Astrotec AM 850 Review - Premium Build, Accessible Sound

Overview: Astrotec is an audio company hailing from China that entered the market and started to gain traction with their vast array of affordable and attractive options, though one of their shining jewels, the Lyra series of earbuds stands special mention. The AM 850 on the other hand represents the flagship of their IEM lineup consolidating their ideals of sound, design, materials and build, all in one package. Does the AM 850 live up to the pedestal status it owns in the product line-up? How does it stack in the increasingly crowded entry level market, standing in at $99? These are all questions I hope to help answer below.
Disclaimer: The AM 850 IEM was provided to me by the good people at Astrotec free of charge in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Specifications:

Driver: 10 mm

Resistance (ohms) / 1 kHz: 60 Ω

Maximum input (mW): 12Mw (IEC *)

Frequency response (Hz-kHz): 10Hz-40 kHz

Rated power (mW): 3Mw

Sensitivity: 110Db / 1mw (S.P.L at 1 KHz)

Headphone plug : 3.5mm

Wire length (mm): 1.2 ± 0.3mPU silver plated wire

Packaging and Accessories: The AM 850 comes in an attractive textured box with a sleeve containing the model name, serial number, and specifications. The main box is a sideways opening magnetic clasp with the Astrotec logo and a sketch of the earphones printed on it. Opening it reveals 2 cardboard covers with Astrotecs motto. Removing those reveals the earphones as well as an aluminum eartip holder that was surprising in the thickness and quality that the material used. Removing the foam carrier reveals the rest of the accessories, some over ear hooks, some more silicone tips, a pair of foam tips, an airline adapter and an attractive leather looking case are included. Overall the packaging has a higher quality feel, and the included accessories have a premium and fashion forward vibe to it, and while the case may not offer a lot of protection for the earphones they will definitely be something that draws the eye. The offered tips are a set in the style of Sony hybrids, as well as more generic silicon tips. The ear hooks are also nice for those looking to use these during exercise.

Build and Design: The AM 850 is an earphone that carries high build quality not only in manufacturing process’ but material quality as well. The quality and finish of the aluminum and wood is quite exceptional, you can feel the slight heft the units, that give yet again a premium impression to whoever holds or wears them. The cable on the other hand is another story, while the Y splitter, cable cinch, and 3.5mm plug all are finished in aluminum its not the same thickness and are cored with plastic in the middle. The actual cable on the other hand is another mixed bag, while the quality of the 4-core cable themselves are quite nice, which are quite flexible, the sheathing they chose to utilize is quite rubbery, resulting in a sticky feel and some microphonics. The aluminum shell utilizes 3 pieces, 2 of which are aluminum forming most of the exterior but the wooden chamber that peeks out from the rear. Seams are nice and tidy; no stray glue marks and machining is all smooth and tidy. Overall the build quality strikes me as above average, hopefully Astrotec utilizes better sheathing in the future especially since the rest of the build has a higher quality feel. The design follows a more conventional design of earphones in the market eschewing the cable up approach that will mean it’s a more accessible design for all, aesthetically it is a simply but classy design making the most of the aluminum design with a contrast of polished and brushed finishes leading to a nice visual contrast, it is followed with a touch of wood to give a peep of the chamber inside, and it shows quite well the grain of the wood that’s had a nice dark red stain.

Fit: They fit easily and comfortably and should be pleasing to a wide variety of ear shapes and sizes, due to the fact that is uses the conventional cable down fitting compared with a rounded barrel shape so there isn’t any points or edges to cause any sort of discomfort. Weight wise they shouldn’t be too heavy to cause removal in casual use, but something like running or jogging might dislodge them easier, luckily the provided hooks will let you wear them over ear and keep them more secure. Overall a classic design leading to easy and friendly fitting.

Sound: Listening impressions and comparisons of the AM 850 were taken with the FiiO Q1 mk II DAC/Amp, ifi Audio xDSD DAC/Amp, Hiby R6 DAP, and LG G6 these I found were on the slightly harder end of driveability for a phone in the sense that you might need around 80 to 90% on weaker phones but completely driveable with a phone nonetheless, and it seemed to be agnostic to the amount of power it received . Volume matched for accurate comparison between sources or other gear. Astrotec didn't require or advise any burn in time but I did get to 100 hours with them to please both sides.
The overall tonality of the Astrotec AM 850 leans on the darker and warmer side of the spectrum, will lots of body in the lower frequencies and a relaxed one at the higher ones, a tuning for bassheads definitely.

Bass: The bass on the AM 850 is the star of the show, offering full bodied bass, with decent texture, and slower decay, and LOTS of it. The sub bass extension is good enough, allowing songs like "Way down deep" to really dig in those bass drum hits, while the mid bass takes that up a notch with a thick full slaw like in "Super Bass" the low end on these puppies just keep on giving and giving. The texture is actually nice relative to the amount of bass, with a timbre that you can't get anywhere else but a dynamic driver; coupled with a decay that is on the slower side, both likely caused by the wooden sound chamber, this gives a feeling of reverberation and definitely will please those looking for a true blue basshead experience, now or course this unique bass experience has a cost, and for that we move on.

Mids: The mids on the AM 850 is quite an interesting listen, on a quality standpoint, it's not bad, in fact when I dissected them with less bassy songs such as "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac, overall the mids had good texture and with good enough details and sounded smooth while lower mids had a fullness from the lower notes of pianos to some vocals, no doubt thanks to the boosted mid bass, the same can't be said when we go up the scale however, because while the the quality is more or less the same, they can get overpowered by the bass, sounding thinner and drier in comparison, the upper register vocals and instruments are there but when the bass guitars, or lower tones of instruments step in, singers, especially those with higher voices step back, and almost play accompaniment instead. This leads to an odd sound in vocal or mids focused recordings the likes of Adele come to mind especially when she starts going on vocal runs like in "Hometown Glory", while not necessarily a negative, definitely something that one should keep in mind before buying these earphones.

Treble: The treble on the AM 850 takes a smooth and relaxed approach, it's not energetic and is also free from harshness or peakyness, and there is no trace of sibilance. It's smooth though it doesn't extend very far, and the air and sparkle is kept to a minimum, aiding the sense of warmth and darkness, however the highs aren't dull, they're presented well enough and are present, however it is again a case of it simply taking a backseat though the treble itself has decent detail, enough to get by. The violins in The Ransom Collective's "Settled" are there but are merely accentuating the drum and bass lines, and round out the musical composition and don't stand out or grab you. 

Presentation: The AM 850 packs a somewhat wide stage, extending a little past the ears, while height and depth are mostly average. With staging that is fairly accurate, and in no way sounding unnatural. Layering and separation can get a little tight especially with bass heavy arrangements, while within the low end, the layering is fairly good, with nice definition between drums, guitars, and other instruments, once the bass does start taking over the mids and treble start to lose their footing when it comes to the technical aspects.

Conclusion: It seems that Astrotec had a certain idea in mind when they made the AM 850, a fashionable and attractive earphone, sporting a quality build with quality materials (cable notwithstanding) with a commercial style sound, that had more refinement than the usual items tuned in that manner. And with that goal I think they have succeeded, and if I were to sum up the AM 850 a word I'd use is accessible, something most consumers might look to pick up, even though maybe those looking for more "audiophilic" tunings might not find these to be what they seek. In the end AM 850 looks good, is packed with accessories, built great, and will have all the bass you might ever want, and the bass is pretty good mind you. So if you're in the basshead camp, and you want something that looks classy and refined then the AM 850 is exactly what you should look for.