Earmax ER610

I was bought in 10 monthes ago from AliExpress, and written a review in my blog ( refer to : http://rageworx.ddns.net/index.php/a-simple-review-of-earmax-e610/ )
 
Actually it was my curiosity for new dual BA unit - KNOWLES DTEC-30265, and soon I could know audio quality is not depends on name of Knowles.
 
Here my old review:
 
It is arrived in waited for long days. They simply described headphone specification in upper side of paper box (I can’t read chinese, so I paraphrased) :
    Model name: ER610
    Supported Frequency: 20 ~ 18000 Hz
    Impedance: 20 ohm.
    Sensitivity : 125 dB
    Cable length: 1.2 meters
 
Ok. I have continue to open a box.
There’s anti-static protection, it was sealed. Need to tear vinyl.
Retail box contains simply these:
    A Mic-controller-LESS headphone. NO mic, NO Controller. (I’ve been ordered mic controller)
    A plastic protective pouch.
    Two pairs of spare different size of silicon tips ( small and large )
    Impossible to readabled Chinese texted paper.
 
Shape of product
This headphone seems to made with aliminium alloy. Weight is really light, And contruction is not looks cheap, But some finishing is not clear like end point of metal cut of hole on each unit to cable protecting rubber.
Nozzle of each unit applied protective metal mash. Silicon tips may compatibles with Apple IEM. Softness is not like Apple’s, more harder. It may problem for some people has weak ear skin tissue. (but I guess they don’t like IEMs, before worry about them)
Cable quality is not same with KZ series even it looks like similar. Much better quality in fitting and strength.

Hearing
First impact of hearing is just simple. It’s not like TWFK series of Knowles. Similar to UE Super.Fi 4. Feels like heavy and darker because of less high frequency as like below table.
(you could see graph in my blog)
Definitely this is not for Hi-Fi reference audio as they written on the cover of box. Sound is too coarse, not optimized. Rather than better KZ-ED9 or KZ-ATE series to buy this in only tuned sound quality. Much far from HiFi reference.
 
Conclusion
This headphone contruction quality is good. But If you like to listen musics, don’t like to recommend this. I don’t believe it used dual BA of Knowles. Sound is too coarse like sands in wind. Middle range of frequency is inflated, but high is seems dead like zombie but it never be rised again.
 
Additional valuation
It’s not enough to believe used dual BA even try to listen in days. Expected crispy high frequency like others, but this has nothing like that. No advantage if you are finding featured in most of dual BA IEM.

Preamble:

Before I start with my review, I’d like to thank Yele Trading Shanghai for providing me with an evaluation sample of the Earmax ER610 (aliexpress.com/item/Earmax-ER610-knowles-Dual-Balanced-Armature-Type-Inner-ear-headphones/32389546484.html) in exchange for my honest opinion.
Please note that my review reflects my actual thoughts on the product and that I am in no way affiliated to the company/store in any way, nor do I get any compensation or financial gain for this review.


Technical Specifications:

Price: ~ $25
Drivers: Balanced Armature (two drivers per side, one-way configuration)
Frequency Response: 20 – 18000 Hz
Impedance: 23 Ohms
Sensitivity: 125 dB
Cable: 1.2 m, silver-plated


Delivery Content:

The Earmax in-ears arrive in a cardboard box that has got the Earmax logo on all sides except for the top and rear. The upper side features a sticker with the technical specifications.
Inside, there are a warranty card as well as a sealed plastic bag which contains the in-ears as well as their accessories which contain of a protective zippered carrying case (very nice to see it included at this low price point), three pairs of excellent white silicone tips (they look and feel exactly like the ones that come included with the Apple Dual-Driver IEMs) as well as finally two pairs of valuable foam tips (same size).

The delivery content and quality of the accessories is very good and much more than one could expect for the low price.
 

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Looks, Feels, Build Quality:

Let me start with the silver-plated cable: it is very flexible, seems sturdy and has got effective strain relief. Taking a closer look, one can see that the single braids are twisted and then coated with semi-transparent rubber (but it is much better done than with the cables of the Brainwavz M3 or SoundMAGIC In-Ears).
The 3.5 mm plug as well as the y-split along with the chin-slider are made of stainless steel, just like the entire in-ear bodies which are generally excellently built, appear very sturdy and have got a concave “faceplate” that makes insertion and positioning easier.
Visually as well as haptically, one gets in-ears that don’t appear like a $25-product, but rather like a much more expensive one, including the really good ear tips and the protective carrying case.
 

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Comfort, Isolation:

Although the in-ears are a bit heavier than usual, they sit very comfortably and can be worn both with the cables straight down as well as over the ears. Due to the chin-slider, the microphonics can be regulated and tamed down quite well and entirely disappear when the cables are worn around the ears.
The included “Apple” ear-tips also help with the excellent comfort.

As the bodies are entirely closed, noise isolation is superb.


Sound:

The main source devices for this evaluation were the LH Labs Geek Out IEM 100, HiFiMe 9018d as well as the iBasso DX80. The music files were mainly stored in FLAC format.

Something rather unusual is that each side contains two Balanced Armature drivers which are however connected in one-way configuration.

