Pacino PA02 review
Throughwork
There’s no mention of the company on the box or online. Pacinos are made in China, that’s all I get. I found them on a rack loaded with perhaps twelve options, and this one won.
Contents
Build
According to the box PA02s are ‘exquisite’. Also the helpful information that, “Texture was born with sound” and “Enjoy music for good life”. I think I have my worth already. The cable is not the worst, but close—it has some springiness that will prevent tangles, but the kinks of a paperclip. Joins, plugs, reliefs, cable… it’s all super‐cheap but neat and appropriate. The housing is notable—superlight, the ribbed cover is good design. The tips go in very shallow, but here is interesting—PA02s have a bulbous shape that hold better than others… in my ears. As for robustness, if the PA02s lasted two weeks I’d be happy… I think they will. Again, for me, I’d say they’re outstanding for comfort. They’re good for ease of use too, the single button works good. As for aesthetic, the ribbed housings, white contrasts, and near‐metallic sea‐blue finish add up to something outstanding… and I love the silver ribbon tie used for cable transport.
Sound
Reasonable volume, would be good but reduced by echo. Low strings, have a volume hump—strange position. Reasonable volume range. Whatcha talking about, attack/decay, when it’s lost in echo? Timing overall is good. The PA02s stride through swells, though they loose precision in a mass of sound. Upper voice has a nasty, wide boom. Frequency has an edge in high voice/ low horns, but not wide. There’s a surprising amount of controlled lowband—they’re good near tympani and similar percussion. Frequency range is good, but the echo dulls it off. There’s not much detail at all, or it’s lost. Color is weak in lower strings, cardboardy everywhere, but at least the cardboard is even‐distributed so, as you may deduce from the extended frequency range, is reasonable. Positions are poor—vague, but scale is wide.
The main drama is between the wide ranges and the echo/boom. The PA02s are reasonable on vocals. Unfortunately, wide frequency response kicks off that boom, which makes the PA02s poor at orchestral and rock replay. Only the lightest pop escapes. Minimal instrumentations are reasonable, but papery sound intrudes. Games and soundtracks are also reasonable. PA02s respond to better recordings, but better recordings can’t rescue the sound.
Spec
| mic available? | yes |
| cable noise | noisy |
| accessories | None, no alternative tips |
| support |
Assess
The PA02s refused to work on my startpoint computer rig. Wish I could tell more about wiring.
I suppose you may think ‘No Expectations’? The box is a gift, and there’s ideas in the design. The look is cheap—is that auto‐paint on the housing?—but I like it. Also, PA02s are comfortable—even if they have no alternative tips—and the switch works fine on Android (didn’t try the microphone). As sound, the range of volume and frequency is outstanding, but a room‐size echo and a wide boom bring the PA02s down. And the cable is noisy.
The bulbous shape makes some sense, but what are those vents at the back?! I tried sticky‐tak‐ing them, and sound started to boom and compress, so the vents are designed—though the effect is complex, vents will also reduce eardrum pressures. The PA02 housings are potentially good, the driver is interesting, but there’s not enough between the two. Not what I expected—this is not a case of aspects to weigh, the flaws of the PA02s bring them down.