Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.


A Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.


How The Review is Structured

I will start off by mentioning the packaging and accessories, then place the showcased IEM in my special trademarked graph accompanied with other similarly priced IEMs I own and know well. Then I continue by giving it a score on certain qualities to help reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering a single dynamic driver that is very affordable, please read the song examples below too to get as much of a feel on what one could expect. I really try my best to cover a wide variety to paint the sonic picture of the set for as many of you as possible.

I will mention some songs of varied genres and try to convey what one can expect from the Kiwi Ears Singolo. As sources I have been using my FiiO BTR7 on high gain and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC. Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on both. Listening was done at a volume ranging between 80-90dB. I am using stock cable to keep it original in that regard and Divinus Velvet medium-sized eartips. I always review with fresh ears – no other IEM gets any ear-time while I am desperately collecting my thoughts regarding the reviewed item.

Disclaimer: I received this unit free of charge via Linsoul in exchange for a review. I am in no way incentivized to speak highly of this set. Should this review tip you over the edge and you decide on this IEM as your next purchase, I welcome you to check it out here: https://www.linsoul.com/products/kiwi-ears-x-crinacle-singolo


Packaging & Accessories






Packaging and accessories really won't tip anyone over the edge in their decision to purchase the Singolo. Having the cable already connected is a nice little touch to save you those awfully long seconds from unpacking to hearing the thing you purchased. Tips selection is very sparse and I honestly did not feel like trying them at all and went straight to the Divinus Velvet. Hearing all the bad experiences with how these fit I was skeptical. Lo and behold, they fit me absolutely wonderfully. It is a very shallow fit, but bass does not suffer, nor do I get any nasty treble peaks, but more on that in my song examples.



Let's Get Going!

Graph & Scores

This trademarked graph I came up with does not come with a thick user manual. All you need to know is that sets further left are warmer than sets further right, and sets higher up are better technically than sets lower down. Those little yellow lines on both axis represent where sets with average technicalities and neutral overall balance lay. I have also added three other single DD representatives - the Venture Electronics SIE, Simgot EA500 LM, and EPZ Q5 to help form a better perception of how the Singolo fares in comparison.



Here are my scores on the Singolo in individual categories. All three subcategories of each of the frequency spectrums can be rated 1-5. Keep in mind that I am scoring regardless of the price, so cheaper sets getting a 3 in any given subcategory is already good going. I had to approach this in a simplistic manner so to keep it easy to understand and compare sets. Since this is my third single DD I have reviewed, we are starting to get a good picture of how the scores are turning out.




7 Song Examples For the Curious

Song #1:
First minute of this song offers a quick sample to test piano, bass, trombone, and sax timbre as well as female vocals and the perception of stage.


Creep by Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox feat. Haley Reinhart

Song starts with a calming female vocal with lots of breathiness. On the Singolo vocally nothing stands out as a sore thumb, nor does it wow with highly articulated and deeply detailed presentation. Sibilance region is nicely adjusted so to still have that truthful bite that certain letters or combinations of letters carry. Often this 6-7kHz region backs off too much and while it does avoid sibilance it also messes timbrally with whichever instrument that extends up higher or has its overtones extending into that region. Well judged on the Singolo. Her voice is a bit smokier and not as rich as I know she can be on other sets which I would ultimately prefer, but that is just as much a matter of preference as 'correctness'. I would hazard a guess that is down to the rather quick drop-off right after the pinna gain peak. Going into »what the hell am I doing here« the open »heeeeere« can be too aggressive and rather uncomfrotable on some sets, but not so on Singolo. While it isn't as nuanced as it could be, it does not sound off in any serious way. Arrangement consists of various instruments, of which every single one requires timbral accuracy to maintain your attention. Singolo is very decent in this regard. What I find subpar however, is note weight through the mids and treble. Bass does not have the same issue and is a satisfying listen for both the bass and drums in this piece. Sincerity of bass is very good for this price category – it does sound decently rounded and does not affect low mids in any negative way despite decent extension in both subbass rumble and midbass attack. But more about bass on some other songs. Mids are where the set needs to shine to really bring this song the justice it deserves. The magic of mids is slightly lacking, but overall nicely judged in quantity, especially pinna instantly seemed to me to be done in a tasteful manner – graph sort of agrees in that it shows a very lengthy extension all the way from 900 to 3500Hz where it reaches a +9dB rise. Treble lacks in smoothness and any microscopic detail won't really be displayed here. Not too welcome in this tune with two brass instruments which should counter the strongly presented bass section. It feels a bit single-pointed just as the graph would seem to suggest as well – a large drop-off after 8kHz and a singular sharp peak at ~15kHz. This sort of treble tuning will be totally personal on whether your ears like it or feel awfully offended by it. A combination of hearing health, ear canal shape, fitment, and eartips all contribute to how this peak works out for an individual. Either way, expect to miss a good deal of details up top. Overall I have to say this song left me just a bit too cold for a very good score, so a 4.5/10 it is.

Song #2:
Angelic male vocal slowly transforming into a sharp male vocal and the usual rock accompaniment. Allows to better understand different sets' capability of perceived emotion, layering, timbre, etc.


Castaway Angels by Leprous

Guitar leads the way. I am very specific with guitars and love their breadth of ability to awaken a wide variety of emotions. Individual guitar plucks are not as storytelling as I would like, but it is timbrally right on. The slight lack of those sweet overtones is down to the slower pinna if I were to point at the culprit. Background hum that invokes a creepy atmosphere is easy to follow but a bit single-pointed. His vocal joins in a quiet and tranquil way to leave lots of space to develop afterwards. Male vocals are judged very well and the previously annoying smokiness I mentioned in the previous song's thoughts is not an issue here. Positioning of vocals is decently forward which allows for this sense of the vocalist being the leader while all instrumentation has sufficient space around him. In the wilder and more crowded spots of this song it becomes a tiny bit messy, but never sharp or overzealous. Here we do feel just a bit limited in the pace of the driver and the fact it is a solo performer with no BAs to take some weight off of its shoulders. Microdetail is not really a thing, but I cannot hold this against it. Overall tuning balance is of much greater importance. I would be reaching for another set for this song, however it is not a case of having to skip it, and hence a 6/10.


Song #3:
What a gorgeous tune to listen to … while testing bass texture, layering, soundstage characteristics, and restlessly dissecting each performer's work, like us audiophiles do. Tenor sax, trumpet, drums, piano, and bass all have something to say.


