The Yinyoo A8 was sent to me in a box with seveal other models I ordered from Wooeasy Earphones. I didn’t request them, nor did anyone at Wooeasy mention reviewing them so I am not sure of the intent. Several others have mentioned receiving these at roughly the same time so I think this is perhaps just a way to get more coverage of the product by sending out a few pairs. I received no compensation for this review, nor was their any influence from the vendor.
The first thing I noticed is the A8 appears to be a rebadged Geekworld Gk3. So, to be honest, I am not going into this review with the best attitude as I found the GK3 to be pretty bad. My hope is that while the packaging and exterior are very much GK3 rebadge, that the tuning is not, otherwise, this is not going to be a favorite for me.
Unboxing / Packaging:
The A8 comes in a black pressboard box with gold Yinyoo name and slogan printed on the front. The rear has a few specs printed in the lower corner. Lifting the lid reveals a foam tray with the earpieces at the top and two sets of tips below (S and L). The third set of tips (M) come pre-installed. The warranty card is hiding under the foam tray with the cable.
Build/Fit:
The earpieces are plastic with a semi-circular /tear drop style shape. There is an obvious seam between the shell and faceplate but it is well fitted without any gaps or glue showing. Nozzles are mounted at the lower end of the earpiece with no rake at all. Insertion depth is fairly deep as a result and could be made deeper with double flanged tips. Nozzles do have a lip to retain tips. Provided tips are two tone silicone with a blue shaft and grey outer body in small, medium, and large sizes. A short strain relief is provided and pre-formed earhooks are present as the cables exit the shell. It should be noted that some of the documentation indicates that the A8 has bi-pin removable cables. It does not. Cables are non-removable and are available with and without microphone so be sure to order the one you need at the outset as it cannot be changed.
Internals:
Drivers in the A8 are listed as a single dynamic driver per side. (No size is mentioned that I could find). Interestingly, the impedance is listed as 8Ω which puts them quite low and they may have problems with sources with high output impedance as a result. Combined with a listed sensitivity of 102dB, they are easy to drive from about any source that is well matched.
Cable:
As mentioned above, the cable is not removable. My sample has the microphone so starts with a 90º TRRS jack with good strain relief. The cable is a 4 wire braid up to the splitter and 2 wires twisted pairs above. The splitter is injection molded plastic with no strain reliefs above or below. Pre-formed earhooks are nicely shaped and provide strain relief at the earpieces. No chin slider is provided. The remote/mic is a 3 button design with minus/back at the bottom, play/pause in the middle and plus/forward at the top. the mic is a pin-hole on the back of the remote just slightly above the middle. I found the mic to be usable, but susceptible to outside noise and wind.
Sound:
All sound notes were done using the supplied large sized tips.
Bass:
Sub-bass is minimal with a big bloom in the mid-bass. Mid-bass is considerably forward of the mids and lower treble and dominates the signature. It should also be noted that bass texture is average at best with a tendency to get muddy as passages get busy. The combination of a forward mid-bass with sloppy rendering makes these best reserved for listening at lower volume levels.
Mids:
Bass bleed into the mids provides some warmth but also obscures most of the detail in the mids. The mids themselves are recessed well behind the rest of the signature and lack texture. Overall they are the weakest part of the A8 and very much share this with the GK3. I had hoped for a significantly revised tuning on the A8 but it doesn’t seem to have happened.
Treble:
In one word, veiled. Treble seems distant and thin and again takes a backseat to the low end. Not as recessed as the mids, but still nowhere near as forward as the mid-bass.
Soundstage / Imaging:
Soundstage is average at best and as mentioned above the imaging is at times a bit muddy and clausterphobic.
Thoughts / Conclusion:
The A8 is advertised as a sports in-ear, but makes no statements about being waterproof and it does not exemplify a build quality that would make me think it would hold up well if used rigorously. Sound is passable at best and even within the Yinyoo line there are better options at roughly the same price point. I thought poorly of the original GK3 and the clone unfortunately brought all the same problems along with it. Had this been retuned, it is a comfortable shell and could have been a good option in the sub-$15 space. As it stands, I would much rather have the Kz ZSN for the same spend.
