is also the most fuel inefficient method (besides bad shifting).

Mapping on flat terrain:

1. 0 – 40 km/h
2. 40 – 60 km/h
3. 60 – 80 km/h
4. 80 – 100 km/h
5. 100 km/h and beyond

Throttle Levels

For congested traffic, keep your throttle at 10% or less. 20% throttle for city driving and normal highway acceleration. 50% throttle in highways if you don’t plan to burn your pocket. If you reach 80% throttle and you’re below 4000 rpm, you’re doing it wrong. 100% throttle when you’re doing it at near redline at 5th gear.

Increase throttle only when you feel the RPM is rising with the opening of throttle (responsive). If it doesn’t (sluggish), either keep your throttle that way (if you’re comfortable with the speed), or try downshifting (if you’re trying to accelerate).

Additional Notes

Shifting and throttling heavily depends on the vehicle. My numbers are based on everyday commuting of 100 km for a year while monitoring the fuel consumption.