For listening, I used the large included white “Apple” silicone tips.

Tonality:

The description on the AliExpress product page already states that the Balanced Armature drivers used in the Earmax ER610 are made for the application in hearing aids – that can also be definitely heard in some areas, as the sound extension is somewhat limited and the mids (although the IEMs are not necessarily mid-centric) are the greatest strengths – but you better read that yourself in my analysis:

“Neutral with shouty mids and rolled-off highs” would be a fitting description for the ER610, and the cheap dual-drivers also share some similarities with the Shure SE425 and Etymotic ER-4S, but more about those specific in-ears after my general sound signature analysis.

The lows are very neutral, but also start rolling off at 80 Hz, with an even decrease to 20 kHz which are about 7 dB quieter than 80 Hz. Around 200 Hz is a minor “emphasis” of about 1 dB (people who have never heard strictly flat in-ears like the Etymotic ER-4S probably won’t even notice it and could falsely call the IEMs bass-light, which they are not – their lows are just not emphasised).
Let’s move on with the mids: they are quite present, as the level starts increasing from 900 Hz on and continues climbing up to around 2 kHz where the climax is being reached. Although voices sound tonally correct (neither dark nor bright), the midrange is somewhat overwhelming (a bit like with the Shure SE425, but much stronger). After 2 kHz, there is not that much going on – there is treble, but it is recessed by around 15 dB and also stops extending at 9 kHz (so there is no level in the super highs above 10 kHz).

As written above, the ER610 show similarities to the Etymotic ER-4S in some areas – at least up to the treble.
In the sub-bass and mid-bass, the ER-4S have got more level than the Earmax, which is not much surprising, as the Ety also has no real sub-bass roll-off. At 200 Hz, the ER610 is minimally more present. Both start identically in the mids, but the Earmax rise faster at 1.5 kHz and have got their climax before 2 kHz. As a consequence, voices are tonally correct (just as with the Etymotic), but shouty and too present – the pushed-back treble right afterwards even amplifies that impression, wherefore the Earmax sound a bit like the Shure SE425 in the highs, but with clearly less level.

From other owners of the ER610, I heard that they didn’t like those in-ears at the slightest – I can somewhat comprehend that, as these in-ears will most likely sound “boring” for many and also have shouty “in-your-face” mids – and there are also people who don’t like the SE425 and ER-4S, what I personally can’t understand, especially with the latter (I overall like the Shure, but kind of dislike its treble which could have more level and a better extension).

Music is listenable with the ER610, but one has to free his/her mind from a consumer-oriented sound that is usually found in this price range. Instead, the in-ears deliver a fairly neutral presentation with a neutral, yet somewhat rolled off bass, over-present, shouty mids and a pushed-back treble.
Honestly, I, as fan of a rather neutral sound, have to say that I like the ER610 by about 65% - still, the mids could also be less shouty for my likings and I would prefer more treble presence – it is a bit sad though, as the in-ears could be much better extending with a true two-way configuration, wherefore they could have a less steep treble recession.

Resolution:

Typically for Balanced Armature earphones, the ER610 are very precise and detailed, along with having really high speech intelligibility even at very low listening levels. The bass and treble resolution is not as good as in the mids, though lows are fast, punchy and arid.
Still, it can be heard that the used BA transducers in these in-ears are actually designed for hearing aids, as the ER610 behaves better with audio books and films than with music, although I also find it somewhat usable for that purpose.

Soundstage:

Typically for most single(/one-way)-BA-earphones, the sound is very coherent. The imaginary soundstage is very small (even smaller than the Shure SE425’s), but offers a good spatial depth and a really precise instrument placement (in the limited space). Instrument separation and layering are in my ears really good as well.


Conclusion:
The Earmax ER610 offer perfect build quality, valuable ear tips and good technical capabilities for a quite low price. The detail retrieval is on a good level and outperforms similarly priced dynamic in-ears with ease, but the tonal tuning is somewhat a fail. Although general tonality is more or less neutral (too boring for some), I see two major problems (the somewhat rolling off bass does not count for me): the mids are very shouty and obtrusive, with a strong “in your face” character, wherefore long-term listening comfort is not the best (the mids are quite fatiguing). And subsequently, the treble is recessed and even enforces the impression of the shouty midrange. More or less, I would say that the ER610 is a somewhat failed Shure SE425 “in cheap” (of course the Shure is on a whole other level in terms of resolution and sound quality).
The Earmax ER610 could have actually been perfect in-ears for the price, but the transition from the mids to the treble kind of ruins a lot of the performance and sound signature. Who likes the Etymotic ER-4S and Shure SE425 will probably also more or less be able to get used to the ER610 although it is half-assed (and so even I as huge lover of the Etymotic ER-4S can’t really decide whether I slightly like the Earmax ER610 or not).
Their technical strengths, build quality and isolation are really good, but the tonal tuning is so-so. All in all, I find the ER610 to be better suited for films and audio books than for music.

From a more or less objective view, the ER610 still score half of the sound points and get perfect ratings for their build quality as well as speech intelligibility, wherefore they are still halfway decent with a rating of 52% or 2.5 out of 5 stars.