WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:07.759 Okay. Okay. I'm going to listen to them. I'll listen to them and I'm very excited 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:13.200 to do so. The Crar Daybreak, if you don't count that weird limited edition 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:18.160 one, is Chronicles first full production 00:00:13.200 --> 00:00:19.680 IM under his own brand. And if any of 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:24.400 the marketing that he's done around this is accurate, it's an extremely exciting 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:28.320 product. He basically says, "Look, it's not the best IM on the market, but at 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:34.000 this price point, you ain't going to beat it. And if our lab's testing is 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:37.760 anything to go by, he's right. If I can 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:39.360 just get the box open. I like the look. 00:00:37.760 --> 00:00:44.160 Stealthy. Right out of the gate, these are already 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:47.840 making me happy. So, instead of the gigantic nozzles that have been featured 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:52.239 on some of Critical's previous collab products, these measure just under 6 mm, 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:57.120 which means that they should comfortably fit inside human ears, which from my 00:00:54.719 --> 00:01:01.840 understanding is the intended target of these, right? They are compared to, you 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:06.240 know, your AirPods or whatever, still going to be a little bit on the larger 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:11.520 side, but that's to accommodate the five drivers inside each in-ear monitor. 00:01:09.360 --> 00:01:14.880 Another nice touch, interchangeable cables, though that's not really unique 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:18.720 at this price point. The two pin standard gives you the benefit of, from 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:22.720 my experience, a more secure connection, but you lose the benefit of it being 00:01:20.720 --> 00:01:27.759 swivelable. So, make of that what you will. Nice little carrying case. Got 00:01:24.880 --> 00:01:31.119 your bougie silverplated copper. Not that I've ever been convinced that that 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:35.680 makes any difference whatsoever to performance. It looks cool, though. I 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:40.640 like the modular connector instead of using an adapter. 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:45.600 Well, okay. No, no, don't tell me. I'm going 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:47.360 to figure it out. There we go. We just 00:01:45.600 --> 00:01:52.000 unscrew this piece at the bottom. They've got a little guide pin, and you 00:01:48.960 --> 00:01:54.399 can switch over to a 4.4 mm balance 00:01:52.000 --> 00:02:01.920 connector. Hey, I had the thing happen. >> Yeah. Um the little cosmetic cover piece 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:05.119 um came off, but Critical says that they're going to get that fixed. And if 00:02:03.520 --> 00:02:10.959 you have this little piece come off, then uh they'll send you a new one. I 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:13.360 swear half of H High-5 products is just 00:02:10.959 --> 00:02:19.120 making them look and feel cool so that you look and feel cool for owning them. 00:02:15.760 --> 00:02:20.640 But hey, mission accomplished. Let's see 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:25.680 what we got for accessories here, shall we? This is hilarious. Distinguish the 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:30.879 left and right for both the IM and cable. Did he actually put a label on 00:02:28.160 --> 00:02:35.840 the IM? Oh my god, he only labels the right. 00:02:34.239 --> 00:02:41.519 Okay, I get minimalistic product design, but 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:44.160 label your I don't want to guess. Wow. 00:02:41.519 --> 00:02:48.720 Even with the 6 mm nozzle, those mediums are uh I don't know if they're that 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:52.400 medium. I bet I could jam that in there really 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:55.560 good if I wanted to. Anyone want to go to emerge? 00:02:55.920 --> 00:03:01.519 Emergency >> like if I had a thing jammed in my ear 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:05.920 cuz I didn't attach it to an IM to remove it. I think I'm going to go small 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:13.200 for these. He includes small, medium, and large silicone ear tips as well as 00:03:09.200 --> 00:03:15.760 medium foam ear tips. 00:03:13.200 --> 00:03:20.319 I I prefer silicone, not because they sound better or seal better, but because 00:03:18.239 --> 00:03:25.599 they are just more durable, and I don't feel like buying new memory foam ear 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:27.840 tips every like 3 weeks. This is a giant 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:33.280 carrying case. I can't fault the, you know, feel of, 00:03:30.720 --> 00:03:37.519 you know, quality and stuff, but like, does it really need to be that big? I 00:03:35.440 --> 00:03:42.239 can fit so much more stuff in there. You know, Steve Jobs famously took a 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:46.000 prototype of something and hucked it in an aquarium and then when bubbles came 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:49.599 out of it, he said, "Make it denser." I actually don't know if that's true, but 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:53.080 this could be smaller. So, here's my carrying case. 