By aspect — in detail
The most-praised part of the set by a wide margin: deep, textured and — the recurring word — controlled, elevated well above neutral without bleeding into the mids. A minority hears it as loose or pillowy rather than tight, and several reviewers who like it still warn it is more low end than some will want.
“The bass is well-controlled and textured, without any bleed or bloat.”
Meldrick, Headfonics
“There may be some voodoo magic happening here but the bass of the Canon II is just so rich, thick, and texture while keeping it clean enough to not intrude on the midrange.”
@kesobie, Head-Fi
“Pillowy bass response. Not the most well textured DD-bass.”
@DestinoAzell, Head-Fi
Measured
Across six independent squig.link rigs, normalized at 500 Hz, the shelf runs about +6 to +9 dB at 50 Hz and is back within 1–3 dB of level by 200 Hz. The two switches move only that region: both up versus both down is +0.6 to +2.9 dB below 200 Hz (five of the six rigs read +0.6 to +1.7) and 0.3 dB or less anywhere above 500 Hz. The two intermediate modes measure within 0.3 dB of each other everywhere.
⚠ vs. listeners — One review reports that flipping both switches up 'gets you another 5dB of sheer bass'. No rig supports a figure that large; the biggest measured span is 2.9 dB and the median is nearer 1 dB. Reviewers who described the switches as subtle, and who counted three audible modes rather than four, are the ones the graphs agree with.
Broadly loved — rich, natural, with real note weight on both male and female vocals, and no sense of the bass swamping them. Reviewers place them differently (slightly recessed, dead centre, or the star of the show), and one careful listener hears an upper-midrange imbalance that reads as glare.
“And on the Canon 2 mids are absolutely marvelous.”
Headphonesty
“The midrange is neither forward, nor recessed.”
Yagiz, Headfonia
“I hear a slight imbalance toward upper midrange, leading to occasional glares and shoutiness.”
@o0genesis0o, Head-Fi
Measured
The ear-gain rise starts unusually early: 1.5 kHz already sits +3.4 to +5.3 dB over 500 Hz, and three rigs put the highest point of the whole region at 2.3–2.5 kHz rather than the usual 3 kHz. An independent IEC-711 measurer describes the same thing — the set 'pushes the frequencies around 1.5kHz forward comparing to the target', with the upper midrange pulled back.
The single biggest disagreement about this set. Roughly half the field calls it safe, dark and short on air; a smaller group calls it crisp and well-extended; a third strand hears occasional grain or roughness. Everyone agrees it is not fatiguing.
Measured
Every rig shows the same two-part shape: a lifted 4–8 kHz band (+4.6 to +7.6 dB over 500 Hz), then a real fall-off — 10 kHz at +0.2 to +3.5 dB and 16 kHz somewhere between −2 and −14.5 dB. There is also a consistent 1–2.5 dB notch at 3–3.5 kHz, sitting between peaks at roughly 2.5 kHz and 4.5 kHz.
⚠ vs. listeners — Both camps are right about different octaves, which is why neither can win the argument. The lifted 4–8 kHz band is the crispness and bite one side hears; the top-octave roll-off is the missing air the other side asks for. Claims that it 'extends up to 16-18 kHz without a hard rolloff' overstate what the rigs read, and 'rolled-off treble' understates the presence region.
Where it splits
safe and dark — wants more air up top53%
“The treble is present, but not highlighted within Canon 2.”
@o0genesis0o, Head-Fi
crisp and well-extended — plenty of sparkle28%
“The treble of the Canon II is crisp and airy, with a good extension and sparkle.”
Meldrick, Headfonics
occasionally rough or grainy19%
“The resonant frequencies occasionally get agitated, and I can hear that some overtones get too loud.”
Headphonesty
Tonality
Strong consensus · 14 srcThe clearest point of agreement: warm, bass-elevated, and deliberately non-shouty. The labels vary — warm-neutral, slight U, slight V, dark — but every source lands on the same side of neutral, and nobody calls it bright or aggressive.
“Warm pleasant tonality, smooth and non-fatiguing”
@baskingshark, Head-Fi
“The Canon II has a warm-neutral signature with an emphasis on the sub-bass region.”
Yagiz, Headfonia
“The Blessing 3 has a neutral sound signature, while the Canon II has a more exciting, somewhat V-shaped sound signature.”
Meldrick, Headfonics
Measured
A large bass shelf, ear gain that arrives early and peaks around 2.5 kHz, a dip at 3–3.5 kHz where most Harman-style sets are loudest, and rolled-off air above 10 kHz. That combination is exactly the recipe for 'warm and never shouty'.
