Review - Hidizs MP143

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TLDR version on YouTube: TDLR - Hidizs MP143

The Hidizs MP143 have been sent to me directly by Hidizs in exchange for the publication of my review. Their only request was that I published it around the release date, however, as I was on vacation when these IEMs were officially announced, I guess I failed to meet that request.

The MP143 on Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hidizs/hidizs-mp143-salt-143mm-large-planar-hifi-in-ear-monitors

Hidizs official site: https://www.hidizs.net/products/hidizs-mp143-large-planar-magnetic-hifi-in-ear-monitors

As always, these links are non-affiliate.

To avoid being repetitive in my reviews, you can find all the info about how I create the reviews, equipment used, how I receive the products and how to interpret my reviews by visiting: About my reviews

Intro…

Before even getting to the IEMs, I want to mention the collaboration of Hidizs with the WDC (Whale and Dolphin Conservation).

When I was first asked about reviewing the MP145 (the previous planar model from Hidizs), I was told (so were other reviewers) that they were collaborating with the WDC and that there would be donations from the MP145 going to the WDC.

As time passed, there was no confirmation on what these donations were and even WDC, when contacted, said that they had not received anything from Hidizs. The subject became very confusing and there was no clear answer for quite some time. Finally there was some clarity brought to the situation and an announcement was published on the WDC site (that you can find here).

So, when Hidizs reached out regarding the MP143, saying that they were once again collaborating with the WDC, my first question was would they be clearer this time? The answer was yes, that they apologised for the confusion around the MP145 due to it being their first collaboration but that the MP143 would continue to support the WDC education program in the same way.

Anyway, with that out of the way, on to the IEMs, as this is an audio review after all!

In the words of Hidizs, the MP143 promise to deliver “the same superior sound tuning as the MP145 but at a more affordable price”. The truth is that they were launched with a super early bird price of $79, which then increased to a limited early bird price of $99, with the regular price stated as being shown as $159. When the MP145 was released, the same tiers were $109, $119 and $199, respectively. So we are in fact looking at about a 20% reduction in price over the previous model.

So, the reduced price is there but do we give anything up over the previous model?

Presentation…

The packaging is fairly similar to the MP145, only the way of presenting the included tips has changed. In the box of the MP145, these were presented on a large card with labelling to identify them, whereas, in this case, we get a little cardboard skewer. This is something that doesn’t bother me in the slightest, as the less packaging the better (even if it is stated as being ocean friendly packaging).

We do get less tips here also, with only 6 sets (in two types) being included, instead of the 9 sets in 3 types that we got previously. Once again, this is not really an issue for me as I just pick a set that works for me and stick with them for the review, maybe swapping them out after I have done my detailed listening.

The included cable is also a little simpler than the one included with the MP145, at least the balanced version that I received. However, that doesn’t mean the cable is bad. I praised the cable included with the MP145 but that doesn’t mean I am going to complain about this one. It is simple and, although it might not be my favourite cable, it gets the job done just fine.

Build and aesthetics…

There is a clear similarity between the two models, however, they are not the same. While the build quality does seem to be of the same level, the MP143 is slightly smaller, slightly lighter and opts for a different design on the face plate.

While the faceplate is still “inspired by a whales tale”, it's more a simple stepped design than the raised shape of the MP145. I actually like this aesthetic and appreciate the fact that it is smaller and lighter, although it is still not a small or light IEM by any means.

However, the smaller size doesn’t work in favour of comfort for me personally. While the shells may be smaller, the extension of the nozzle is also less, making it more difficult to get a seal at first, at least for me. For some reason, I also find that the left IEM causes a pressure point on the top part in my ear, making it a little uncomfortable at first. This seems to go away after a while, so maybe it is just “new shoes” syndrome.

Sound…

All tracks mentioned are clickable links that allow you to open the reference track in the streaming service of your choice (YouTube, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, etc.)

So, the important part, how does the MP143 sound?

Well, it depends on the nozzle selected. Once again Hidizs have included 3 different nozzles to enable the user to choose their preferred sound (and give the reviewer 3 times as much work 😉 ).

Here is the graph of the 3 options in comparison to my usual preference target for reference:

The obvious question is… how close is that to the MP145?

Well, here is the MP143 (Rose) in comparison to the MP145 (Red):

Here is the MP143 (Silver) in comparison to the MP145 (Silver):

And here is the MP143 (Red) in comparison to the MP145 (Red):

You may have noticed that I have not compared anything to the Gold nozzles of the MP145, that is because the differences between the Silver and Gold on the MP145 were minimal (check out the MP145 review for more on that).

So, with all the squiggly lines out of the way, on to my subjective impressions.

Starting off with the Red nozzles, I am not a fan. While this tuning is becoming a regular lately and there are some sets with similar tunings that I really enjoy, I don’t find it works well with the MP143. Things come across overly blunted and focused on the low end. Rather than going into details and saying negative things, let’s move on to the other two nozzles.

There are a lot of similarities between the Silver and Rose nozzles, however, there is much more of a difference between them than there were between the Silver and Gold on the MP145.

Here the Rose nozzles give a little more focus on the lower end, with a more relaxed upper range, whereas the silver nozzles have more “bite” to them.

To be honest, I like both of the nozzle options and can listen to either of them but found that I spent more time with the Silver option, which is what my following opinions are based on using.

Using my usual “Chameleon” test, I find the lower notes to have plenty of presence and stay rather clean, although they do become a little excessive for me personally due to the boosted midbass range also. I don’t find the midbass range to be offensive, “Crazy” is not overly boomy nor fatiguing, but I do find that “Chameleon” is a little too much in this regard.

Speaking of “Crazy”, there is a nice clarity to the track, although the vocals can get just a little too spicy with the Silver nozzles, something that is tamed by opting for either of the other two options.

The midrange is well balanced in general although I do find that there is a slight lack of presence in the upper midrange. This is especially noticeable with female vocals, such as Sara K. in “All Your Love”, where there is a bit of a rounded effect to her voice in general.

This is not quite as noticeable with male vocals but is still there, such as Francesco Yates in “Sugar (Acoustic)”, where his vocals are clear but seem to be missing a little bit of brightness in those upper mids.

The same could be said with details in general, such as the intro to “All Your Love”, where the details are not quite as clear and also present that “rounded” sensation to them. However, speed is certainly not an issue, as the busy parts of “The Room” show.

Soundstage is not really something that stands out to me with the MP143, there is some space but it is not a sensation of a large soundstage, more of a reduced space where positioning is rather good for the limited space, as shown by “Bubbles”, where each of the balls is easily located. With “La Luna”, there is not much of a sensation of depth or width either, although there is plenty of separation between the instruments.

Conclusion…

There are a lot of similarities between the MP143 and the MP145, although I would say that there is a noticeable difference in performance between the two sets. The MP145 comes across as more detailed, with more space, where the MP143 comes across as rounder and a more compacted presentation.

Saying this, I don’t think the MP143 is bad, far from it, I think it is a very good set of planar IEMs, I just don’t think it is a direct competitor for the MP145. At the current sub 100€ mark, I think you are getting a decent performing set of IEMs, that also offer you 3 tuning options and are quite capable of keeping up with fast moving and busy tracks. They are not the most detailed of IEMs but, again, they do have other things that they focus on, such as the bass, if that is your kind of things.

If you have the MP145, then I really don’t see any reason to look at the MP143. Saying that, if you buy the MP143, I also don’t think that there is such a significant jump up to the MP145 that it would be worth picking those up either. If you don’t have either and are torn between the two, ignoring the size and weight (which obviously puts the MP143 ahead), I think I would personally go for the MP145.