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:59.280 To be clear, I'm not faulting it for the feel of quality. And if you have larger 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:03.920 hands and you have, you know, difficulty getting your fingers into places to 00:04:01.040 --> 00:04:07.439 extract things, then sure you're fine. But I I personally would rather that it 00:04:06.239 --> 00:04:12.480 was a little bit more compact. That's all I'm saying. That's all I'm saying. But enough yak yak about the carrying 00:04:10.640 --> 00:04:18.639 case, how they look, how they feel. It's not what you came here for. You came 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:21.840 here for how they sound. What's that? 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:23.600 Segue. Oh, right. To our sponsor. Thanks 00:04:21.840 --> 00:04:28.639 to Charge for sponsoring this video. Packed with a 24,000 milliamp hour 00:04:26.080 --> 00:04:33.280 battery, customizable RGB lighting, and even an adjustable DC output port, the 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:37.520 Chargeek 300 power bank is your all-in-one travel buddy in an aluminum 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:41.840 chassis that's as classy as you are. It has a maximum output of 140 watts per 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:45.600 port, which means you can deliver ultra fast charging to multiple laptops, 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:49.040 phones, or other devices that you might want to keep powered on. Plus, you can 00:04:47.520 --> 00:04:52.639 keep an eye on each port's charging rate, the battery status of the power 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:56.639 bank, and even some wild stuff like power curves and charging histories. 00:04:54.560 --> 00:05:00.479 Learn more about the Chargeek 300 using our link in the video description. Okay, 00:04:58.880 --> 00:05:03.600 I lied a bit before. It didn't say anything about our sponsor, and we're 00:05:02.320 --> 00:05:07.600 not going to listen to it just yet because I want to talk about the specs. 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:13.440 Starting with the housing, Daybreak uses what Critical describes as a pseudo 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:15.759 custom shell, which we had a little bit 00:05:13.440 --> 00:05:21.600 of debate off camera what exactly that means. And I think what we've settled on 00:05:17.919 --> 00:05:23.840 is that it means it is like a custom 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:28.160 mold for your ear, but it's a generic one. So, it's designed to kind of feel 00:05:25.520 --> 00:05:32.080 and fit like that across a wide range of ears, but you don't actually like send 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:38.080 in molds of your ear so that they're custom fitted to your exact head. To its 00:05:35.039 --> 00:05:39.600 credit, it fits pretty okay for me. I 00:05:38.080 --> 00:05:42.960 don't know that I would perfectly comfortably like sleep in them, for 00:05:41.440 --> 00:05:46.560 instance. Like, I can feel a couple of pressure points if I really push against 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:50.560 them. But if I don't do that, considering their weight, they're about 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:55.360 as comfortable as I can imagine anything not custom fitted to be. Then on the 00:05:53.039 --> 00:05:59.759 inside, things get really interesting. Starting with the five drivers inside 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:04.720 each inear monitor. It's got a dynamic subwoofer driver, custom spec for deep 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:08.400 controlled bass, a couple of custom balanced armatururs for the mid-range. 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:14.400 Then for the tweeters, he's using what he's describing as next generation micro 00:06:11.039 --> 00:06:17.120 planers for exceptional treble extension 00:06:14.400 --> 00:06:22.080 and clarity. And all of that is just sort of gobbledegook because you could 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:26.160 have an IM that is full of like really really amazing drivers, but if you don't 00:06:24.080 --> 00:06:30.240 put in the work on the tuning, then it's going to sound like crap. But this is 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:33.600 critical we're talking about. So, he did put in the work on the tuning, 00:06:31.840 --> 00:06:39.360 specifically targeting the IEF preference 2025 curve, which aims to 00:06:36.479 --> 00:06:45.280 balance natural speaker-like tonality with dynamic and engaging low-end 00:06:42.080 --> 00:06:48.080 response. Again, which may not mean that 00:06:45.280 --> 00:06:51.919 much to you, but in a nutshell, the IM that he's comparing these against are 00:06:49.919 --> 00:06:56.479 considered an amazing value at about three times the price. And from what DMS 00:06:54.639 --> 00:07:00.479 has said, he's actually gotten really close. 