Soundstage
Contested · 11 srcGenuinely split down the middle. One camp calls the stage wide and expansive for the money; the other calls it average in width and rather intimate. Notably, several in the second camp single out depth and front-to-back layering as the real strength.
Where it splits
wide and expansive for the price53%
“It has great imaging, precise instrument separation, and a wide stage with adequate depth.”
Yagiz, Headfonia
average width, distinctly intimate47%
“The staging performance of the Canon II is quite average, doing so with the width that is expected with a pair of IEMs.”
Meldrick, Headfonics
Widely called a strength — precise placement, clean layering, instruments easy to pick out of a mix. The dissent is narrow but specific: one reviewer finds the notes cohere rather than separate, without the hard-edged definition he looks for.
“The imaging of the Canon II is precise and coherent, with good separation and layering.”
Meldrick, Headfonics
“Excellent technicalities, especially with regard to layering and imaging”
@baskingshark, Head-Fi
“the instruments do not pop out with laser sharp definition”
@o0genesis0o, Head-Fi
Contested, and the split is about price rather than sound. Most reviewers are surprised that a tuning this warm resolves as well as it does; a real minority says that once you stop grading on the warm-tuning curve, the resolution is ordinary for $379.
Where it splits
resolves above its price, despite the warmth71%
“Even compared to other more neutral IEMs, the detail retrieval of the Canon is easily superior.”
Meldrick, Headfonics
merely average for what it costs29%
“I was not immediately impressed by the resolution of Canon 2”
@o0genesis0o, Head-Fi
Mostly praised for slam and macro-dynamic swing — the bio-diaphragm driver hits hard and stops cleanly. One reviewer hears the opposite, describing the overall transient as soft.
“Very full and expressive macro-dynamics”
Chris Love, Mobileaudiophile
“Decay is short so it has good impact and slam but it sounds tight and strong.”
Corgifall, Audio Discourse
“Overall dynamic transient is soft.”
@DestinoAzell, Head-Fi
Comfort
Contested · 10 srcOverwhelmingly good — a smooth unibody shell that most reviewers wear for hours without noticing, one calling it the best-fitting set he had tried in years. The nozzle is on the long side, though, and at least one careful listener could not get it to seat without pressure build-up. Fit is the one variable worth reading twice on.
Where it splits
comfortable for hours, no notes86%
“The comfort is very good, as I can wear the Canon II for hours without any fatigue or discomfort”
Meldrick, Headfonics
long nozzle, will not seat for everyone14%
“I found that the nozzle angle is slightly off, preventing the IEM from lying flat against my ears.”
@o0genesis0o, Head-Fi
Isolation
Contested · 7 srcSplit, and the shell design explains why: it is a vented hybrid, so it blocks a fair amount but leaks more than a sealed set. Reviewers grade that same behaviour as either excellent for a universal or unremarkable, depending on what they compare it against.
Measured
One reviewer puts the passive attenuation at 20–30 dB, which is solid for a vented universal but short of what a sealed deep-fit design manages.
Where it splits
isolates well — fine for commuting56%
“the solid acrylic shell provides great passive noise cancellation for a universal IEM”
Yagiz, Headfonia
average — it is a vented shell and it leaks44%
“For a vented IEM, the isolation performance of the Canon II is quite average, blocking out most of the ambient noise and even medium-volume conversations.”
Meldrick, Headfonics
A one-piece medical-resin shell with a glitter faceplate that reviewers consistently rate above its price, and one of the better stock cables in the class. The switches need the supplied pin to flip. The only durability complaints come from buyers rather than reviewers, and they are few but pointed.
“Robust build, with beautiful resin shells”
@baskingshark, Head-Fi
“The craftsmanship is impeccable, with no evident flaws.”
Yagiz, Headfonia
“But unfortunately the left IEM died inside of a yr.”
Verified buyer, Linsoul
Positive on sound, and near-unanimously grumpy about what comes in the box. Reviewer after reviewer calls the $379 performance strong and the four pairs of tips, single non-modular cable and bare accessory set thin for the tier — it is the most repeated criticism of the entire set.
“the Canon 2 seems like a no-brainer for most listeners”
Headphonesty
“Great price to performance ratio”
Yagiz, Headfonia
“The accessories are very spartan for a midFI priced IEM, and this is disappointing.”
@baskingshark, Head-Fi
