Disclaimer
I got this product as a review unit from UCOTECH. Except from the review unit I did not receive money or any other necessities to influence the review in anyway. This is my honest and unbiased opinion on UCOTECH ES-P3. My likes and dislikes on this earbud are based solely on my own personal experience. If you’re interested in buying ES-P3 check out UCOTECH.
Intro
UCOTECH is a South Korean brand known for their amazing Audio products such as IEMs and earbuds. The brand was established in 2007, they manufacture all their products in South Korea. ES-P3 is one of their recent unit, which they’re currently selling for less than $300. A earbuds for that price, will it worth it? That’s what this review is about. Let’s start with the build and design.
It is mentioned on UCOTECH’s website that, the shipping charge is free for product over $50.
Design & Build Quality
First of all, hats off to UCOTECH for making this amazing set. I find no room for complaining.
Starting from the housing, almost every single part of the shell is made out of lightweight aluminum, if not all. Here is an image where you can see every parts inside and outside the shell.
The front side of the shell, the stainless ring is smooth finished. The stainless protector is smooth finished as well. The lift and right indicator is enraged on the inner side of the stem with the letter “L” & “R”.
The color of bottom housing and top housing Ass’y is brown colored, saddle shade. The back of the shell has shiny stainless border, where the saddle part of the body is matte finished. The back is attached with a screw, under which there is a vent for bass control.
The inner side of the pipe is covered by the top housing, where the outer side has a cutout and shown to the world. The pipe is made out of stainless steel.
The cable is really robust, it’s an OCC cable with silver plating on top. Audio output is 4.4 balanced and termination MMCX. The Splitter of the cable is robust as well, I find myself using it very often. Blue side of the cable is indicated with the letter “L” & “R”.
The cutting case is quite practical and recently large for a earbud. Contains the converter takes half of the space in the box. It has a rubber band in the middle which separates the connector box and the earbuds. Personally I don’t like it, in certain scenarios like this it’s useful. It’s a solid case overall.
The 4.4 to 3.5 converter is of quality, it’s robust. I have seen these type of jack as aftermarket custom cables. So it’s definitely a premium one.
In the box they have provided earpads, ear hooks, rubber rings. The stock ones are of decent quality, so 3rd party is not required.
This is probably the nicest thing they’ve provided. I’m really a big fan of these type of personal touches such as letters, flowers. The only thing missing in this is an actual handwritten letter. Regardless, inside the envelope they have provided the warranty card and an anime girl, generally anime fans and OTAKUs call them “Waifu”. As an anime fan, I don’t think she’s waifi material. Thought she can be a good addition to an actual waifu’s child.
Comfort
Comfort on earbuds are pretty much the same. It depends on you whether you feel comfortable or not. For me it’s decently comfortable. Except it’s a bit on the heavier side, as any of the earbuds have tried previously were built with plastic. On top of it the cable is robust and also add weights to the set. So if it’s not fit well, it might fall off from your ears. After fitting them properly in my ears, I never felt like they’ll fall off.
For isolation there is not much to say, almost all the earbuds are same. Changing foams might give you an improvement of 5% to 7%, but that’s all you get from an earbud.
Sources
- Ibasso DC04 Pro
- Ibasso DC Elite
- Cayin Ru7
- Cayin Ru6
- Fosi audio DS1
- IFI Hip-Dac 2
- Cayin N3 ultra
- Plenue R2
- KAEI Tap-2
- DUNU DTC-480
- Moondrop Dawn Pro
Any dac that has good soundstage and neutral presentation will sound nice with ES-P3. DC04 pro, DS1, hip-dac and N3 ultra paired really well with them. Ru6 and 7 as well. Try avoiding DACs that are bright such as Moondrop dawn pro. It’s not 50, neither 100. It’s a 165Ω driver with a sensitivity of just 100db! You need power and only power to drive this thing. No need to spend on extra accessories, just invest on a good dongle and you’re good to go.
All of the DACs were paired with KAEI TAP-2.
Packaging
- ES-P3 drivers
- OCC 6N 4 core silver plated cable (4.4 mmcx)
- 4.4 to 3.5 convertor
- A plastic box
- A carrying case
- Earpads
- Ear hooks
- Rubber rings
- Warranty card
- A card with an anime girl
Specifications
- Model: ES-P3
- Cavity Material: Full Metal Steel
- Drivers: 15.4mm Dynamic Drivers
- Diaphragm: Double-Dome Diaphragm
- Cable Info: OCC 6N 4core Silver-Plated
- Cable Plug: 4.4mm Balanced Ended
- Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz
- Impedance: 165Ω±15% (@1kHz)
- Sensitivity: 100dB/mW (@1kHz)
Specification source: UCOTECH
Pairings
Eartips (Foams)
- Stock
Yeah, except from the stock I have nothing in my collection. I do have but those are from my other earbuds. So yeah, sticking with the stock stuff. It’s good thought, except from the task of fitting them.
Cable
- Stock
I could actually change the cable. However, it would be a waste as the stock cable provided with earbud might be better than many aftermarket cables. So let’s enjoy this product with the accessories provided in the box. It’s kinda refreshing and easy to use, as I don’t have to go back and forth. Companies should prioritize more on stock accessories for non-Audiophiles.
Sound Quality
If you’re trying ES-P3 for the first time, The first thing you’re going to notice is the clarity and the control bass. The soundstage and instrument separation will definitely amaze you. And you’re definitely going to love the mid-range presentation.
The two most interesting things about this earbud are definitely going to be the pipes for air control and the double dome diaphragm.
The pipes are basically used for creating bass and rich mids. They said it to be a ’90s technology, which is called “Pipe-phone”. Here is an easy explanation of the pipes on how they work.