Check Point Charlie by David Chesky

Such a well produced jazz masterpiece with huge soundscape and very separated instrumentation that should never be in each other's way. It requires a great stage width especially, I feel. Singolo is very impressive in that regard, easily fooling my brain to ompletely dislocate the sound from the actual earpiece where it's born, obviously. Both left and right extremes do sound on the absolute extremities of head width and well beyond in certain instances – piano which plays on the far left side throughout the piece seems to be 5m away from me. Depth is not as well presented, but the generous width is what rectifies that to an extent. Individual instruments – bass, drums, piano, tenor sax, and trumpet are themselves, meaning no awful timbral incorrectness was found during my listen. Now, if I were to nitpick, and that's what us audiophiles are masters of, piano's note roundness and weight is not as sincere as I would ultimately like for it to sound even more real. Trumpet and sax have their sharper edges slightly rounded off too, so to not sound too piercing – carefully and intelligently approaching upper mid to low treble area while tuning is a good way of cutting harshness when tech at hand simply cannot reproduce the absolute clarity and note definition. I could honestly recommend Singolo to those who are this sort of jazz aficionados, it's a score of 8/10.

Song #4:
If this does not bring me close to tears on the set, the set is doing something wrong either in guitars, female vocals, or overall sonic balance.


All About You by Sophie Zelmani

Back to a deeply emotional guitar intro. Singolo is very nearly right on mark, alas it misses a bit of microdetail to really get my goosebumps going. Lower guitar notes are full and gorgeously rounded and cannot really be faulted. Those also wonderfully support her vocal which comes in with authority in that it is much more pronounced than the guitar both in positioning and volume. She has a story to tell and Singolo makes me listen, however soon thereafter I get pulled back to enjoying the well presented low end without any bloat and vocals are slightly put aside. This tune ought to bring us grown men close to tears or at the very least make our mind wander in trying to think who in our lives could be singing something as powerful to us at any point. Singolo does not possess the ultimate in capturing listener's attention to the fullest, thus a score that reflects the good presentation which falls short in emotion – 6/10.

Song #5:
Upbeat pop rhythms with plenty going on.


The thrill is gone. by RAYE

Careful high mids are a must in order not to overpower the lows which carry the rhythm and allow the treble to do the dance. Bass is very nicely driving the whole song along and I honestly don't feel like much is missing. It could, of course, be a bit more textured, but I cannot hold that against the Singolo at the price point. Main vocalist is well placed while I could ask for just a tad more drive or precision of all first note impacts just to make her story even more believable. Treble is nicely judged in quantity, however it is easily Singolo's least impressive part. Lacking in transient speed and that ethereal sweetness that better (and usually more expensive) single DDs, let alone BAs or ESTs, can deliver. I am thinking about something like the IE600 here and plenty others I'm sure, but I prefer to mention sets I have heard myself. The fact that it is well tuned in the upper frequencies is of much greater importance in this instance. This song often makes me want to listen to it again even after finishing putting my thoughts onto the keyboard, but in this case it just did not impress me enough. Still, a good score due to not finding anything bothersome, 7/10.

Song #6:
Oh, welcome crazy bass lines, please make yourselves comfortable along with tasteful drops and story-telling male vocals about an ill-intentioned lady.


Love is a B*tch by Two Feet

The width I have already praised before is very welcome in the intro of this tune as well, since it features a rainy cloud moving around in circles – forming two circles to be exact. The rain itself is lacking in the aforementioned detail retrieval to really get a sense of all those droplets hitting the ground, but that is secondary. His vocal and the bass drop are differently presented where his vocal is of this silky breathy quality whereas bass spares no heft and comes swinging all guns blazing. Low end extension is very well done thanks to the length of that tiny but effective tube, I would dare say. Male vocal is definitely nicer to my ears than female vocal on the Singolo – the slower pinna gain and quicker drop after pinna peak does not affect male vocals as much. Treble is again a bit of a weakness that lowers my overall score, but this song captures Singolo's character nicely overall, so I can bestow upon it a 8.5/10.

Song #7:
Definitely a competitor for best song title. It also gets the juices flowing and makes it impossible not to tap your feet. Or nod your head. Or both.


God is in the Soundwaves by Armin Van Buuren, Xoro, Yola Recoba

Lots of spacial cues right from the beginning which are handled well by Singolo as far as width is your first dimension you care about. Those clapping sounds are just a little veiled and not the most nuanced due to our slow pinna gain I would imagine. Her vocal is highly post-produced and feels that way on the Singolo which is good. Going into the drop bass has no trouble punching and rumbling and I think everyone but the most faithful bassheads will be happy here. Overall, this song is done well but suffers from one-dimensional soulless treble to really get me grooving. 7.5/10.

This concludes my song examples and hopefully you found some information that proves useful to your decision-making in the everlasting dilemma of To Buy or Not To Buy.



To Sum Up The Kiwi Ears Singolo

Singolo is the single DD for those that are on the search for a nicely balanced sub-100€ IEM which delivers a satisfying bass upon which other frequencies can dance. It is a nicely cohesive sounding pair which is usually a single DD strength. Male vocals are just a bit more correct than female vocals. Mid and treble detail are average, but no annoying peaks or dips mean a very nice casual listen. I would advise those with preference for natural, smooth and layered treble to audition before buying if possible. Same goes for the ones with shorter nozzles as their nemesis.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – "so yesteryear!", I thought ... I was wrong. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.

A Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

A Quick Word About the Company

AüR Audio is a young and rising Singaporean brand that specialises in in-ear monitors.

Just like most businesses it started as a small team, in this case of two actors. It came around as an idea by two friends, Nicholas Teo from Singapore and Abel Hsu from China. Abel handles the research, development and building IEMs, while Nicholas manages the sales, marketing and distribution.

Feel free to check out their current line-up on their website HERE.

A combination of their honest work and reasonable pricing strategy - in today's over saturated market with some highly dubious marketing schemes - has manifested in a decently sized fanbase to quickly get established. After owning 4 of their sets, I consider myself a fan too. Keep in mind, since I am not made of money and I cannot be purchasing sets left, right and forward, all my impressions are still based on an honest-to-myself approach.

How The Review is Structured

I will start off by mentioning the packaging and accessories, then place it in my special trademarked graph and give it a score on certain qualities to reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering a quality hybrid that is still within financial reach of many, please read the lengthy song examples below too to get as much of a feel on what to expect. I really tried my best to cover a wide variety to paint the sonic picture of the set for as many of you as possible.

I will mention some songs of varied genres and try to convey what one can expect from the AüR Audio Aurora. As sources I have been using my FiiO BTR7 on high gain and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC (on the pic below). Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on both. Listening was done at a volume ranging between 80-90dB. I am using the Aurora with the Kinera Leyding cable and Feaulle H570 tips.



Disclaimer: I purchased this one at its early bird price nearly a year back now at a minimal discount. I am in no way incentivized to speak highly of this set.

