Disclaimer:

Good morning, readers! I apologize tremendously for the delay in publishing the review of the GeekWold GK10S. Honestly, it’s not even the kind of review I would like to release but for total transparency, it should be published like all the others.

I particularly liked the GeekWold GK20 and they were very pleasant IEMs (I still have them and there are absolutely no complaints about them).

However, the review will still be 100% honest and, in no way, biased.

I’m not an audiophile; I’m just a guy that likes to test out different IEMs and DACs and spends a lot of time listening to music.

So I’m not going to use super-technical words to review it, but I will do my best to describe it.

Tech Specs:

• Driver: 1 balanced armature, 2 Piezoelectric ceramics and 2 Dynamic drivers
• Frequency:20Hz-40kHz
• Impedance:100
• Sensitivity:106dB
• Cable length:1.2M
• Headphone cable specification: 1.2m, 4 strands, oxygen-free copper, silver plated 

Packaging:

The packaging of the GeekWold GK10S is really basic. I can’t say she’s beautiful at all but that’s not what matters. On the accessories side, nothing is missing; in fact, we have:

• Carrying pouch
• Cable 
• 6 pairs of tips 

We can definitely say that the tips are not the best and a single set of BGVP 07 would have been welcome. These tips should become the basic standard, as they are very balanced and often work well. The cable is not bad at all—a 4-wire braided silver-colored one that is quite flexible.

Design/Build quality:

At this price, obviously, the design is not very elaborate, the GeekWold GK10S shows off a look that resembles a heart, and the faceplates are not extremely beautiful but passable. The shell is made of plastic—nothing fancy but it’s comfortable and that’s what counts. On the shell, we can see two ventilation holes, one on the inside and the other near the connector.

They managed to put many drivers inside:

• 7mm graphene-plated DD for midrange
• 8mm titanium-coated DD for bass
• BA for treble
• 2 piezoelectric ceramic tweeters

If we think that the GeekWold GK10S is sold for 50 USD, the presence of so many drivers is really crazy. It is not clear how they can sell them for so little. Other brands for this money usually include a good dynamic driver, certainly not 5 different drivers. In my opinion, the problem is that they overdid it; if they had put in a few fewer drivers, the result would probably have been superior. It’s not just a question of how many drivers you can squeeze into one shell.

Comfort/Fit:

The GeekWold GK10S are absolutely very comfortable and light. I did a 3-hour listening session without feeling any discomfort. I’ll leave you some photos of how they fit me.

Initial sound impression:

When I put them on after a decidedly long period with the Kefine Delci, I felt a noticeable downgrade. We are discussing two IEMs with a preference for low frequencies, but there is no comparison between them. I literally threw away the original tips; I did not even try the tips with the narrow hole because the stage was already quite limited. I put the BGVP 07 on and saw some improvement, but nothing spectacular. They do not sound bad, but for all of the drivers present, they lack detail, brilliance, and are rather dark.

Final sound impression:

Equipment used for testing above

Device:

• iMac
• Redmi Note 7 Snapdragon 

Software:

• Tidal Hifi Plus (Mobile)
• Amazon music UHD 24bit 96kHz (Both)

DAC:

• LessFox Da2
• LessFox Da1 (neutral)
• F.Audio KS01 (bright neutral)
• Moondrop Dawn Pro ( Good choice but doesn’t help the tuning)
• Simgot DEW4X (extra refinement)
• EPZ TP50 (Audiophile combo)
• iBasso DC04 Pro (always good)
• Muse Hifi M4 (on-the-go option)
• Hidizs S9 Pro Plus (better mids)
• Fiio Ka11 (doesn’t help the tuning)
• Fosi SK02 (extra brillance)

After listening to it for the first time, I decided to let it run for a few hours at medium-high volumes.

Having read some reviews to see if what I felt aligned with other people’s opinions, I decided to also try changing cables.

There was an improvement by switching to an economical but balanced cable but a minimal variation was more dictated by the greater power or perhaps by the different DAC used. It doesn’t change noticeably.

What changes is how our brain receives sounds and the more I listen to them, the more I adapt.

Treble

I must admit that the highs are far too smooth due to the presence of BA and Piezo drivers. They are certainly extremely tolerable but the lack of some spark quickly makes itself felt. The nasality of the tone is felt less in this region but overall it is also affected. The cymbals sound a little dull.

Mids

Here comes the most painful note: they are recessed and invaded by excessive heat, which often makes the sound sound nasal. The bass bleeds into the mids and especially the male voices sound nasal. The instruments here, too, are slightly out of tune.

Bass

There is really a lot of bass; maybe we are in the Bassheads area but the quality is not the best, and they are also a little lazy. But I still have to say that I enjoyed them, especially on deep house tracks. Unfortunately, the sparkling touch of the highs is missing and therefore the lows dominate the tone, making the IEM dark.

Separation/Imaging/Soundstage:

The soundstage is quite intimate, and for the drivers it has, I would certainly have expected more but I imagine the problem is in the internal structure of the IEM, which will certainly not be very elaborate. As for the image, it’s not the best but it commands respect, but it lacks resolution and macro details. In terms of separation, it doesn’t do terribly well, but it doesn’t excel either. You must always consider that it is a hybrid IEM.

Fast Comparison:

It is practically impossible to compare other hybrid IEMs in this price range. In this price range, we have an infinite number of single DDs with much higher technical performances. If prices go up, we will already start to see more concrete hybrids from Celest. We can say that GeekWold has proven its ability to create $50 hybrids.

vs Celest Plutus Beast or Phoenixcall

They are both out-of-the-box IEMs with exotic configurations that have attracted the attention of many enthusiasts. It starts from the packaging up to the beauty of the shells. In both cases, I recommend you read my complete reviews but there is no comparison in sound quality or price. In my opinion, these are products with such a different concept that any comparison makes no sense.

vs Kefine Delci

Taking Kefine’s latest IEM, the Delci, as an example, we find ourselves with a single DD IEM (of excellent quality) with a CNC machined shell that is also of high quality. The package is well cared for and complete with accessories. In terms of sound, we have both an excellent low range that remains seemingly composed in its region without bleeding elsewhere and crisp, detailed highs. The midrange has the correct tone and also a more marked presence than that heard on the Gk10s. The rule of only one good and well-tuned driver is always valid.

vs EPZ Q5 & Simgot EW200

If the single DD for bassheads is not for you but you are looking for something balanced, you can absolutely look at the EPZ Q5, which is fabulous and balanced with an excellent soundstage. If you want something with a more chic shell and a less problematic connector, then the Simgot EW200 is equally good but slightly inferior to the EPZ Q5 in terms of musicality and soundstage.

Conclusion:

I thank Siyuan of GeekWold again for the opportunity to test one of their models. In this market segment, there is really too much to offer. On paper, the GeekWold Gk10s offer everything you need to have a well-sounding hybrid IEM but in reality, I would have expected more technique from a hybrid than a single DD. I think they wanted to be too daring by putting 5 drivers per side in a 50 USD IEM. Let’s be clear, it doesn’t sound bad but compared to the competition, it fails to stand out. The bass is very present and borders on the high frequencies, bringing out an L-shaped tuning. Unfortunately, the nasal mids and slightly subdued trebles don’t make it stand out in this price range. In any case, there is considerable potential in GeekWold products that I greatly appreciate.

6.5/10

Pros: 

• Good fit
• Good packaging
• Removable cable
• Hybrid drivers

Cons:

• Tips could be better
• Sound and tonality aren’t the best
• soundstage is quite intimate 
• Slow bass and some bleed
• Timbre sounds nasal
• Poor details 
• There are better single DD on the market