First of all, the ear is controlled from the back of the speaker. It uses an L-shaped pipe to move the air to the speaker using another U-shaped pipe. And lastly it goes through another L-shaped pipe. And the air escapes from the vent located at the back of the shells. The “Turbo hole deco” to be exact.
The 15.4 mm double dome diaphragm is used for high resolution and possibly air in treble. I have no clue how exactly this dynamic driver make it possible, but you can definitely feel that it works.
Me casually explaining how earbud works while barely passing my final exams. All the explanation is on UCOTECH’s website so whatever. On paper it seems great, let’s see how practical are these.
One thing to note, just before uploading the review, I’ve got to try this with the hip-dac 2. Even thought the soundstage is way smaller compared to my dac and amp combo, the sound signature feels astonishing.
Sub-Bass
The Sub-bass is on the softer side, the presence is on the lower side. It’s controlled and sweetened the overall presentation. Decays fast, rumbles nicely, has good details, but sometimes it does misses some due to note weight. Not because the drivers are incapable or anything, it’s due to earbud’s poor isolation. The Sub-bass definitely plays an important role on its mid-range.
Mid-Bass
Compared to the Sub-bass, the Mid-bass is boosted. It’s speedy and has a nice presence. Never feel muddy or sloppy. The texture of the Mid-bass is really nice, it’s quite subtle and gentle. Never feels harsh. The decaying of Mid-bass feels like it fades on the back of your head. Has a really nice body, thus drums sound amazing. The bass definitely bleeds into the mid-range and causes loss of some details. But on most of the tracks, it just work as a compliment, making the mids warm and soothing.
Mid-range
Other than the build quality, mid-range is the nicest thing that this earbuds can provide you with. The clarity is worth giving attention, with the warm rich sound. It sound natural. The instrument played in this region such as piano, harmonica sound amazing with the clarity along with the bass that helps it further to sound full bodied. Although, some of the notes of both piano and harmonica sound harsh. String instrument are complimented by the bass as well.
Male Vocals
Male vocals on this sound phenomenal, sound fuller with a graveness. Vocals are stays in the center, complimented by instruments from right and left. It’s forward, but doesn’t overwhelm any instruments particularly. Depends on the presentation and tracks though, it’s a possibility. But I’ve never noticed it to take over the sound of an instrument. The vocals are full bodied and has good nice smooth texture.
Female Vocals
If the male vocals are phenomenal, the female vocals are “phenomenaler”. Well even thought it’s not a real word, the female vocals sound incredible for real! As it’s quite forward, they made the texture smooth to create a softer presence. On rare occasions, it can create fatigue due to the forwardness, but mostly it doesn’t. The ascending are quite smooth without any distortion or lag. Descending on the other hand is not as fluent as the ascending of female artists. Female artists with lower pitch vocals sound incredible!
Treble
The lower treble shows excellent details with clarity. It’s not resolving, but the way this earbud is presented, it overall plays on the safer side being inoffensive. I could easily pick up details that budget IEMs are incapable of. The upper treble has air, a lots of it. Due to that, it feels spacious.
Instruments
Without any doubt, the instrument seperation is topnotch! Every riffs of guitar, every drums slam can be felt individually. Instruments like drums, piano are complimented by the bass. The Mid-bass creates a great drums presentation. String instruments such as guitars, ukulele, violin sound great with such separation. All of the instruments mentioned sound quite resolute.
Soundstage & Imaging
Earbuds are well known for their soundstage and imaging. Even thought you might trust your best friend with your heart and soul, in imaging while providing direction, earbuds are more trust worthy. Hope my friends don’t find out this review, or I’m done for.
The stage of ES-P3 is big, yeah really big and wide. Along with the air on upper region of treble, it feels really spacious. Feels immersive overall. The imaging is accurate, even while listening to music, I can precisely tell of there’s an instrument that’s capable of moving or moved once. Enough for now, as I’ll be discussing them further on gaming section.
Mobile Gaming
This is a device that you can trust with your eyes closed while playing any FPS games, except you’ll be killed without no mercy. It’s deserving thought, as it feels cheating to use such capable device, while my foes play with TWS or something like QKZ DM7/9/10.
Anyways, if it’s a smaller map, you have the advantage of scanning the whole map thought your ears, something like a sensory gadget. Precise imaging makes it more viable. Even enemies on floors above or under can be spotted.
In-game voice can be heard the loud and clear. Teammates voices are also audible precisely. Grandes or explosives create problems as always, but doesn’t stays for long. After having them, I feel like setting my IGN (in game name) to Incredible Turan…. LAME!
Why should you consider it
- If you prefer warm sound with clarity
- If you like rich mid-range
- If you like inoffensive treble
- If you like a bit forward vocals
- If you’re a serious gamer
- If you like using the stock accessories
- If you listen music in a quite place
Why should you look elsewhere
- If you’re a bass head
- If you don’t like forward vocals
- If you’re a treble head
- If you need strong isolation
- If you don’t plan on investing on a powerful source
Verdicts
It’s time for making a decision, whether this device would be a worthy for your purchase or not. It totally depends on you preference, budget and priorities. It is slightly warm rich sounding device, little boosted in the upper mid-range and treble area. It’s an earbud, so definitely not for someone who needs isolation. For the price, the offering is actually good. The built along with the sound quality is commendable. Only thing you need is a powerful source, maybe a dongle which provides more than 100mw.
It was really an amazing experience. Playing games was the most fun part while using them. Thanks again UCOTECH for giving me the opportunity. Due to my on going exams, I’ll be taking a short break, or maybe long. Will start posting again after some adjustments.
Until then,
Keep on listening ·͜·♡
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