Unpackaging & Accessories

There isn't much to say about this side of things. It is very spartan. Tips come in one flavour in 3 different sizes plus one of those double-flanged ones - I have tried plenty of tips (tip-rolling is always a wild ride, see below), but lately I have settled on medium-sized Feaulle H570 and these seemingly aid the treble and clean up the bass, but also make its fit just about perfect for my ears. The included case is a small aluminium(?) puck and not too thrilling but does its job of protecting the set very well. The cable is of very decent quality and handling characteristics are nice with no obvious drawbacks. I still decided to do some cable rolling, and the Kinera Leyding fit the bill of a beautiful aesthetic and second to none handling qualities.

Usual tip-rolling shenanigans and thinning the herd down to two finalists:



Equipped with stock cable and in the original packaging:


Equipped with Kinera Leyding cable (and temporarily Tri Clarion tips):


Another bonus pic just because she is a stunner!



Let's Get Going!

Graph & Scores

This trademarked graph I came up with does not come with a thick user manual. All you need to know is that sets further left are warmer than sets further right, and sets higher up are better technically than sets lower down. Those little yellow lines on both axis represent where sets with average technicalities and neutral overall balance lay. I have also added the AüR Audio Neon Pro (10BA), AüR Audio Aure (1DD+6BA), AüR Audio Ascension (1DD+5BA+2EST) to help form a better perception of where the Aurora slots into their lineup of sets I have heard.


Aurora is the warmest of AüRs. Upon first listen it might sound just a tad dull, depending on what your ears and brain are used to hearing. That in turn weakens the perceived technicalities from the get go, but after spending a fair amount of time with it, it impresses with certain technical aspects too. Aure is a brighter take and the closest technically to Aurora. Ascension and Neon Pro are a different sort of sets with much stronger technicalities which are noticeable instantly. The difference among those two is in perceived brightness where Ascension sounds more balanced than Neon Pro. That is also down to different driver setups in both.

Here is another visual idea I came up with to try and present how these four sets actually sound like to my ears. The curvy line represents the amplitude of individual spectrum, going all the way from bass through treble. The middle line upon which I wrote the line is what I would equal to flat - neither pushed nor attenuated. Essentially a graph, but without any x- and y-axis naming and numbers because I feel that can often affect our expectations and ultimately play with our minds into 'hearing the graph' instead of listening by ourselves.



Below are my scores on the Aurora in individual categories. All three subcategories of each of the frequency divisions can be rated 1-5. Keep in mind that I am scoring regardless of the price, so cheaper sets getting a 3 in any given subcategory is already good going. I had to approach this in a simplistic manner so to keep it easy to understand and compare sets. For now, I have not reviewed a hybrid, so it might prove interesting to see where adding BA's and another DD places the Aurora compared to my two previously scored affordable single DD's.




Aurora still does something unique that no other set I have tried managed thus far. It sounds exceptionally speaker-like to me – yes, similar to Venture Electronics SIE, an affordable single DD, in that regard, but a very different take on it. It must be a combination of factors which I am yet to untangle. First one being fantastic fit that lets you forget your ears are clogged with anything at all. And secondly, let's play detectives and try to find the culprit based on Aurora's graph below while remembering that I mentioned this for SIE too, so let's compare their graphs – there are some similarities: non recessed mids, a slower pinna gain starting from roughly 800Hz to 2,5kHz, similar slight peaks at 6 and 8kHz and then quite a large drop all the way to 15kHz, where they both peak again, both extend after 15kHz somewhat too. Now to talk about noticeable differences which might explain why SIE still sounds even larger to my ears: warmth on SIE extends all the way up to 800Hz where pinna actually begins, after pinna there is a slight reduction between 3 and 4kHz before ascending towars the 6kHz peak whereas Aurora descends towards that little 6kHz peak, 8kHz is the most pronounced peak on SIE's graph (taking into account the coupler-induced peak it is similar to 6kHz), whereas Aurora starts descending already from its tallest pinna gain point at 2,5kHz, the valley between 8kHz and 15kHz is much steeper on SIE and 15kHz is boosted by about +14dB while on Aurora it is about +8dB from the lowest point. Hm, definitely interesting and something I will be keeping an eye – no, ear – on with any upcoming sets I get to hear.

Aurora's graph:


SIE's graph:



14 Song Examples For the Curious

Song #1:
First minute of this song offers a quick sample to test piano, bass, trombone, and sax timbre as well as female vocals and the perception of stage.


Creep by Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox feat. Haley Reinhart

This song's lowest register is covered solely by bass, so getting that right is critical. Aurora does it in a specific manner with rumbling bass which maintains composure and does not bleed too much into low mids, so following the bass throughout is simple. Note definition of the lower register is what is sacrificed here for the sake of rumble and fascinating unique decay – surely down to two high-quality DDs installed in this fashion. Texturally, bass instrument feels a touch too muddy to really offer what the song requires – slightly less so on FiiO BTR7 as source instead of VE Stack, probably due to FiiO's more prominent high mids. Still, to get the ultimate of bass resolution I would choose another set (where BA's cover bass) for really dissecting the information within low frequencies. By far the most energy is focused in the mids. Allowing all the instruments their space and delivering them in a natural way is what a set needs to excel at. Overall width is not too mind-blowing, but I never really cared about largeness of stage too much in the IEM world – what matters to me is that the use of space at hand is good. To elaborate further, I require that instruments do not step on each other's toes when the recording allows it and is meant to sound open. Aurora does well here where it never feels boxed in and notes never feel trapped. It is primarily a vocal-driven piece, so Haley needs to be upfront for it to be to my liking. Happy to report that she is not holding back in terms of positioning. She is, however, just a bit more nasal sounding than on sets with maybe a bit less carefully done pinna gain with a later peak in the frequency spectrum. She never gets shouty or uncomfortable throughout this song on Aurora which can be an issue quickly if pinna gain is too prominent or any nasty peaks are present in high mids. When the song gets a move on a bit before its end, it is indeed slightly more difficult than usual to pay attention to every performer's work due to not having the widest stage to work with. That said, all performers are within their bubbles, still feel sufficiently life-like and carry good note weight. How you might feel about that depends mostly on whether you are the sort of guy that ascends the mountain and enjoys the vista as a whole or prefer dissecting individual elements with that panorama. Nevertheless, Aurora somehow manages to sound speaker-like to my ears here, despite clearly being more of an intimate presentation. Piano sitting close right can quickly get overwhelmed by all other accompaniment in this song, thankfully with Aurora there is no such issue to report. Mids are timbrally wonderful, no unnaturalness to be found here. Treble isn't too busy in this track. But I can see how some might find it a bit disconnected with the bass which is categorically different. Sibilance does not occur no matter the volume. Sax and trombone lack a bit of bite. Cymbals are crisp but reduced in their 'zinginess' and too safe. Treble is extended but it does not feel like the highlight at first but spend an hour at which point brain gets accustomed and catching detail becomes second nature. Final score: 7.5/10


Song #2:
Angelic male vocal slowly transforming into a sharp male vocal and the usual rock accompaniment. Allows to better understand different sets' capability of perceived emotion, layering, timbre, etc.


