Tiso i4 — Chi-Fi Ear Thump
Amazing value for bass lovers.
Disclosure: Tiso Official Store sent me this unit for review. The opinions here are entirely my own.
Design / Build
The case and earphones are well made, with the symmetrical earphones being very small and without any signage besides the R/L printed on the back — I would have actually liked to have something tactile to distinguish them, such as a plastic dot on the right side. The earphones are very small and protrude from the ear less than most others. The case is the smallest I’ve seen on just about any other earphone (AirPods or some bullet-style earphones not included), and I really like that it’s made from a simple matte plastic — no rubber coatings to get rubbed off. That said, no lid on the case, so keep that in mind if your use case allows for it.
The earphones don’t have an especially deep fitment, but they do include 6 different tips (3 sizes of 2 different styles), and the fitment and sound signature changes a little bit. My preference was the rounded tips as I found they provided good isolation and slightly subdued the bass.
Buttons are covered in a rubbery membrane, which is nice and grippy for when you’re pressing the buttons. The buttons have a nice tactile click and don’t requite too much force to press, but enough that you won’t be accidentally pressing them. They also rest against the back of the ear sufficiently such that you’re not shoving the earphone into your ear canal each time you press them.
Sound Quality
The 6mm driver in these earphones does a terrific job given the price of the earphones. They won’t compete with ones priced 2–3x higher, but they perform fantastically in their price range. These are really all about pushing the bass and volume, almost at the expense of other areas. The bass is strong enough such that it *almost* starts to overpower the mids. Bass-heavy instruments take a more upfront position and people sensitive to heavy bass will want to apply some EQ adjustments. That said, the mids and highs are nice and clear with enough detail and no shrill or sibilance (which I’ve noticed even in some earphones priced 3–4x higher).
On quality tracks the soundstage is quite wide and does have good separation between instruments, and again, bass-heavy instruments seem bigger and more pronounced.
Overall the sound quality of these earphones is well above what you would expect at the $20-$25 price range. If you enjoy bass, you will love these. And if it’s a little much, I found turning down the bass in EQ worked great. And these headphones get loud, really loud — almost painful at the highest levels. I would describe the signature as somewhat v-shaped, with the bass pushed quite a bit higher than the highs.
Connectivity
Connectivity on these was great, with only a tiny drop out and immediate reconnect during my commute (on a crowded train I might add). And the audio lag for watching YouTube / Netfilx is quite acceptable at less than 0.1s (I would consider 0.1s-0.2s as perceptible, with above 0.2s being somewhat distracting).
Call Quality
Audio quality on these was fine — they’re not the best but acceptable in quieter environments. My voice came across clear and the other person didn’t have issues understaning me. They still do have about a 1 second delay, just like most other true wireless earphones, and I don’t recommend using any true wireless earphones for business calls.
Conclusion
Given these earphones are priced in the $20-$25 range, they are an easy recommend. They’re small and come with a small case but deliver big sound, with lots of bass, good overall detail, and good soundstage. The only thing these don’t work for is critical listening — but let’s face it, you’re buying TWS earphones for convenience, for working out, or for drowning out the office noise to focus, and these work great in all of those scenarios.
Purchase links: AliExpress
