BASEUS Lark EL-01

| Dynamic Driver |

? The BASEUS Lark EL-01 is a metal in-ear headphone with a very affordable price and good looking design. BASEUS is brand with a massive catalog of gadget accessories and adapters but they also have some experience in the sound market with a couple of speakers and a small but fair amount of earphones models. The housings of the BASEUS Lark EL-01 are constructed in metal with a solid yet light total weight. The back section of the housings has a narrowing profile but with an end section slightly larger in diameter that offers a perfectly well achieved ergonomic part that can be easily grabbed to manage the earphones. The earpieces have a pearled finish similar to the Xiaomi Mi Piston Fresh Edition or the Xiaomi Mi Piston Basic Edition, which is attractive and adds a premium look to them. The cables of the BASEUS Lark EL-01 have a pretty standard girth, are rounded and rubberized to combat tangling issues. There is an inline microphone and control located on the cable corresponding to the right earpiece. This mic-control has a 1-button control and a sliding volume control, the sliding control offers the benefit of extremely fast volume level modification (under request) and an universal compatibility with any kind of device (all smartphones, tablets and computers). The cable bifurcation section and the stereo plug section are made of metal and share the same color and finish of the earpieces; instead, the mic-control is made of plastic. You can buy the BASEUS Lark EL-01 in 3 different colors:

• BASEUS Lark EL-01 Gray (as the one that we are reviewing)
• BASEUS Lark EL-01 Silver
• BASEUS Lark EL-01 Pink

FIND ALL: Earphones Scores Compared

MORE: In-Ear Headphones Reviews

BASEUS Lark EL-01 - Review

Tests & Scores

Weight

MORE: In-Ear Headphones Weight Comparison

SEE ALSO: Earphones Size Comparison

Accessories & Packaging

The BASEUS Lark EL-01 come in a simple rectangular box (pretty much the same kind of packaging of many earphones), inside you will get 2 extra pair of eartips as accessories.

^6_/10

Bass & Sub Bass

The bass of the Baseus Lark EL-01 is highly energetic and punchy with nice depth right out of the box. On the other side, it sounds boomy and there is a lot of mid bass bleed. Bass is something that this earphone will never lack. After an EQ, bass becomes super punchy and very deep but the already boomy sounding low frequencies get way too enhanced. To be honest, there is not much need to feed up their bass with an EQ. During our extreme bass tests the BASEUS Lark EL-01 were able to handle up to 47% of the maximum power of a Fiio E12 amplifier while being set to high gain and with it’s bass boost turned on; a custom basshead EQ was applied. The extreme amplification and equalization made the Baseus Lark achieve a massive increment of punch and even more on their sub-bass depth. They were able to reach a basshead level of impact and rumble way above the KZ ATE, JBMMJ MJ8600, Xiaomi Mi Pro HD or the SOUL K-POP and inline with the Xiaomi Mi In-Ear Headphones Pro or the KZ ZS1.

^_8.25/10

MORE: Earphones Amplification Power Comparison

MORE: Best Basshead Earphones

SEE ALSO: Best Fun Sounding Earphones Chart

Mids & Vocals

Mids of the Baseus Lark EL-01 are never harsh, very warm and have good presence, they do not sound distant but could sound a bit congested at times if an excessive amount of bass is present in a song due to the elevated mid-bass bleed. People enjoying smooth non fatiguing and warm mids and vocals will be happy. With an EQ lower vocals and lower mids sound much clearer and way less mid-bass bleed is perceived, higher mids still remain free of any harshness.

^_7.5/10

Highs & Treble

Highs have enough brightness, some mild level of detail and no piercing peaks. Sibilance can be heard at times but it is not unbearable. Using an EQ, highs become much brighter and noticeably more open but with no extra detail gained. Piercing highs are still not present but sibilance gets very strong and frequent.

^7.5_/10

Sound Leak

The sound that leaks out of these earphones is a bit higher than most average earphones, not something terribly high or audible during noisy situations of a busy city but under less noisy situations or where silence is demanded the Baseus EL-01 will not be the best companion unless a very low volume is set.

^6_/10

Sound Isolation

Noise isolation is good and effective while using a moderate volume, if you require a nearly total level of isolation you will have to use a higher volume.

^7.25_/10

Comfort

The light and fairly small housings are comfortable to wear and handle with their back section ergonomics. They can be used for long hours without much concern about comfort or fit issues.

^8_/10

Response to Equalization

The BASEUS Lark EL-01 were able to offer an efficient response to custom EQ of mid frequencies with a clear improvement of the lower vocals and lower mids. Bass frequencies gained a huge amount of depth and punch at the price of overboosted boomy sound. Highs gained brightness and remained free of piercing sound but sibilance became an issue.

^7.5_/10

MORE: Editor’s Picks Earphones Chart

MORE: Best Bang for the Buck Earphones

BUY IT AT: 

Scores

• Accessories - 6/10
  6/10
• Design - 8/10
  8/10
• Bass - 8.25/10
  8.3/10
• Mids - 7.5/10
  7.5/10
• Highs - 7.5/10
  7.5/10
• Sound Leak - 6/10
  6/10
• Sound Isolation - 7.25/10
  7.3/10
• Comfort - 8/10
  8/10
• Response to EQ - 7.5/10
  7.5/10
• Value for Money - 9.5/10
  9.5/10

Summary

AWARDS

Pros

✅ Crazy amount of mid-bass punch and sub-bass depth with no need of an EQ

✅ Never harsh mids, with warm and clear enough sounding mids (for non-audiophile listeners)

✅ Can become a serious basshead heavyweight if extremely amplified and applying a custom basshead EQ

✅ Metal housings and stylish looks

✅ Ultra affordable

Cons

❌ Mid-bass bleed and boomy sound could be a problem to people that do not like very bassy earphones

❌ Sound leak is slightly worse than an average earphone

❌ They exhibit a high level of driver flex

Conclusion

The BASEUS Lark EL-01 offer a great value for money relation with their good construction and finish and quite respectable sound quality. Their sound signature will probably not fascinate audiophiles but people enjoying bass and fun sound will most probably like them. Their budget price and overall SQ places them in our Best Bang for Buck Earphones. Moreover, experienced bassheads that have a deep knowledge in extreme amplification and equalization will be getting a heavy hitting basshead earphone for just a couple of pennies. Their results under our extreme amplification tests gained them a place in our Top Basshead Earphones Chart.
The BASEUS Lark EL-01 can be recommended to listeners that are looking for an ultra affordable earphone capable of offering rich, fun, very punchy and deep bass with warm vocals and/or for experienced bassheads.

7.5/10

FIND ALL OUR: Earphones Reviews / In-Ear Headphones Reviews

MORE: Best Earphones Charts

Buy it at:

BASEUS Lark EL-01

MORE: Single Dynamic Driver Earphones Reviews

Photos

BASEUS Lark EL-01

7.5

SCORE

7.5/10

Buy the Baseus Lark EL-01