Today I got the chance to sit down the with Echobox Finder X1 earphone, give it a listen, and see how it musters up to its competition.  But at $99, how does it sound?  And is it worth the price?

The Finder X1 earphone comes with seven pairs of eartips, a carrying case, and three pairs of removable filters that adjust sound.

Lightweight and slim, the design can almost seem flimsy, but the build remains solid.  A 4 ft (1.2 m) cable utilizes silver-plated copper, and the earpieces are ergonomically designed for a better fit in the ear.

The interchangeable filters are an interesting feature, though the balanced filters seemed sibilant and the bright filters even more so.  I did appreciate the warm filters, if only because they seem the most even-keeled of the bunch.

Specs

Frequency Range:  15-40,000 Hz
Nominal Impedance:  22 ohms
Sound Pressure Level (SPL):  96 dB

As we can see from these specifications, the Finder sports a fairly wide frequency range, as well as a low impedance – perfect for use with a cell phone or laptop.  Sound Pressure is a bit lower than expected, but should still provide adequate volume under most circumstances.

Low End

Decent detail appears in the low end.  Complimented by a lively, natural bass, these lows lend themselves to almost any listening tastes.  All in all, this is a surprisingly good sound for the price.

Midrange

The mids on the Finder exhibit okay detail and a certain level of clarity.  Fantastic for vocals and instrumentation, there remains a slight amount of compression.  While not a deal breaker, this single blemish does prevent the mids from sounding amazing.

High End

Highs are natural and smooth, with strong detail.  My only misgiving about the high end is a slight impression of sibilance that tends to rear up from time to time.  Still, at the price, this high end offers a ton of value.

Soundstage

Good depth and some sense of placement offer a decent sense of soundstage – for an earphone.  By no means is this the best soundstage you can get at the price, but for an earphone, it’s still pretty darn good.

Other Observations

The Finder packs a lot of detail.  It’s not an in-ear monitor, but for a consumer in-ear headphone, it still holds its own.

That slight sibilance in the high end may ruin these earphones for pop music, or anywhere that vocals may come into play.

Swapping out the default balanced filter for the warm filter seemed to fix the sibilance issue.  I’d highly recommend listening to the Finder with the warm filters in.

Recommendations

For those seeking a decent, lightweight earphone with ample details for instrumental music, look no further than the Echobox Finder.

Where more balance is a concern, I would recommend the Shure SE315 ($179) or the Audio Technica E40 $99 for greater fidelity in the mids and highs.

Final Analysis

A solid headphone with solid detail, the Echobox Finder X1 provides a solid value for anyone who needs more detail in their earphones.  And with a price of $99, this deal is hard to pass up.