When Astrotec
approached me with the opportunity to review one of their items I didn’t hesitate
in agreeing. After all they are the ones behind the very well-regarded Lyra
series of buds, and while due to my ears buds can be hit or miss due to fit
alone, their flagship AM 850 piqued my interest. Short time later the local
FedEx man came around to drop of a package and now here we have it, in the err
aluminum.
Opening up the
package revealed the handsome AM850 box that had a 2/3rds length sleeve with
the specifications of the product, while the main box had a lovely metallic
print showing an outline of the IEM hidden inside. Opening up the box reveals a
cardboard cover with the Astrotec mission on it and finally behind those are
earphones themselves and below a nice thick machined aluminum eartip holder.
Looking underneath reveals some more extra tips, including a pair of foam ones,
ear hook guides, warranty cards, a quality control sticker, airplane adapter,
and what I think is a very attractive leather (leatherette?) carry pouch.
Examining the
AM850 up close reveals nice craftmanship with smooth seams and quality aluminum
with the wooden chamber peaking just at the rear and finished off with the Astrotec
logo. The cable is a non-replaceable 4 core affair that is sleeved in a somewhat
rubbery coating. Both the Y-split, chin cinch and L-jack are tastefully done in
aluminum as well. They come pre-installed with medium Sony hybrid style tips
and have a mesh grill to prevent dirt and debris from getting inside.
Fitting them is
quite easy as the rounded shape means they will fit just about anyone and they
aren’t too heavy as to be prone to falling out in the everyday. A quick listen
shows a good amount of bass, with good texture and detail but outside of that
nothing jumps out at me, more time and more listening will probably clear this
up. But the first impressions are good, Astrotec showing indications that it’s
got a lot to give in the IEM market and a full review will bare all that the AM
850 has to show.
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