Castaway Angels by Leprous

Guitars and that alienish sound in the background are carefully done and present the foundation in a mesmerizing way. Possibly not the most truthful guitar replay due to that slightly warmer tilt to the overall tone. Imagine listening to the guitar in a smaller echoey room instead of in a studio. His soft and dreamy vocal joins the aforementioned duo and it adds to the angelic setup – prime example of how a song can quickly lure the listener in and feel very aptly titled too. Going into the chorus we get carried even higher and closer to the heaven when he brings his head voice into the mix in such a well done fashion. Nothing to point out as a negative regarding Aurora quite yet. Going forward layers keep on adding on top of each other. Those ever so delicate cymbals are rendered naturally. Strings join and add to the epicness of the arrangement. Aurora is keeping up and having everything positioned in its place while forming a gorgeous sound picture. Drum kicks were the first thing to 'bother' me because of their lack of definition and punch, thus covering the bass guitar in certain parts towards the end. His vocal really gets a move on in the last third of the song – here is where I could do with a bit more bite and definition to really continue carrying the message in this very crowded tune. The back vocal saying »!now there's a chance« at 4:29 just before the magical ending of his vocal part and the guitar bringing us to an end had my skin covered in goosebumps. This song gets an easy 8.5/10 for me on the Aurora.


Song #3:
Let's plug those guitars in and stop being gentle with the drums. Pace, space, rhythm, male vocal.


The Pot by Tool

The overall character of the song calls for a set with tremendous technical prowess and slightly tamed low mids to avoid thickness and that slow feeling of presentation as well as high mids to avoid sharpness with all guitars and drums showing off. Aurora manages the high mids very well and never am I worried to get absolutely overflown with energy and get an overload of messy information. Low mids, however, are just a tad too soft and pillowy to really carry this song's rhythm in a groovy fashion. Not the ultimate set for hard rock and metal, but also not too disappointing because overall technicalities are above average and instrumentation is kept separated. Vocals are done tastefully and never burried under whatever might be going on around them. Male vocals are overall very well rounded and lack absolutely nothing except for sibilance which is a good thing. Overall, the attenuated low treble means guitars can feel a bit sleepier than they ought to. It all results in simply just a calmer presentation of this great tune. Not really meant for it, 6/10.


Song #4:
What a gorgeous tune to listen to … while testing bass texture, layering, and the fine minutiae of each guitar pluck, like us audiophiles do.


London Paris Cardiff by Dominic Miller

I begin by really getting into whether those guitars carry the story in a captivating way. While being wonderfully natural without excessive bloat or piercing details, they do not feel the most crisp and following individual plucks is not that joyous. Still, not really meant in a bad way, but maybe the BAs are not up to the absolute pinnacle standard in detail retrieval. All of this is floating atop a thick layer of bass that continues throughout. Very well counters the BAs in providing a majestic decay and very good texture. It could be argued, however, that there is a significant difference here between how BAs and how DDs go about their job – in a slightly disjointed fashion. Not too bothersome, but apparent. And that is only amplified in this particular song due to the minimalistic arrangement with guitars and bass. Those occasional hi-hats are very easily discernible, but somewhat shy and lacking the ultimate in air. Never sharp, though, which could easily occur had treble extension been tuned too spiritedly. The disconnected feeling in certain parts brings the score down to a 6.5/10.

Song #5:
If this does not bring me close to tears on the set, the set is doing something wrong either in guitars, female vocals, or overall sonic balance.


All About You by Sophie Zelmani

Upon first listen, the beginning part felt just a bit too hollow in those powerful guitar plucks. When it gets supported with the low end it picks up a bit, but it once again strikes a weird balance of emptiness to the notes. Then, she joined as well and felt out of place and as if she was singing another song altogether. Hm, not what I expected. Let's start problem solving. Check the gain on my BTR7 – High gain. Check again not to have any weird EQ chosen on the BTR7 – No EQ. Okay, maybe this song is simply not meant for the BTR7's rather analytical and sterile presentation. Switch to VE Stack. YES! We're back on track. Guitars get a much needed body and each note is supported much better. With other parts joining I can also sense just a better balance among them – Sophie feels like she belongs into this song again and throws all of her heart out. Another alarming difference was a wider overall sound field. All is well again, so let's concentrate. Now, does this song move me as it should on the Aurora? Close my eyes and listen again. I am not sure. Great sounding – yes, moving – not so much. I blame only one thing for this – lack of midbass warmth to add a layer of that comfortable feeling of cosiness. Enough has been said in other tunes about guitars and female vocals too. Final score: 4.5/10 – lacking emotion here.

Song #6:
Let's continue the theme of calmer but so powerful tunes.


An Evening I Will Not Forget by Dermot Kennedy

Piano and calm weighty male vocals are very engaging without any pronounced issues. I find such setups are difficult to keep interesting and it depends fully on production quality and playback chain capability. Piano's individual notes could be kept even clearer but it becomes a double-edged sword quickly. Get the clarity right and quickly it sounds just a bit too sterile. So here I can happily report Aurora walks right in the middle and delivers both note definition and note weight. A dreamy sort of synth joins to provide another layer. It's kept nicely at bay but can be followed in the background on the Aurora. When Dermot starts to pour his soul out the grit is very palpable and touches the heart through the Aurora. 'S' and 'Sh' sounds are very safely tuned even for my 27-year-old ears, however attenuate that area too much and overall balance starts sounding skewed and unnatural – thankfully not the case on the Aurora. It simply means Aurora can be listened to at (very) loud volumes too and maintain its composure. 8.5/10.

Song #7:
Upbeat pop rhythms with plenty going on.


The Thrill Is Gone. by RAYE

Not really the sort of stuff I listen to often, but I cannot deny the nice flow and a simplistic arrangement really getting a groove on allowing to just float away. Not too easy to judge individual aspects when you start grooving, though, so Stop it immediately, Nik! Okay, let's see. Bass is quite playful here and it needs a nimble DD to keep up and deliver individual notes with authority and lets notes stay apart to really follow the awesome bass line throughout the song. Female vocals are never shrill and annoying, even in such Pop beats which are tuned quite bright usually. RAYE is very well positioned for my taste with just a slight forwardness to her vs the rest. She is supported by all the back vocalists and their voices are a nice combination to keep the energy up in certain parts of the song where they join. It is because of that and a fantastic bass performance that this song is just a joy on the Aurora. All the microdetails can be picked out and you won't miss any paramount info to make the song a whole, but what really stands out is the bass and the vocalists. Just as it should be, I feel. I listened to this song three times in a row and tried justifying it by having to write about it, but frankly, the third replay was solely for my personal enjoyment and you get no extra info due to it Haha! Amazingly done, 9/10.

