Astrotec Vesna Review: A Charming IEM At A Charming Price!!
Astrotec needs no introduction among audio enthusiasts. We are familiar with the name for their exceptional earbuds with Astrotec Lyra Mini as among my favorite buds for a relaxing listening session. Astrotec also develops in-ear monitors with several beautiful pairs already under their name like the Astrotec Volans, and their latest released Astrotec Vesna. While Volans has a mid-fi level price tag of 329$, the Vesna comes at a budget price of just 19.90$. These beautiful IEMs have a single dynamic driver configuration housing a 6mm dynamic driver on each side with LCP(Liquid Crystal Polymer) Diaphragm.
Vesna comes at a pocket-friendly price point, which gets me intrigued as everything else that I have previously seen from them has always got a price of 100$ or above. I got a unit from Astrotec, and I have spent a good few weeks with the pair. Let’s begin with my impressions on the same today.
Disclaimer:-
Vesna was provided to me free of cost by Astrotec and HiFiGo. I would like to thank them for this, rest assured this won’t affect my impressions by any means. My liking and preferences will obviously depend on my personal sound preference(that is mostly neutral with a slight sub-bass boost). If you are interested you can buy Astrotec Vesna from Astrotec Aliexpress store from here.
Unboxing Experience:-
Vesna comes in a small package with a white slip-on cover. The slip-on cover has an image of Vesna IEMs with the Astrotec Branding logo at the top left. At the back, we have the frequency graph for the pair along with its technical specifications in English and Chinese. As we pull the slip-on cover out, Vesna is sitting firmly in a layer of foam with its cable-tied underneath. Apart from the pair itself, we also have a black-colored magnetic carry pouch. In the pouch, we have a white-colored USB Type-C to 3.5mm adapter, and three pairs of silicone ear tips. That’s all about the package.
Package Contents:-
>Astrotec Vesna IEMs.
>Three pairs of silicone ear tips.
>One USB Type-C to 3.5mm DAC.
>Carry pouch.
Design & Build Quality:-
Vesna has a small profile with bullet-shaped cylindrical cavities. The entire shell has a full metallic build right from the faceplates to the nozzle. The cavities are finely textured with a matte silver finish. Faceplates are turquoise in color and they have a Plus design engraved on them. At the top, we have ‘L’ and ‘R’ denoted at the left and right sides respectively. The pair has a non-detachable cable. Build-wise, Vesna has a rich finish on high-quality metallic shells. In this budget, I also happen to own Tanchjim Tanya which also has a similar form factor. But the Vesna looks and feels more premium to hold with its matte finish.
There’s also a different model by Astrotec known as Astrotec Vesna Evo that has the same build and sound but with detachable two-pin cables. The cable here looks nicely built too. It’s soft and subtle, although prone to get tangled easily. As per the brand’s words, it’s a high-quality OFC(Oxygen-Free Copper) cable with a 3.5mm single-ended termination.
Fit & Noise Isolation:-
I find the pair to give me a comfortable and firm fit with no isolation issues. Though Bullet-shaped IEMs are not as isolating for me as I get with ergonomically shaped ones, Vesna is still quite good. It works fine at home, But at the gym when the surrounding music is too loud It leaks it for me.
Driving The Astrotec Vesna:-
What we need for an entry-level IEM is for it to sound good straight out of a smartphone without the need for any other expensive DACs. Well, I can say Astrotec Vesna works nicely off from a smartphone. I tested it with my Redmi Note 10 Pro, and it sounds clean though a little bit lean especially in note definition. Although the pair scales better with a better source, just adding a simple DAC/AMP like Hidizs S3 Pro brought drastic improvement over the smartphone output. Vocals got better body, notes get a little bit more heft to them.
With Hidizs S3 Pro, Vesna also sounds cleaner to my ears, I mean background is cleaner now. So I would say, you might enjoy Vesna with your smartphones, but adding a simple DAC/AMP in the chain will make the pair sound even better. Following are the devices I used with Astrotec Vesna for the purpose of this review.
>Redmi Note 10 Pro.
>Redmi Note 10 Pro+Hidizs S3 pro.
>Astell&Kern SE100.