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:04.080 They're not the same as those ones that cost three times more, which he had me 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:08.319 try just for a little bit before I sat down today. It was like sitting at the 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:12.160 optician's, you know, office and they they flip around all the different 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:16.240 lenses and then finally they do the last one where they like start with not quite 00:07:14.400 --> 00:07:21.919 right and then they click it into just right and you're like, 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:25.360 is everyone that hairy? Like they're like they're that clear. These I haven't 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:29.039 listened to yet, but if they're anything like that, very excited. Oh, right, 00:07:27.599 --> 00:07:33.599 right, right. Well, okay. Well, I guess that's one thing that I could kind of say about them. Isolation, not the best, 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:37.840 but you're never going to get that with silicone ear tips, so make of that what 00:07:36.080 --> 00:07:42.319 you will. Oh, we haven't talked about the length of the cable, which DMS 00:07:39.919 --> 00:07:45.840 painstakingly measured at 1.1 m. You're welcome. That wasn't in the spec sheet. 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:51.840 I don't really like looking at the frequency response curve before I actually listen to them, but like, damn, 00:07:49.520 --> 00:07:56.479 he's like right in the range. As long as that bass is actually tight and 00:07:54.400 --> 00:08:02.560 controlled, these are going to sound really fun. Let's start with something 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:05.199 with no vocals. Always a good sign when 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:11.039 there's a like a low soft bass note of some sort and you can kind of like feel 00:08:08.080 --> 00:08:14.800 it in your back a little bit cuz that's really hard to achieve with in ears. It 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:18.960 feels more like a conditioned response, right? Like if you've heard it from a 00:08:16.960 --> 00:08:24.240 nice big speaker setup and subwoofer, then like something that elicits that 00:08:21.520 --> 00:08:30.160 response in your body is getting damn close. But there are no vibrations to 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:35.279 feel. He advertised controlled bass. >> He delivered controlled bass. 00:08:32.479 --> 00:08:40.159 >> I'd probably EQ the mids up a little bit personally, but not much. The thing to 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:45.120 remember in all of this is like these are costing less than a pair of AirPods 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:48.080 Pros, right? which obviously are they're wireless and they have a battery in them 00:08:46.800 --> 00:08:52.080 and there's all the convenience that comes with that. But like it's a 00:08:50.640 --> 00:08:57.440 completely different listening experience. With the AirPods Pros, you 00:08:54.240 --> 00:09:00.720 can listen to your song, right? You can 00:08:57.440 --> 00:09:03.839 put on your favorite artist. With these, 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:06.399 you can listen to each individual 00:09:03.839 --> 00:09:10.160 instrument in the track if you wanted to. You don't have to. 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:15.839 That I mean, to a lot of people that might sound like a bad thing, but it's 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:19.040 not. It's a It's a very good thing. It 00:09:15.839 --> 00:09:21.040 really is remarkable how it elicits that 00:09:19.040 --> 00:09:26.880 sort of like I'm listening to speakers response anytime anything happens on the 00:09:23.839 --> 00:09:30.080 low end. Not fatiguing either, which is 00:09:26.880 --> 00:09:36.600 really nice. Man, if this was your first 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:36.600 like chi M, you'd be like, 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:43.600 I paid how much for these? I feel like some phone manufacturer, 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:47.600 you know, like a mainstream one, your your Samsung, Apple will never do it. 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:51.040 They're too busy selling wireless earphones, but some phone manufacturer 00:09:49.920 --> 00:09:59.519 is going to figure this out. They're going to put a headphone jack back on their phone. And like Wired's coming 00:09:55.360 --> 00:10:02.000 back, man, you just can't you can't do 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:06.880 this with wireless. At least not yet. Not at this price. 00:10:04.880 --> 00:10:12.800 You're not still asleep. These really can be had for $169. And from our 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:16.000 benchmarks, they fall pretty well for the most part within our target range. 00:10:14.640 --> 00:10:21.200 And if what you're looking for is something that combines, I mean, just 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:28.240 like Critical said, uh, a fairly analytical sound signature, but with fun 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:29.600 musicality at an incredible price point. 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:34.720 I don't know. I don't know what to say other than I think you nailed it. Obviously, you're not going to get quite 00:10:32.959 --> 00:10:40.800 the resolution that you might get out of something like the Mega 5 EST, but like 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:45.519 the price, man. Those are $500 plus dollar IM. Like, even if you can afford 00:10:43.920 --> 00:10:49.760 them, I know a lot of people that just wouldn't spend that kind of money on IM 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:54.320 because they can get lost. Whereas like these, I still wouldn't want to lose 00:10:51.920 --> 00:10:59.279 them, but if I did, I could lose them twice before I'd spent that much money. 00:10:56.560 --> 00:11:03.680 Subscribe to ShortCircuit. All right, let's thumb it up. 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:06.680 >> Man, I gotta I got to stop using 00:11:03.680 --> 00:11:06.680 wireless.