SOMIC V4 Dual Drivers Hifi earphones review:
I'm trying lot of Dual Drivers chinese earphones lately and feel like talking about one of the more obscure one wich is the Somic V4, a strange looking Dual Drivers iem that look like a star war space ship and got an intergalactical out of this world sound for his sub-20$ price (only at Gearbest). My review will be based on listening sessions with Xduoo X1 and Xduoo X3. I can say that I wasn't having lot of expectetion for this one because of the lack of (unfair) enthusiast about it, perhaps this is why they impress me so much out of the box! I was particularly curious about their low amping needs because even if they are dirt cheap the V4 have silver plated twisted cable of great quality that would have been very usefull on the VJJB V1S wich I find they need high amping to get the best out of them. Both have a similar sound signature (could it be the same 6mm drivers?) and are excellent earphones for the price, they are on the bright side and very detailed sounding. The Somic have a little more meat in the lows and even at 16ohm they are easier to drive than the 8ohm VJJB V1S. Another time, it is hard to understand for westerner how it can be possible to get such good earphones with top noch cable for an absurb price that do not reflect quality of material potential.
Specs :
Brand Name: Somic
Style: In-Ear
Line Length: 1.2m
Resistance: 16Ω
Communication: Wired
Plug Type: L Bending
Sensitivity: 108±3dB
Connectors: AUX
Vocalism Principle: Dynamic
Frequency Response Range: 12-22000Hz
Model Number: Somic V4 IN-Ear Headphone
Package: Simple PVC Package/With Retail Package
Color: Black,Blue
Drive: 6mm Drivers
PACKAGE :
Not a lot to say here. You got the earphones and some extra tips.
CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN :
Okay, i'm obsess by the quality of the cable of this earphones, look a this sexy twists! The price tag will not even be enough to buy this cable, it is silver plated, beautifully twisted, grey-white and with a L plug at the end, look very sturdy and do what it should do wich is more power transmission. The plastic earshell do not look that nice tough, and are quite ugly to be honnest with their retro futuristic look and strange reactors-like-tubes, the translucid plastic is rather cheap looking but very light. What is suprising is that even with this strange form factor the V4 are quite comfortable to wear with the right tips and are about as comfortable than the VJJB V1S.
SOUND IMPRESSIONS :
DAP used : Xduoo X1, Xduoo X3
IEM for comparaisons :
VJJB V1S : Brighter and less bassy, little more treble, little smaller, harder to drive.
Tennmak Pro : Warmer with more bass, wider soundstage, more mids, more musical and comfortable and have a detachable cable.
LOWS :
The bass is fast, round and punchy without lot of sub bass. It isn't pumped up and super meaty but the little extension it got make it sound natural for acoustic music like jazz. Compared to the VJJB V1S the low are more present and give more dynamic to the whole music. With burn in it look like it improve even more. While I wasn't able to enjoy electronic music with the VJJB I can with the Somic, the 2 drivers implementation are very well tweaked and give great instruments separation. Bass do not bloat in mids region and never distort, it have good texture to it and as I listen to some Nosaj Thing right now I can easily hear all bass and subass layers and other frequencies that dance above it in a very impressive and well articulated presentation. Compared to the Tennmak Pro, the sound feel less fuller because of a smaller soundstage and lack in sub bass region, but instruments separation are clearer if not somewhat dryier too.
MIDS :
The Somic V4 do not have a V-shaped sound signature and aren't neutral too, this got lot of frequencies range tweaking in it including upper mids bump but the real tweak is more in low and high region wich is why we got so much details with this earphones. Still, the mid are there, clear and present, well placed and more foward than average V-shaped sound. They are bright but feel enough natural to be enjoy, they lack a little roundness to it but have good texture. The Tennmak haven't very foward mids either but presentation is more airy and envelopping than the Somic. The VJJB V1S are the more mid centered but can be too fowards and brigh sounding making this unpleasant ''shhhhh'' noise problem with some voice. All in all the V4 mids are very well presented and can even sound clear in the middle of big isntrumentation. Impressive!
HIGHS :
This is were I was mostly impress by this earphones and make me consider them as serious HIFI gear. The Somic are very detailed and for once we can feel that 2 drivers take care of the sound spectrum to his advandtage, low, mid and high are well separeted wich give a complex and dynamic presentation of different layers of sound. Here we have good treble sparkle that do not sound harsh, the microdetails are there as well as the good instruments separation that permits details to be more isolated in a beautifull, cohesive whole. Really, I listen right now to complex IDM with lot of layers of details and it deal with it without any congestion, for the price it is near inconcevable to find this type of sound!
FINAL WORDS :
The Somic V4 are underatted unknown gem that deserve more recognition, in the sub-20$ dual drivers earphones they are simply a no-brainer and surely the best deal you can get. As I have listen to Dual Drivers earphones ranging from 12$ (KZ ZS1) to 250$ (Shure SE425) I can say with no doubt that they can compete with Dual Drivers earphones way pricier and even beat lot of them, in other words : they are not from another league and if I have pay 50$ more I still would have consider it as an excellent choice. This earphones really produce serious hifi sound so I strongly suggest to anyone thinking buying good 10$ IEM to put 10$ more and get real audiophile sound that give a unique musical experience!
I should have read your review before buying the X5s. Both musicmaker TW1 & Somic V4s seem better than the X5. Thanks once again for all your reviews!