Hidizs MP145 Review

Sound performance

My main sources were: Hidizs S9 Pro Plus / ddHiFi TC35-Pro / FiiO Q15, trusted sources from trusted brands that I used extensively for the past months.

Files were played from either Apple Music / Spotify or my own music library. Some tracks will be highlighted, just so you can try them at home too!

Overall signature

So, what can you expect from the Hidizs MP145 and its massive driver? Some nice things actually!

First and foremost, despite its rather modest price tag, the IEM exhibits all of the prowess you’d expect from a planar-driver model: prominent highs, clear mids, and super punchy lows… when correctly driven. In fact, with its low sensitivity (104dB) and despite the rather low impedance (30 ohms), the MP145 remains a true planar and will be considerably tasking with low-powered sources, like a phone.

Fed by my FiiO Q15 though – amazing device by the way – the IEM was able to unleash its true power and delivered quick transients, toe-tapping bass, and strong highs, only damned by shy high-mids – at least with the balanced ear-tips and nozzle. I was able to fix that with the new embedded EQ of the Q15, but some might prefer to use the provided high-frequency filters. 

On the Hidizs SO Pro Plus, plugged with the OG cable, the MP145 outmatched the old MD4 on all of every I listened too. Most impressive of all was the rendering of the vocals, which, throughout all my listening, continually managed to surprise me in terms of clarity, fidelity, and naturalness. Something that I was not expecting from this IEM. Sure, the bass remains superb, even if not as “magical” as my high-end gears, but for the price it’s hard to be picky and they give a solid foundation to the rest of the spectrum. ​​It avoids any conspicuous flaws in this frequency range, creating an audio experience that seamlessly blends robust lows and super clean highs, at every volume level.

The transition from the bass to the mids is smooth, avoiding any muddiness. Instrumental separation is commendable, allowing each instrument to shine in its own space. Listening to live recordings, one can easily discern the positioning of instruments, giving a sense of being right there in the midst of the performance. It’s neither too sharp nor too laid-back, striking a harmonious balance that brings out the shimmer in cymbals and the breathiness in vocals without any hint of sibilance. This is particularly noticeable in tracks with intricate high-frequency details, where the Hidizs MP145 managed to reproduce every nuance with finesse – not on all sources though, power, power, power!

Out of curiosity I also plugged some of my ddHiFi balanced cable, to check how the MP145 would cope with them. And, unsurprisingly, with a 4.4mm plug and my A&K CA1000T the Hidizs opened up even more, and the level of sound pressure that IEM was able to output was simply insane, never to display any distortion, even on complex album like Return to the Sauce from Infected Mushrooms.

But, once more, I wouldn’t qualify the MP145 as explosive, but implosive. For anyone in need of “big sound” on the go, I’d better go with Letshuoer, where the Hidizs would be more suited for someone in search of a more refined sound, as long as you could provide them a correct source. On the long run, I wasn’t able to find any genre where this IEM didn’t excel, which remains kind of rare to this day. It’s not perfect though, low-mids and high-mids are a tad too shy, soundstage could be more expansive, but for the price, it’s very very hard no to be impressed by the final result.

An excellent all-rounder, one that can be used daily and still surprises you, with a powerful source. I like it!

Tonality

Highs: impressive, but shy high-mids. Not the best highs you could get, but definitely not the worst. There is no sibilant and you can confidently raise the volume never to encounter any harshness, even with high-centric sources like A&K. On a good note, they blend awesomely well with the rest of the spectrum.

Good test-track : Phantom of the Wuxia Codec – Ugress

Mids: rich and full. Good soundstage and excellent mids make for a very pleasant experience. Hidizs has done an excellent job in this regard: voices are bliss, and the IEM will fully immerse you, in just a few seconds. In this price range, I’d say those are one of the best mids you could get up to this day, surprise, surprise!

Good test-track: Money – Pink Floyd

Bass: clean and deep. As expected for a planar IEM, the Hidizs MP145 does wonders here and with the FiiO Q15 or the A&K CA1000T the bass are simply perfect. Quick, deep and always on point, this is great!

Good test-track: I’m on Fire (vocal mix) – The Chromatics

Sensitivity / Hiss

Impedance is low, sensitivity is low and isolation is good… but it’s a planar! So yes, you’ll need a powerful source to fully enjoy those IEM. Paired with the ddHiFi TC44C, even with the 3.5mm port the IEM gave me really good bass, but with the FiiO M11S, things become bombastic.

My top choice? Stay within your budget, and get a Hidizs S9 Pro Plus or FiiO KA13. If you want to go for higher, get the KA5 or the DC04 Pro, those are exceptionally gifted dongle DAC that will perfectly fit the Sono.

And for the hiss, I never encountered any level of hiss, even on bad grounded sources, so on a DAC or DAP, you should not encounter any issue.

Conclusion

At $159 USD, the Hidizs MP145 is more than a pleasant surprise, it’s a great IEM.

Build quality is excellent, design is nice and if bulky as hell, the big shell deserves a purpose by embedding an excellent 14.5mm planar driver. Bass are excellent, highs are good but the piece of resistance here are the voices, which outshines almost all the competitors playing in the same price bracket. The only flaws? Slightly week low/highs mids, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed with an EQ, or the provided tips.

Bonus point? Those ears also serve as a means to raise awareness about whale and marine ecosystem conservation. Kudos to the team!

Pros :

• impressive sound quality, especially on voices and bass
• great build and solid shell
• affordable price and WDC partnership
• love the design

Cons:

• needs a solid source to shine
• bulky shell!