Song #8:
Jazzy love tunes for the ones deep in love and us audiophiles.


Since I Fell For You by Willie Nelson

I could use just a bit more spaciousness in the beginning to really feel as if I were there. Imaging is quite decent, though, so it makes up for the intimacy of soundstage. Timbre of brass is a tad digital due to lack of bite I would like it to have. When all performers are doing their thing Aurora still provides sufficient space and focus for each of them. Male vocals are once again just about perfect. The seductiveness and wettness of his vocal is so descriptive and it makes the listener engaged. Drums lack a bit of tactility and end up sounding just a bit congested and as if the drummer is hiding behind a curtain. Overall very inoffensive but lacks in vividness and broadness. 5/10.

Song #9:
Slow and moody jazz. Requires spaciousness, timbral accuracy and a playful vibe.


Rosita by Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster

Here the recording is done differently than with the previous song and Aurora manages to impress even with the perceived soundstage height and width. Then again, since the recording is done this way it sounds even bigger again on other IEMs. Focus is put mainly on timbral qualities and here the story repeats. Piano is on the 'slower' and more musical side, while brass and drums both could be more daring. Still, this one is enjoyable in a different sort of way. Makes it easy to float away into your dreams. I would know, Aurora is one of my favourites to keep by the bedside. I could not suggest this set to someone who wants their jazz to sound vigorous and atmospheric, however it can do such tunes to quite a high standard as well. 7/10.

Song #10:
Oh, welcome crazy bass lines, please make yourselves comfortable along with tasteful drops and story-telling male vocals about an ill-intentioned lady.


Love is a Bitch by Two Feet

How low do you want to go is a question Aurora happily provides to its listener. Whatever the answer might be, Aurora delivers in an authoritative fashion. Not a basshead set per se, but a well executed L-shape that never really feels lacking in subbass. Song starts with a storm going on and the rain panning around the head while a guitar lays a foundation. Starting seconds are a good test for soundstage dimensions and rain presentation, which is essentially band-limited pink noise. Welcome, bass, please make yourself comfortable. And comfortable he is. Just a joy again with these longer lingering low notes. None of them feel stressed or overly amplified. I had to switch back to the BTR7 to see if the lower power changes the joy factor in a deal-braking sort of way. I first noticed the slightly more reserved soundstage width simply by following the rain noise. Bass notes come in, moment of truth. BTR7 definitely rumbles just as hard or even more pronounced than the VE Stack. Where it falls short is in the individual bass notes feeling like each of them has a story of their own, yet coming from the same family. On BTR7 the lowest notes are much heftier than those higher bass notes within the bass line. It all culminates in an overall presentation that feels more strained and uncontrolled than on the VE Stack. This definitely proved to me that Aurora, despite being rather easy to drive, really loves power and scales well. This song gets a great score of 9/10.

Song #11:
Not really something I could jam to for long, but I used just the last minute which can tell a whole lot about the set's bass and highs.


Handle With Care by Andy Stott

DDs are getting a workout of their lifetime. It's such a difficult bass line to get right, Aurora rumbles and decays about as wonderfully as I could wish for, especially at this price. There is a reason this double DD setup keeps reappearing in various sets. When it comes to subbass it is all about the capability of the drivers to move a 'large' amount of air (relative to their size) and keep the movement under control without bottoming out or reaching high distortion figures. What you can do to aid those drivers is to feed them nice clean power. Venture Electronics Stack does just that and Aurora awards me with a gorgeous low end in this electronic specialty. Quite a large part of the song is up in the higher registers – I must say I do miss the precision and airiness of something like ESTs or some other BAs. I would like more crispness and dryness to some of these sounds in order not to sound blurred. This affects the end score which I'd put at 6/10.

Song #12:
A pleasant and somewhat creepy look into the unknown. Needs serious bass to form the template and good imaging.


Satsang by Sumiruna

To really get one to look around and feel scared this song requires a technically capable set. Aurora tries its best and still renders this weird tune enjoyably despite not being a technical monster. The reason for Aurora's success despite average technicalities lies in its tonal balance. This song should be bass-driven and Aurora lends its helping hand to present it that way. What that ends providing is a creepy story-telling aura for your mind to wander and try to make sense of the sounds. I must have heard this song about 50 times by now on various sets and still I struggle to come up with my own story – case in point that this song is a journey without obvious whereabouts. Genres such as this can quickly get dull on subpar sets and Aurora does not fall victim to that. Do not expect all the details to be as crisp as on brighter-tuned sets or EST-equipped sets. In that regard, Aurora makes you work hard (but feels so fulfilling) to really catch every grain of sand on a sandy beach. 8/10.

Song #13:
Definitely a competitor for best song title. It also gets the juices flowing and makes it impossible not to tap your feet or nod your head.


God is in the Soundwaves by Armin Van Buuren, Xoro, Yola Recoba

The clapping sounds and her voice are on the more reserved sound, definitely not sharp ever. She could use just a bit more forwardness to really make me alert and listen to what she has to say about this soundwave god. She stays clear from any sibilance, and it is not a too pronounced frequency response dip like certain sets go about dealing with cutting out sibilance. That way of reducing annoying sibilant peaks could quickly backfire in sounding unnatural and that luckily is not the case here. When the bass comes in it shifts the balance into a very enjoyable L-shape just as Aurora is supposed to be. The individual bass kicks are very powerful here, unlike the slight midbass calmness would suggest – a 3W per channel amp such as the VE RA2B-FE doesn't hurt. The rumble and fullness are impressive. Those higher cymbal-like and rattlesnake electronic sounds are not too detailed, however the effect on the overall enjoyment factor is minimal. A 9/10.

Song #14:
Turning up the wildness to 11. Aliens are upon us.


Alien Alert by 1200 Micrograms

Such a creepy sort of track. The distortion and his eerie introductory speech are a marvelous way of getting this track on the way. Punch is strong and quick. The layer of bass these two DDs playing in unison can provide is something to behold. I only heard a bass as tight and driving in very high-end car audio systems which are known to be able to provide a ridiculous amount and quality of bass due to their low cabin volume if executed correctly. Yes, this is the set I would choose for this song despite its slightly subpar technicalities versus some of its direct competitors. It is a journey. The mids are never veiled nor too far back or in your face. The balance among bass and mids is done tastefully. Highs can be a bit disjointed due to their intentional reduction which are countered by a tsunami of bass. Tremendous performance warrants the Aurora an amazing 9.5/10.