Sound Impressions:-
Astrotec Vesna has a fairly U-shaped sound profile with sparkly treble. It’s commendable how clean and detailed the Vesna sounds for its price point. Treble performance is really good, cymbal crashes, Electric Guitar riffs sound clean and sparkly. I honestly love the energy of Vesna here. Midrange here also holds a charm, both the male and female vocals will spread love to you with a clean presentation. Bass response with the Vesna is clean although it would benefit with a little bit more punch. Vesna shows smooth sub-bass, it’s the mid-bass that needs some extra bit of slam and punch to it. For its price point, Vesna sounds phenomenal. Simply loved the set!!
Lower End:-
Vesna presents you with a clean and precise lower-end response. Sub-bass presence is more present than the Mid-bass. Mid-bass, for my taste, needs a little bit more emphasis here. Though I must add here, Astrotec has maintained a fast and pacy bass response with the Vesna. It’s tightly controlled too, which is good for this price segment. The lower end isn’t boomy by any means, in fact, it’s presented quite nicely just to complement the other frequencies well.
Tracks Tested:-
>Billie Jean by Michael Jackson.
>Dance Monkey By Tones&I.
>Old Town Road by Lil Nas X.
>Cheap Thrills by Sia.
And a few more.
Midrange:-
Midrange is where the charm for Vesna starts up for me. The pair shows good clarity for vocals, both male and female. Vocals are actually presented quite upfront. They sound slightly warmer than neutral and smooth. Vesna showcases clean presentation for instruments such as acoustic guitars, Piano, Flutes, simply beautiful. I must add here, a little bit more body to the instruments would have made them sound fuller. They sound a little bit of lean right now(more so when using directly with smartphones), though nothing that bothers me much as details right now are sublime with the set.
Tracks Tested:-
>Hotel California by Eagles.
>Yellow Brick Road by Elton John.
>Careless Whisper by George Adams.
>Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely by Backstreet Boys.
>Love Story by Taylor Swift.
>2002 by Anne-Marie.
And a few more.
Highs:-
Treble performance with Vesna is sparkly and energetic. Vesna produces beautiful and clean presentations for high notes in both Instruments as well as Vocals. Electric Guitars, Piano, Violins, are very clear and detailed. Each note is defined properly with the pair. Some might say the pair is analytical in its presentation, I wouldn’t disagree with it, as the details are actually quite good with the pair. I am just happy that the Treble is presented in a crisp, clean manner. There is occasional sibilance presence but that is rare to come across, it’s just an experience full of energy.
Tracks Tested:-
>Wonder Women Theme by Tina Guo.
>Dreams by Fleetwood Mac.
>Billie Jean by MJ.
>Californication by RHCP.
And a few more.
Dynamics(Soundstage, Layering):-
The soundstage is pretty wide with the Vesna. Image is created close to the listener(Which I personally like). Depth could’ve been a bit better but honestly, that would be just me nitpicking things here with the set. Layering and imaging with Vesna is also exceptionally good for the price. I am pretty sure I will go into exploring more stuff by Astrotec after Vesna now.
Tanchjim Tanya Vs Astrotec Vesna:-
As I stated earlier in this blog itself, I also happen to have a Tanchjim Tanya with me which comes at the same price point of around 20$. I personally loved the smooth and detailed presentation of Tanya, though it takes a decent DAC/AMP to bring the best out of the pair. Here’s my take between these two.
>In terms of build quality, both the Tanya and Vesna are nicely built. But the Vesna feels more premium thanks to its rich matte finish.
>Vesna shows better energy with good sparkle, Tanya is more on to the relaxed side.
>Tanya has better body for notes(let me remind you again it needs decent DAC/AMP to sound its best).
>Vesna shows refined and cleaner treble from the two.
>Midrange-wise, Vesna is more forward in comparison.
>Lower end is better on the Tanya with more punch in the mid-bass segment.
Final Words For Astrotec Vesna:-
Vesna is a nicely tuned set that delivers quality performance at a very attractive price point. It has got good technicalities, excellent detailing, and pretty good clarity throughout the frequency response range. Astrotec has designed it pretty well too, I just love the matte finish on its metallic shells. While I loved everything else about the sound with Vesna, it needs a little more heft to the note-definition and more punch in the lower end. Other than that, it’s a solid pair delivering exceptional sound performance in its segment!!
Well, that’s all from my side on the Astrotec Vesna, I hope you like it. I would like to thank Astrotec and HiFiGo again for arranging this sample for me to audition for the beautiful Vesna.
