Intro

Hi guys this is Raghav here from headphone Zone. So in the comment section if
you read the questions that people keep asking us on social media one of the
things that I see as a recurring question that I keep getting every now and then
is people asking about earphones with a Type-C connector or a Type-C USB
connector that people can plug into their Android phones because a lot of the
Android phones these days do not have a 3.5 mm output and people really want
to know if they want to use a wired IEM can they get one along with a Type-C
USB port that they can simply plug and play. Now I truly believe that if you're
someone who's wanting to get a wired In Ear Monitor or a earphone to use
along with your Android phone, the best way of doing it is to get an IEM that
doesn't come very expensive but sounds good for about 2,000 rupees or so
and using it along with a very simple portable USB dongle DAC, because this
dongle DAC is going to be bringing out the best in the music and is going to
make a big difference to the way that you're going to be listening to music on
your IEMs, but I do understand that the dongle DAC plus the IEMs put together
can sometimes become a fairly expensive proposition for some of y'all. You'll
find that the the cheapest DAC that I'd probably recommend from our lineup is
the Venture Electronics Abigail which is for about a 1,000 rupees and then the
Shanling UA1s which is for about 3,500 rupees. Now along with the 2,000 rupee
IEM, you're coming into the three to four thousand rupee price bucket at a
minimum and can sometimes even cross 5,000 rupees if you're going for a
better DAC. A lot of people are looking for wired earphones at cheaper price
points that they can use along with a Type-C Android output and for that
purpose we're recommending three different IEMs today which sound very very
good and you can start your audiophile journey without needing to get a
separate USB dongle DAC to use.

Moondrop Quarks DSP

The very first IEM with a Type-C connector that I'm going to be recommending
is from Moondrop. This is the Moondrops Quarks DSP featuring a Type-C
connector for a price of 1,149. It's absolutely incredible for the price and I don't
think for about 1,100 rupees you're going to find anything out there in the
market that sounds as nice as the Moondrop Quarks DSP but you'll also find
that this is Moondrops attempt at using a DSP or a Digital Signal Processor in
their earphones itself which is inbuilt right behind this Type-C connector. It
plugs into your mobile phone and the chip inside this connector does the Digital
Signal Processing that's really the DAC. In terms of sound signature the
Moondrop Quarks DSP is a very very neutral balance sounding IEM. It's got a
single dynamic driver, it's got an inline microphone that you can use and a
volume controller that you can also use, so you'll find that it's a complete
package there's really nothing that you can go wrong with in this price segment
it's got everything you need. If anything I'd probably call the sound signature a
little boring. I would much rather pick the slightly more expensive Moondrop
CHU, but I do believe that if by the time you're gonna add a USB-C dongle DAC
or an adapter then the budget becomes a lot more expensive than these, so
these are still great value for money.

7Hz Timeless Zero

The next IEM that I'm recommending is in fact one of my favourite IEM from the
2,000 rupee price segment. This is the 7Hz Salnotes Zero. It's easily this year's
most exciting IEM, everyone loves it for the price of 2,000 rupees. People truly
believe that this is one of the best sounding IEMs that's out there. 7Hz is a
relatively new brand from China but they've been making all the right waves
ever since they've started up. The Salnotes Zero is a collaboration between 7Hz
and the reviewer Crinacle. If you've watched his videos on YouTube you'll know
that he's got a phenomenal understanding of how to tune different IEMs and he
has tuned the sound of the 7Hz Salnotes Zero to make it sound very very nice
and balanced and same time fun and detailed to listen to. So it's got everything
that you'd probably need to just start your audiophile journey and be able to
hear things in your music you've never heard before. For a price of 1,999 you
also get the 7Hz Salnotes Zero with a Type-C variant just for the convenience
and you'll find that this doesn't have its own inbuilt DAC, so you'll have to plug
this in via the Type-C output and use the phone's inbuilt DAC. So you'll find that
you may not hear a difference in quality as compared to simply using the 3.5
mm output but I do think that the convenience of having a Type-C input is really
really nice for people out there and for that I highly recommend the 7Hz
Salnotes Zero with Type-C.

Moondrop Droplet

All right my third IEM of choice that I'm going to recommend is the Moondrop
Droplet. This is quite a bit more expensive from the other Moondrop IEMs we
spoke about. It's priced at rupees 4,999. It has its Type-C connector which has
its own inbuilt DSP and DAC, so you'll find that it's convenient and it sounds
really really nice and capable and the design philosophy behind the droplet is a
little bit different from what we've seen of some of the other IEMs. It has a
single balanced armature driver that it's using inside this really really compact
well-built, even slightly pointy housing. Now what I'm thinking is that the
balanced armature driver offers several advantages over the dynamic drivers
that are used in most of the IEMs in this segment, it's really really detailed very
sensitive. It picks out all the airy details that sometimes can be congested
sounding in a dynamic driver so if you don't want to hear that and you want to
hear a very nice airy sound very very quick very very detailed - the balanced
armature driver is the way to go. The problem with IEMs that feature a single
balanced armature driver is that the sound signature can sound a little hollow, a
little empty without the low end being there, without the bass sounding nice
and meaty and that's precisely where this Digital Signal Processor comes in.
You'll find that the Type-C connection has the chipset, the DSP and the DAC
that basically compensates for the lack of bass in the drivers alone by changing
the sound signature a little bit before feeding it to these drivers. So the
combination of both, this DAC as well as these balanced armature drivers I
think is something that Moondrop was experimenting with the Droplet is there
attempt to do that and I think they've done a reasonably good job for it. For the
price of 5,000 rupees the fact that you don't need to go and get yourself an
external DAC that's going to probably cost you 3000 rupees or so, I think that
this is still pretty nice value for money.

Conclusion

All right guys here are 3 different IEMs at three different price points that I'm
gonna be recommending with a Type-C connection. I still truly do believe that if
you're someone who's starting off in the audiophile hobby just getting yourself
a wired earphone with a 3.5 connection and using a USB-C portable dongle
DAC to use on the go is my first recommendation. I do understand the
inconvenience and sometimes the budget constraints involved which is why
some people do look out for a Type-C earphone and these are the one that I
think I'd probably recommend if I had to.