Pros:
Aesthetics – love the deep green shells
Bass is powerful, deep and well controlled with no bloat or muddiness
Resolution is excellent – clean, detailed an airy
Staging is wide and somewhat round (3D) too
Imaging is separated very well throughout my head
Cons:
For me, fitting tips was quite a challenge until a friend told me to try a set which I hadn’t considered (read on folks)
I would have liked a third set of tips (see Con point 2)
Mids (particularly male vocals) could push a tad forward on a couple of tracks
Product links:
https://www.linsoul.com/products/punch-audio-portazo?srsltid=AfmBOopCAIm33QcLF_4eI7Bl5EH4g83q3lwChXgbBzTbfGHxR7bYtORk
Preamble:
The Punch Audio Poratzos retail for $189 USD and employ 1 Dynamic and 2 Planar Magnetic drivers. They have a sensitivity rating of 102 dB and an impedance of 10 ohm.
I like to add on all my reviews –
I’m listening with my dual-mono aural side-pancakes, not yours.
I’m listening with my gear, not yours.
I’m listening with my love of audio, and not yours. YMMV…..
Now let’s get our aural hands dirty!
Gear:
For this review, my portable gear consists of my Hiby R6 Pro II 2025 (review very soon!).
Unboxing and first impressions:
Slide off the sleeve (which looks striking in black with some dark green and white) and open the flaps to reveal the iems. The dark but bright green shells look special. They feel light. Open the leather carry case and we get two sets of tips - foam and silicon.
I tried the medium silicon first and initially they didn’t sound the best to me. They seemed a tad screechy (too much treble and not enough down below). I also don’t think the fit was right for my ears.
I swapped to the medium foam which brought out more bass but the fit was difficult to get correct in my right ear (I’m always normally a medium so this was odd). I tried a pair of Kiwi Ears tips medium silicon tips that LInsoul had previously sent out and this brought in some deep and powerful bass…….but it became a tad bloated on Metallica’s One.
I swapped back to the silicon tips (small this time) and spent a fair bit of time trying to fit them properly.
Side note, they are EXTREMELY easy to tip-roll. Some iems have ended up being flushed down the loo with young cousin Jean’s goldfish (Funky-Duck) “Oh Jeannie, Funky-Duck has gone for a loooong swim with his buddies”……) as I scream obscenities red-faced trying to tip roll over fat nozzles…….
I started writing the review, listening to my playlist and I just wasn’t getting the bass everyone was talking about.
When I pushed them in and held them, the bass was there in spades but as soon as I let go, it disappeared.
I was getting frustrated at this point.
I started writing notes but it wasn’t going to be a very positive review, due to tips just not sealing in my (fairly normal??) ears.
A friend suggested I try the large silicon tips. I laughed at him. Honestly. I asked why, if the medium tips seemed too big, would large possibly work. ……..
I tried the large silicon tips. DAMN that man!!!!!!! The large fit like an aural surgical glove (Can I take your temperature sir??) and sealed perfectly……..
I went back to the first song and re-wrote my notes.
After all that, the cable is modular (THANKS Punch Audio!!!!!) with 4.4mm and 3.5mm. It’s a pleasant, reasonably thick braided black cable with Punch Audio inscribed on the termination end. I like it!!
Playlist:
I have REALLY been enjoying my recent “special” playlist lately, so I’ll use that and swap out a few tracks for some new blood.
Butterfly Net – Caroline Polachek
One – Metallica
Don’t Start Now – Dua Lipa
Kings and Queens – Ava Max
Rebellion – R3HAB, Michael Patrick, Shaggy
Hot Dog – Led Zeppelin
Thorns – Jelly Roll
The Important Stuff:
Butterfly Net up first. There’s a real sense of space and separation here. Resolution is detailed and clean. Bass comes in. it does go low. Damn. It’s a clean, in-control bass that separates from the rest of the mix. Caroline’s vocals are smooth but powerful, really lovely and full. Keys come in to sit right in the middle of the mix. Cowbells are off right, clicks all around. Staging is excellent, definitely wide, outside my sonic flappers and reasonably deep too, leaning out over my nose.
Nothing sounds harsh or tinny. There seems to be a richness and natural timbre to the Portazos.
This is a great track on them!
One. My staging test song. Helicopters come way left, hover around behind me and then off to the far right.
James comes in on guitar and it’s clean, detailed and full, as is Kirk’s guitar. Lars’ kick drum goes deep and with the large tips, the sound is really good!!! I originally wrote on my medium tip review that bass was lacking and there was a crispness on Lars’ snare hits. Not now. At all.
Bass is full and deep. It doesn’t bleed for me and isn’t bloated to my cranial music-holes.