This concludes my song examples and hopefully you find some information useful to compare to your listening habits!


To Sum Up The AüR Audio Aurora

To sum up the Aurora, a bass and mids first experience with reduced but sufficiently detailed treble makes this one an easy recommendation to anyone with bass-heavy electronica or, due to its naturalness and timbral brilliancy for those who get their music fix mostly from calmer acoustic and jazz tunes – with just a slight preference towards male vocals prior to female. This set has been pushed into the background due to other AüR releases since then, but it's a thing of its own and no other sets really offer a similar experience.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first got in. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the right direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.

A Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick background resume goes as follows. Currently 27 years old and I am more in awe of the sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I do consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the link in my signature to hear my first project). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

How The Review is Structured

For those that are interested in my thoughts on this set, but cannot be asked to read the whole thing, I will start off by placing it in my special trademarked graph and give it a score on certain qualities to help reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering a sub-100€ single DD, please read the song examples that follow below too to get as much of a feel on what one could expect.

Disclaimer: I bought this one at its full price of roughly 90€ back. I will mention some songs of varied genres and try to convey what one can expect from the Venture Electronics SIE. As source I have been using my FiiO M15S on high gain and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC. Certainly no lack of power. A DAC/AMP like FiiO BTR7 is also sufficiently powerful. Listening was done at a volume ranging between 80-90dB.







How I rate: My rating is based on the score I give to the IEM in my simple 9-stage rating system (scores from 1 to 5) + a subjective score that reflects how often I reach for the said IEM in my collection.

Unpackaging & Accessories

There isn't much to say about this side of things. Tips come in one flavour and obvious multiple sizes - 5 sizes which is better than usual - I have tried plenty of tips (as you can see on those pics above), but lately I have settled on Pentaconn Coreir and these not only improve the subpar imaging of the SIE, but also improve its fit for my ears because it essentially extends the nozzle for extra 5mm with its brass insert. The included case is small and not too thrilling but does its job. The cable is just about perfect in quality and handling characteristics and fits the character of the IEM to perfection. I felt no need to cable roll this one.

Let's Get Going!

This trademarked graph I came up with does not come with a thick user manual. All you need to know is that sets further left are warmer than sets further right, and sets higher up are better technically than sets lower down. Those little yellow lines on both axis represent where sets with average technicalities and neutral overall balance lay. I have also added the CVJ Mei (1DD+2BA, silver) and the Simgot EA500 LM (1DD, dark silver) to help form a better perception of where the SIE slots in.



Below are my scores of SIE in individual categories. All three subcategories of each of the frequency spectrums can be rated 1-5. Keep in mind that I am scoring sound, regardless of the price, so cheaper sets getting a 3 in any given subcategory is already good going. I had to approach this in a simplistic manner so to keep it easy to understand and compare sets. Since this is only the second review I have done, there is not much to compare to yet. Both CVJ and Simgot are better at all technical aspects. Does that mean I reach for those two more often? No. A definitive no is the answer.



SIE does something that no other set in my collection does. It feels exceptionally speaker-like to me. It must be a combination of factors which I am yet to untangle, but according to these graphs below – a large and enveloping bass seems to be a necessity as well as a carefully executed pinna gain and the large dip ~9-14kHz.





To follow up on my expressed fit concerns for some, it depends on how large your concha and how pronounced the helical crus are. Overall it is a tiny set, but it needs a good fit to get the bass correct and not to fall out since it is a heavy metallic shell.




Seven Song Examples

Song #1:
First minute of this song offers a quick sample to test piano, bass, trombone, and sax timbre as well as female vocals and the perception of stage.


Creep by Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox feat. Haley Reinhart

This song's lowest register is covered solely by bass, so getting that right is critical. SIE can get scarily close to feeling somewhat boomy and unrefined, but maintains an ease of following the bass throughout. It lacks is the ultimate distinction of similar notes played in quick succession and bass clarity. Timbrally too it feels just a bit too muddy. When the song gets going it is slightly difficult to provide attention to other instrumentation and the vocalist. It delivers the low register of this song in a different way to my other sets and it would not be my choice for really dissecting the low frequencies. Most of the information is midrange focused with all instruments but bass occupying this frequency spectrum. Allowing all the instruments their space and delivering them in a natural way is what a set needs to excel at. SIE sounds surprisingly open and spacious to my ears here, despite the bass disagreeing with my ears. Piano sitting close right can quickly get overwhelmed by all other accompaniment in this song, thankfully with SIE following which ever instrument is rather simple. Her angelic vocal stays free of muddiness or other parts blurring it at any point. Quite an achievement actually, considering how bassy it gets at certain points. Mids are timbrally wonderful, no similar bloat or unnaturalness to be found here as in the bass department. It places the vocal nicely centralised in the mix, however those that prefer very upfront and proud vocals might not find it too perfect in that regard. She never gets shouty or uncomfortable throughout this song on SIE which can be an issue quickly if pinna gain is too prominent. Treble isn't too busy in this track, which is a double-edged sword. Sibilance does not occur no matter the volume. Sax and trombone lack a bit of bite. Hihats are not as crisp and extended which is down to the large dip at and around 10kHz I believe, but this is a nitpick since this is an affordably priced single dynamic driver and single DDs rarely do the treble justice for me, even higher up the price ladder. Treble never gets sharp or too strained.

Song #2:
Angelic male vocal slowly transforming into a sharp male vocal and the usual rock accompaniment. Allows to better understand different sets' capability of perceived emotion, layering, timbre, etc.


Castaway Angels by Leprous

Song starts with a calm guitar and his breathy and dreamy vocal. SIE delivers both in a satisfying manner, but adds a serious bit of body to both guitar and his vocal making it feel weightier. Each guitar pick is well detailed, just not as microdetailed as I would have liked. His voice is on the smoother side of the spectrum, but sits proudly upfront. Bass makes itself welcome with a low and deep punch - spine-tingling on SIE - which mixes nicely with the guitar and his vocal. Strings are not as free of heft as I would prefer. When the song gets going the bass guitar gets very intricate in certain parts and SIE does deliver all notes, but in a rather thick and slow manner. Drum kicks are too calm and slightly pillowy. Discerning among the drums and bass guitar is actually quite simple nonetheless. Here too, vocal has no trouble staying away from the rest of the mix and finding its spot on the stage. High mids are never too sharp so it does not force me to reach for the volume knob and turn it down. Overall, this song requires careful line between the bass and mids while not scooping out midbass or lower mids too much. This balance could be cleaner on SIE. Midbass is not too eager, but it lacks ultimate control to achieve a smooth transition into low mids. I judge the treble on such sets mostly by focusing on good clarity and lack of sharpness. As I said, SIE does not sound sharp to my ears at any point even if I went a bit wild with volume – from my experience, all affordable sets so far have struggled to maintain composed once you go a bit wild with the volume knob – this is the same on SIE, but not due to the treble region, but lack of bass control. Treble is way behind the bass weight. It comes across as an afterthought compared to bass. Microdetails in highs are nearly impossible for SIE to present willingly. Treble extension could be better since there isn't much air (just a high-Q peak on the graph at around 15kHz), but let me clarify again, with DD drivers I put much more focus on low-end extension.

