Yinyoo D2B4 Review Update: Revisited & Reloaded

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A simple DIY exchange of filters and tips plus a substantial price drop have turned the Yinyoo D2B4 from an ugly duckling into an attractive white swan.

FROM THE UGLY DUCKLING…

By Jürgen Kraus

When the Yinyoo D2B4 were released earlier this year, they received a very lukewarm reception from most sides: overly bassy, muffled, and at $150 perceived as overpriced. Biodegraded was one of the reviewers right HERE on this blog whereas I did not weigh into the discussion at all. I simply didn’t like the overly recessed midrange at this price point.

To bring the specs back to your attention:

SPECIFICATIONS

• Product Name: Yinyoo D2B4 in-ear earphone
• Earphone Type: in-ear hybrid, 2 coaxial dynamic bass drivers (10 mm) & 4 balanced-armature mid & treble drivers
• Impedance: 19 Ω +/- 2% @ 1 kHz (but see below)
• Sensitivity: 102 dB/mW
• Frequency Range: 20-40 kHz (whatever that means)
• Distortion: 12% or <3% @ 1 kHz @ 1mW, take your pick (see below)
• Interface: 3.5mm TRS straight plug, gold plated
• Connector: MMCX
• Cable: 1.2 m ± 3 cm; silver-plated 4-core copper, no microphone
• Colours: black or blue
• Purchase Link Aliexpress
• Purchase Link Amazon

But some simple modifications unleashed the D2B4’s true potential. Following the recommendation of the audiofool, I removed the original tuning filters and replaced them with these third party ones. And I started using Tennmak Whirlwind wide-bore tips (which probably made little to no difference to the large stock wide-bores). And no, no “upgrade” cable needed, the cable works just fine.

These physical changes to the earphone resulted in a totally different tonality: the bass was dialed back, which brought the vocals forward (while remaining somewhat recessed). The soundstage opened up to considerabely to an above average width with a good depth. This combination produced a cavernous effect with a great spatial cues and transformed me into a walking concert hall. The overall image was warm, relaxed, and soothing. Great tuning for on the go since fit and seal were good, too.

This shows the importance for the manufacturer/seller to carefully select the accessories so that a product can succeed in an ever tighter market.

Keep on listening!

…TO THE PRETTY WHITE SWAN

By Biodegraded

After he changed the nozzles and experimented with tips, JK suggested I have another listen to these. Because the issues I had with them were more around technicalities and timbre than tonality, I was skeptical that I’d like them any more than I did in stock form. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

I tried three different sets of wide-bore tips, all in medium: Tennmak Whirlwinds (following JK); JVC Spiral Dots; and a pair of unknown provenance of similar length and bore diameter to the Whirlwinds but a bit wider (translucent skirts and brown stems, if anybody might recognize the description). The Whirlwinds and Spiral Dots weren’t successes for me, the former, being not quite wide enough to give me a good seal with the shallow insertion dictated by the Yinyoos’ large bodies, giving me a thin sound, and the latter, even with the vented nozzles, pushing the bass up to unrealistic levels. The brown/clear ones, though, gave me a nicely balanced tonal profile. With the original nozzles, I didn’t feel the stock tips gave me the excessive level of bass that others have complained of, but rather that the bass was rendered poorly – ‘muddy’ was the term I used.

Listening further with the brown/clear tips, I found bass quality to be significantly improved over how I remembered the stock units sounding, with a better balance between low and mid bass and a cleaner, tighter texture. At the other end, the treble also seemed improved. I thought the treble of the stock configuration had decent timbre, not decaying overly fast as so often with BA IEMs, but it was also hissy and emphasised sibilance where it was present. While still prone to a bit of these characteristics, the highs of the new configuration were a much more pleasant listen.

On first review [HERE] I’d also remarked on the disconnected/incoherent nature of the overall presentation. Whether I was being overly critical then, whether my ears are more forgiving this time, or whether the different nozzles and tips really helped with this I don’t know, but that aspect seemed improved as well.

To summarize, fitting the vented M6 nozzles and experimenting with different wide-bore tips really do help these earphones. I’d now say they’re very competent hybrids whose sound is now up with the promising impression given by their construction and ergonomics, and at the new lower price they’re well worth considering.

DISCLAIMER

The review unit was supplied by Yinyoo upon their suggestion — we at Audio Reviews thank them for that. Note that this particular specimen incorporates the latest retuning as of 2019-03-20 including a new cable. The sole purpose of this review was to independently test the Yinyoo D2B4’s technical and practical capabilities.