The cacophony comes in at the middle, with the band going off. It’s frenetic, but it doesn’t all get minced up and spat out. It remains a cohesive dish, where one can dine on aural caviar with a sonic smile on one’s face.
Old man follows and it’s just beautifully clean with Beck’s vocals and acoustic guitar.
Again, staging is wide and placement within my nut is well-separated and easily pin-pointable.
This is not a bass-driven song but the mids (vocals and guitar) are smooth with plenty of weight and body. The upper frequencies are very resolving and not harsh in any way. The mids are smooth and vocals sound great on the Portazos to me.
Don’t Start Now is a great dance number by Dua Lipa. Her vocals are just naturally smooth and well positioned. The bass-run on this song is one of my favourites and it sounds plump like Uncle Bryan’s left…..never mind…
Everything is separated well and sounds really are all around inside my head. And that bass is excellent. It’s exciting. It’s powerful without being dominant.
This review has gone from a slight train-wreck to a first class, all expenses paid uber-fast train ride to Dubai………
Kings and Queens sounds exuberant on the Portazos. Lively, funky with mids that sit nicely and treble that is clean and resolving without any harshness. Staging is wide again. Ava’s vocals are a tad more forward here but not in a bad way. Just brought a bit more forward than on other vocal tracks. It sounds like she’s singing right at me. She has a very powerful (and wonderful!) voice.
Rebellion is up next. Vocals sound full with good weight and presence. Treble is clean and very detailed without any sharpness and the song is punchy and exciting. Bass goes down to my toes (it’s ok, I picked it back up).
I’ve seen all kinds of comments on the Portazo’s bass – good and bad. For my old ears, it’s super-clean, full and does not bleed or bloat.
Hot Dog (my favourite Led Zep song) comes out swinging. It’s very resolving, detailed and separated so well.
Staging is wide and a hair in front too. Page is off, down behind my right ear. Plant is powerful and full, and the band really plays to the Portazos well. Imaging is excellent and Bonzo is behind me and off to the left too. There’s something everywhere in my head.
A cracker of a song and the Portazos do it justice.
Thorns by Jelly Roll is simply a beautiful song. Mr Roll’s vocals are really full, rich, commanding and out in front and centre. They can get a tad forward again but it’s not at the problematic stage yet. Jelly’s right up in my grill but I don’t mind.
Banjo is clean and sitting nicely in the background off to the left and guitar is all around me. It’s natural, precise and clean. Placement is lovely here, and it’s another great song on Punch Audio’s new offering.
A quick comparison (or 2):
I chose the DUNU 142s, which are a bit pricier ($249, $239 on DUNU’s site now). They are a tribrid (1 dynamic, 4 BA and 2 Planars). I gave them 4 stars at Headfi.org.
They both look stunning in their respective bright colours. Maybe the 142s win aesthetically by a margin.
Cable and accessories goes to the DUNUs, but they are $60 dearer. The cable is really nice and they offer more tips to roll.
Let’s light ‘em up!!
The 142s on Rebellion sound deep and resolving but there’s a tiny bit of crispness in the treble. Not sibilant per se but the “S” is hissing a tad.
Bass hits much harder on the Portazos and the treble is clean, with no crispness, but now I can hear the “S” sound also, but not as prominent as on the 142s. I didn’t notice it when doing my review.
Hot Dog next and the sound is similar but there is that slight crispness up top again. The 142s don’t stage or image as well as the Portazos. They are a bit more closed in, but not claustrophobic in any way. Plant’s vocals are a tad more forward on the 142s.
Thorns now and the intro is beautiful on the 142s. That slight crispness is still there on the “S” and Mr Roll is in my grill more than the Portazos.
Portazos for the win here.
One more comparison – the Ear Acoustic VSA-MAX. They retail a bit lower than the Portazos, at $149, but I really liked them. They employ a single 11.4 mm full range Dynamic Driver with Titanium Diaphragm. I gave them 4.5 stars at Headfi.
The VSAs get the bling factor but I like the look of the Portazos equally.
Cable and accessories go to the VSAs. The cable is excellent and there are more tips to roll.
The VSAs really are great iems for $149.
But then, so again are the Portazos for $189.
Bass goes to the Portazos. It’s bigger, fuller and deeper.
Staging and imaging go the Portazos – not by a huge margin but they are wider and rounder.
Overall tuning and musical enjoyment is a tie though. The VSAs don’t quite get the bass quantity/quality but they have a lovely rounded, smooth midrange and treble detail is excellent without being crisp or harsh in any way.
And the VSAs do dig deep when called for, just not all the time, like the Portazos.
The Portazos for the win but not by much, it was close.
I really enjoy both sets of iems, so well done Punch Audio and Ear Acoustic Audio.
This is a paid review but every word and opinion here is my own, without influence from Linsoul.
And thanks again readers for sticking with me, it means a great deal!!!