Song #3:
Let's plug those guitars in and stop being gentle with the drums. Pace, space, rhythm, male vocal.


The Pot by Tool

This song is more drum-driven than the previous, so we need punch and quickness. SIE does not keep up all too well. Drums sound full but at the same time imprecise and too gentle overall. It does not struggle with pace per se, but individual drum hits linger around for a while. Bass guitar can get a bit overwhelmed behind the drums. All the energy is covered by electric guitars. The distortion sounds wonderfully distorted. They are not lacking speed nor presence. His vocal never seems strained and finds its place without being murdered by guitars. Overall, mids are nicely done. Cymbals and hihats are not as sharp as they should be, but still too smoothed over and possibly a bit too wet and indistinguishable sounding. Tough things to get fully right and SIE struggles. I could not suggest this set for heavy rock or metal aficionados.

Song #4:
Upbeat pop rhythms with plenty going on.


The Thrill is Gone. by RAYE

In true pop style, her voice is very proudly positioned right upfront and quite a bit ahead in the mix. The overall balance of this song seems a bit more bright which could not be more suited for a warm set, so it fits the SIE nicely. Bass does not require too much pinpoint precision, so SIE delivers smoothly and provides a nice layer for her voice. Energetic presentation throughout. Stage is large and has no precise borders in my ears which allows enough room for back vocalists and makes it so easy to forget I'm listening to IEMs. Brass and drums are timbrally correct but both are not the last word in detail or resolution. This sort of pop is what I could suggest the SIE for, but expect still a thicker presentation than some might prefer.

Song #5:
Slow and moody jazz. Requires spaciousness, timbral accuracy and a playful vibe.


Rosita by Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster

Must say after certain bass issues I had, I was not too hopeful how SIE might present this tune. Not an easy one to keep the listener engaged throughout. Get one thing wrong and the charm is gone. Thankfully, bass is kept on a short leash and never gets too obtrusive- All instruments are in their own imaginary bubbles and they successfully leave room for each other – truly an outstanding feat for a single DD I feel. Timbrally I feel all is well, no real annoyances here but all instruments are just that one bit smoky sounding like a glass of fine whisky. Not too big a deal. Enjoyable if you don't come in expecting a surgical view of all instruments. As a whole, calm jazz is very charming on SIE.

Song #6:
A pleasant and somewhat creepy look into the unknown. Needs serious bass to form the template and good imaging.


Satsang by Sumiruna

We are in SIE's playground now. It is a song that might sound majestic or downright weird if the set is unable to reproduce it. SIE's qualities come into its own. A thick and unapologetic layer of bass of enormous size and an interesting mix of traits to make this tune so club-like. It can handle the ridiculousness of sounds and as a result provides an enjoyable listen. Be ready for serious amounts of bass, though. It is made for those calm evenings, as well as the Friday nights when you want to get the party going. Smoothness of bass and mids is supported just well enough by the treble. Turn the light off and you will be transported to another dimension. I hear your outcries, and No, I have not consumed anything during the making of this review. This is deep into SIE's comfort zone.

Song #7:
Turning up the wildness to 11.


Alien Alert by 1200 Micrograms

The anticipation of insanity is high with this one. SIE should do well, let's see. Absolute necessities are thunderous bass and good spacial cues. Bass of the SIE does the job amazingly, even punches are absolutely crazy in their visceral attack. While spaciality is good, it is obviously not up to the highest standards. No perceived excess of high mids makes this song immensely enjoyable and not tiring at all. Bringing this one to the gym would increase your best bench press result by roughly 7% - scientifically proven. Just a journey to experience. And I still have not consumed anything besides music. Yes, I would suggest this set to those that need a hit of craziness every now and then.


This concludes my song examples and hopefully you find some information useful to compare to your listening habits!


To Sum Up The Venture Electronics SIE

To sum up this golden nugget, I would mostly pitch this one to those who like a huge amount of thick bass that is focused primarily on hugeness not as much precision. The uniqueness of bass makes it both special and polarizing. The rest of the tuning is done to perfection to play along the immense bass. Definitely a highly intoxicating electronica or certain jazz reproduction which fits the bill when your mood calls for it. This way it can be both the Friday Night party set or a Calm Companion to help you bring a hectic day to an end.


Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

After a year in this mystical hobby here comes my first review. Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help any lost souls out there, just as I was when I first got in. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet some highly experienced people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the right direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.

A Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick background resume goes as follows. Currently 27 years old and I am more in awe of the sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I do consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the link in my signature to hear my first project). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

How The Review is Structured

For those that are interested in my thoughts on this set, but cannot be asked to read the whole thing, I will start off by placing it in my special trademarked graph and give it a score on certain qualities to reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering a sub-100€ set, please read the song examples that follow below too to get as much of a feel on what you could expect. I will mention some songs of varied genres and try to convey what one can expect from the EA500 LM. As source I have been using my FiiO M15S on high gain as well as the Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC. Certainly no lack of power.

Disclaimer: This unit was sent to me by Simgot in exchange for a review. This will not affect the transparency of my written presentation of what I am experiencing. For that, I owe an honest Thank You to Simgot.

Unpackaging & Accessories

The box of the item came in another classic unassuming cardboard box which did not really pique my interest. However, upon opening the transport box I was greeted with a wonderfully presented box with flowing rainbow colours (not best seen on my pic) that had me go "Oooh ... okay, unexpected!"



Then it's all about getting the thing out of the box, usually I have no time to lose. I was soon pausing again due to another nice touch. And I very much agree with the statement!



Finally came to the grand prize. Beautiful metallic shells are always worth appreciating for a little while before reaching for them and never ever seeing them fingerprintless again!



Afterwards, we were on to the accessories which have left me wanting more. There is a grand total of 1 tip set in S, M and L. It is, however, a nice set of tips, may I say. Similar to KBear 07, I feel. After some testing, I have swapped the tips to Divinus Velvet.
Cable looks decent and handles well, but is only a 3.5mm and doesn't do the gorgeousness of the shells much justice. I have to add that the cable strap has another nice touch with the writing "Salute to Art and Science" - it's the details that count. I have swapped the cable to NiceHCK BlackCat Ultra.






