By Nick Smith, 13th August 2024
One of life’s biggest challenges isn’t getting what we want, it’s knowing what we want.
You’ve probably experienced this. For months or years you’ve dreamed of achieving or owning something you’re sure will make you happy… then the moment you get it you realise it isn’t what you wanted.
It’s so hard knowing precisely what we need until we try a lot of what’s out there, and it often feels like what we want doesn’t exist until we find it.
I mention this because the ISN Neo5s have been my recommendation for IEMs under $500, recently displaced by the Penon Quattros, and I’ve dreamed of what the next #1 would actually sound like…
…enter the ISN H60s. I was sent these a few weeks back in exchange for my thoughts and immediately felt the winds of change blowing. Even out of the box they sounded great, but are they giantkillers?
Enough foreplay, you need to hear how these sound.
Packaging
The USD $349 ISN H60s arrive in a fairly small cardboard box, inside is a petit leatherette case, the IEMs with stock 2pin cable, three sets of silicone eartips in 3 sizes, a shirt clip and IEM cleaning tool.
It’s the same package we’ve seen for previous ISN earphones, for $349 there are more lavish unboxing experiences out there though I prefer knowing more of my money has gone towards the IEMs themselves. Still, at this price I can imagine some folks wishing for a fancier box & more accessories.
The stock cable is a fairly minimal 4 wire OCC copper affair available in your choice of 2.5mm, 3.5mm or 4.4mm terminations. Fairly thin & flexible, ergonomically I’ve no complaints but performance can definitely be improved further by spending more on one of ISN Audio’s beefier aftermarket cable options.
Ergonomics
The H60s’ vented medical-grade resin shells feel extremely smooth, but are large and stick out quite far.
Surprisingly for my ears their size doesn’t impact comfort, so I’ve had far worse fits from smaller IEMs. This is because the H60s’ shells are actually quite narrow in the areas close to the nozzle which make contact with one’s ears, so most of the bulk sits well outside the ear itself.
I’ve noticed for instance the Penon Quattros are considerably smaller, yet I prefer the H60s’ fit due to their more ergonomic shape. This also means although H60 isolation is decent, they don’t isolate as spectacularly as some similarly-large IEMs.
Page 1 – Introduction, Packaging & Ergonomics
Page 2 – Sound Impressions & Technical Performance
Page 3 – IEM Comparisons
Page 4 – Cable Comparisons
Page 5 – Conclusion
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