Long story short, if you’re reading this, you’ve probably seen a Facebook ad of this Filipino company that makes custom earphones. And you’re probably curious what consumer bloggers think about it.

So, I’m weighing in!

Probably like you, I saw the ads. And then I read them, added to cart, and effectively bit the bait and got pulled in to getting one and then pulled my sister in to buying another one for herself.

Here’s what I think about it.

Filipino. Custom. Earphones.

Filipino. Custom. Earphones .Those are three words you do not hear very often in the scene unless you’re a local audio junkie who happens to be well-immersed in the scene. I am not. I only know of one other company that does this, but the last time I checked, they only do custom in-ear monitors.

They primarily serve musicians and the true-blue audiophile.

The Commoner’s Boutique?

Koast Audio is different. They make “normal” earphones. They market it as being “underpriced”. They say it sounds good. They describe it like they know their stuff. They photograph their products like they’re pieces of art.

The good news: they back it up!

I bought the Mithi model and I recommended that my sister buy the Hiraya model, preferring earbuds over in-ears, and she did.

We looked at them, we slid our hands down the “woven” cable, we listened to them, and the ads and reviews are generally true.

Review Context and Expectations

There are some people that say that these sound a lot like some insert-hi-fi-IEM-brand here, and I’m not here to tell you that because they don’t. The sound has “color” for sure. But they sound unique in a suprisingly nice way. They have their own “signature” if you will — and this is me talking with only having listened to AV32s for the most part of my music listening life, T110, Urbanears from back in the days, and the M40x only for almost just two weeks. I also now have a new T2 in-ears while typing this but I don’t think the world needs another blogger writing about it.

That “Niche” Balanced (Not Neutral) Sound Signature

The low-end rumbles, the tamed highs, and the biting mids are all there. Yes, the passive noise isolation is there. Put the level to 70% and you would barely hear anybody or anything around you in the average office or home setting. But more on that later.

My songs are respectfully reproduced. It doesn’t turn my Underoath songs in to muddy and muffled messes or worse, a “hiss-fest”. I am not a “basshead” and might have wanted less punch in the low-mids to the “low-lows”, but you know, it’s fine. It’s perfectly fine. You can learn to love it. I did!

Sure your sound will get colored, sure you’re probably not getting the “v-shape” sound that you would in a, say KZ because you have such a “consumer’s ear”. Sure it will be as warm as listening to your favorite tunes inside a log cabin (which doesn’t even really exist in the Philippines), but that doesn’t make it bad. It doesn’t!

Warm is good. Warm isn’t bad. Actually, warm is pretty rare as far as I understand, yes? Yes, this is warm… but not too warm.

This is a just-right sound signature. “Balanced” they say. Not neutral — balanced.

The low-end may be a bit “splashy”, it might not be as “tight” on the percussive genres I listen to — but it’s fine. That or it’s the way CLA mixed Underoath.

Come to think of it, it’s better than fine. Because it’s not an awful earphone. It’s far from it. And I must say that it will live up to its hype after a few hours of burn-in and when your ears get accustomed to the sound as well.

Good Enough Drum Practice Monitors

As I test earphones, I’ll use it like how I usually use them. I use it while playing drums.

I would test how much it blocks out noise from the drums. I don’t want to have to turn up the volume too loud and risk damaging my hearing just to hear the track I’m playing on.

If it does it well, it’s going in to my list. That means good “external noise attenuation”.

I used it — and I’d darn use it again — as a monitor for my drum jams. It blocks out the pretty powerful noise of the instrument fairly well. And I am by no means a soft hitter. I jam to metal songs.

You know what might be missing here to make it a quite decent practice in-ears? Those triple-flange ear tips.

No ANC here. We don’t do that here, folks. You kind of don’t need it on this one depending on how many dBs of attenuation you’re looking for.

One of The Coolest Looking Earphones I Have Ever Seen So Far

Sexy, gorgeous, beautiful sounding, beautiful looking, and it comes in a case — a case! — and some extras and freebies when you buy it.

The cables — those gorgeous cables — also make the purchase worth it. The jack feels hefty. The shells are made of real and actual wood.

I think the way that these earphones look is an important part of their selling point — and I’m sold! They do a great job at making the coolest wooden earphones I have ever seen in the category they’re in.

If that doesn’t sound like they’re serious about the whole boutique-for-the-masses vibe that they got going on, then I don’t know what that should be telling of.

Facebook page is here, can be bought online here.

Postscript

If there is one downside to what these in-ears are trying to be, all things considered, that would be the mic that comes at a special request anyway. If I had another chance to order, I wouldn’t have it with the mic because: 1.) people I talk to say it picks up sounds so well, they can hear background noise clearly (so no noise-cancelling there), and 2.) I’ll miss the rad heavy duty l-shape connector which looks way better than the “vertical” jacks they have to use for cables with mics.

I have since turned the Mithi over to my girlfriend and she also loves it. And depending on how the wind blows I might just buy the MMCX version specifically for drum practice. We’ll see.

I didn’t take photos because 1.) a bit too lazy, 2.) the ad assets are already accurate. As far as I’ve seen, there is essentially nothing new to see that isn’t fairly represented in the official photographs and other reviews online.

Cover photo for the article is literally taken from their Facebook page under fair use terms.

Disclaimer

Not sponsored. No x-deals. Nada. I bought the unit with my own money, and I thought I’d share my thoughts on it.