Let's Get Going !

This funny but useful graph I came up with does not come with a thick user manual. All you need to know is that sets further left are warmer than sets further right, and sets higher up are better technically than sets lower down. Those little yellow lines on both axis represent where sets with average technicalities and neutral overall balance lay. I have also added the Venture Electronics SIE 1DD (gold) and the CVJ Mei 1DD+2BA (silver) to help with my perception of where the LM slots in.




Here are my scores on the sound of the LM in individual categories. All three subcategories of each of the frequency spectrums will be rated 1-5. The overall Bass/Mids/Treble score is an average of all three scores.
Keep in mind that I am scoring sets irrespective of their price, so cheaper sets getting a 3 in any given subcategory is already good going. I feel this is more holistic than rating based on price since sound is sound. I had to approach this in a simplistic manner so to keep it easy to understand and compare sets. Since this is the first review I have done there is not much to compare to yet.





Seven Song Examples

Song #1:
First minute of this song offers a quick sample to test piano, bass, trombone, and sax timbre as well as female vocals and the perception of stage.


Creep by Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox feat. Haley Reinhart

This song's lowest register is covered solely by bass, so getting that right is critical. LM does it very satisfyingly with ample authority and ease of following it throughout. What it lacks is the ultimate distinction of similar notes played in quick succession and bass clarity. Overall it is the most prominent instrument even after all the other parts get going at full pace. It delivers the low register of this song in a different way to my other sets. Most of the information is midrange focused with all instruments but bass occupying this frequency spectrum. Allowing all the instruments their space and delivering them in a natural way is what a set needs to excel at. LM sounds extremely open to my ears here, which means following which ever instrument is rather simple. Her velvety vocal is always free of muddiness or other parts blurring it. It places the vocal a bit back in the mix, though, so those that prefer very front and proud vocals might not find it too perfect in that regard. Hihats could be a bit crisper and extend more effortlessly, but this is a nitpick since this is an affordably priced single dynamic driver and single DDs rarely do the treble justice for me, even higher up the price ladder.

Song #2:
Angelic male vocal slowly transforming into a sharp male vocal and the usual rock accompaniment. Allows to better understand different sets' capability of perceived emotion, layering, timbre, etc.


Castaway Angels by Leprous

Song starts with a calm guitar and his breathy and dreamy vocal. LM delivers both in a satisfying manner, adding slight bit of body to both guitar and his vocal. Each guitar pick is well detailed. His voice is on the smoother side of the spectrum. Bass makes itself welcome with a low and deep punch which mixes nicely with the guitar and his vocal. When the song gets going the bass guitar gets very intricate in certain parts and LM does deliver all notes, but not the most cleanly. Drum kicks are nicely set and punchy. Discerning among the drums and bass guitar could be easier. Here too, vocal has no trouble staying away from the rest of the mix and finding its spot on the stage. High mids are on the verge of overeagerness, but stay safe. Overall, this song requires careful line between the bass and mids while not scooping out midbass or lower mids too much. This balance is done well on the LM. I judge the treble on such sets mostly by focusing on good clarity and lack of sharpness. LM does not sound sharp to my ears at any point as long as you don't crank up the volume to 11 – from my experience, all affordable sets so far have struggled to maintain composed once you go a bit wild with the volume knob. Treble is balanced out by the bass weight. It comes across even as slightly reduced compared to bass. Treble stays clear and does not leave to many details on the table. Treble extension could be better since there isn't much air, but let me clarify again, with DD drivers I put much more focus on low-end extension.


Song #3:
Let's plug those guitars in and stop being gentle with the drums. Pace, space, rhythm, male vocal.


The Pot by Tool

This song is more drum-driven than the previous, so we need punch and quickness. LM does not leave much to be desired. Drums sound full and lively. It does not struggle with pace. Bass guitar can get a bit overwhelmed behind the drums. All the energy is covered by electric guitars. The distortion sounds wonderfully distorted. They are not lacking speed nor presence. His vocal never seems strained, but does seem to my ears a bit too far behind the sheer power of guitars. Overall, very capably done. Cymbals and hihats are sharp as they should be, but still a bit smoothed over and possibly a bit too wet sounding. Tough thing to get fully right and LM struggles a bit.


Song #4:
Upbeat pop rhythms with plenty going on.


The Thrill is Gone. by RAYE

Her voice is very proudly positioned right upfront and quite a bit ahead in the mix. The overall balance of this song seems a bit more bright but carefully done in the LM's potentially problematic high mid area, so it fits the LM nicely. Energetic presentation throughout. Stage width is above average which allows enough room for back vocalists. Brass and drums are timbrally correct. This sort of pop is what I would suggest the LM for.



Song #5:
Slow and moody jazz. Requires spaciousness, timbral accuracy and a playful vibe.


Rosita by Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster

Must say I was positively impressed with LM's rendition of this tune. Not an easy one. Get one thing wrong and the charm is gone. All instruments are in their own imaginary bubbles and they successfully leave room for each other. Timbrally I feel all is well, except for sax which gets a bit too sharp or digitalised at times. Not too big a deal. Enjoyable, but slightly flawed.


Song #6:
A pleasant and somewhat creepy look into the unknown. Needs serious bass to form the template and good imaging.


Satsang by Sumiruna

Playful character of bass of the LM is unleashed here. It is a song that might sound majestic or downright weird if the system is unable to reproduce it. LM can handle the ridiculousness and as a result provides an enjoyable listen. Definitely not a relaxing set, though. This would not be my pick for those calm evenings, but rather the Friday nights when you want to get the party going. Smoothness of bass and mids is interestingly countered by energetic high mids and low treble.


Song #7:
Turning up the wildness to 11.


Alien Alert by 1200 micrograms

The anticipation of insanity is high with this one. Absolute necessities are thunderous bass and good spacial cues. Bass of the LM does the job very decently while spaciality is good, but obviously not up to the highest standards. Slight excess of high mids makes this song quite fatiguing. This will not be too big of an issue when you are out and about, it only might become a bit much when you want it to be a bit more reserved. But when it gels with your mood … oh, man.


This concludes my song examples and hopefully you found some information that proves useful to your listening habits!



To Sum Up The Simgot EA500 LM

To sum up the LM, I would mostly pitch this one to those who like a good amount of bass to be counterbalanced by high mids with a slight lean in authority to the latter. Definitely a highly energetic listen which fits the bill when your mood calls for it. On calmer nights I would reach for other sets.

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