"Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue."
~~Plato, Greek Philosopher
LETSHUOER is one of the few audio companies that really take serious on building some of the best IEMs in the current audio market from entry-level up to the TOTL flagship segment. They make sure that the drivers and other components that were implemented on their product are of high quality and meticulously contrived.
This product review is more of a throwback, a reminisce of their humble beginning on how
LETSHUOER attained its status as a credible audio company that audiophiles and audio professionals should pay attention to. This product is actually an old model that was released in 2019 and it is their first “tri-brid” set that will target the midrange segment in the audio market.
This is
LETSHUOER EJ07, the very first model of the
EJ Series. The
EJ Series are the classes of IEMs models with three types of drivers that were implemented internally and most of them have moulded resin shells with an exception of
EJ07M which is made of metal alloy. This model is actually the predecessor of the
EJ07M and the difference between them is that this set has a resin shell chassis, a different take on modular cable as it relies on adaptors specific for different types of audio output jacks and a type of tuning.
As I mentioned about its driver configuration,
LETSHUOER EJ07 has three types of drivers that were implemented inside, a dynamic driver, balanced armature drivers and
Sonion “EST (Electrostatic)”/ Electret drivers. The dynamic drivers used on this set is a 10mm with nano-carbon diaphragm that solely handles the low frequencies to deliver a deep and tactile bass; there are two balanced armature drivers which are mid-woofers that were produced by
Sonion and these are the 2389 models which will handles the midrange and some parts of high frequencies which offer a good clarity and detail on instruments and vocals with excellent tonal reproduction. And then the
Sonion EST65QB02 “EST”/Electrets will handle the majority of high frequencies as it is very capable of delivering a shimmer, sparkling and airy treble response. These drivers were connected in acoustic tubes in a three-way passive crossover in tandem with electronic frequency crossover to achieve that low distortion, well-segregated frequencies and cleaner sonic output.
The drivers and some of its components were encapsulated in a high quality, medical-grade hypoallergenic resin shell chassis in a UIEM-style form factor to achieve that 26dB passive noise isolation. The shells’ dimensions are on medium size and its overall aesthetics is rather minimalist and looks quite a professional tool as it has black resin faceplate with some glittering multi-coloured design on it and a clear and transparent cavity base which you see the drivers and some of its methodical innerworkings. It has a vent hole at the top of the shell as an outlet for excess air pressure generated from the dynamic driver. Like all
LETSHOUER products that I've tested so far, it uses a proven 2-pin receptacle as its detachable cable connector system.
As for fitting and comfort,
LETSHUOER EJ07 offers a very comfortable wear and excellent isolation into my lugholes as it manages to block some unwanted external noises from the outside surroundings. I can even wear it and didn't encounter any discomfort during my usual long listening session.
LETSHUOER EJ07 stock cable is of a high quality and it offers a different kind of modularity as it relies on adaptors for its 2.5mm balanced termination plug. The composition of its cable is a 6N OCC copper wiring and it was sheathed with nylon fabric for strength and flexibility. As for adaptors, it includes a 3.5mm single ended and a 4.4mm balanced adaptors for versatility on different types of audio output and all of the plugs were gold-plated for corrosive-resistant.
To think that
EJ07 is supposedly a “high midrange” set but its product packaging is rather quite simple and minimalist for a midrange set. Despite the plain appearance of its packaging box, it actually offers many inclusion of accessories that are quite useful.
Here are the following contents inside of
LETSHUOER EJ07's packaging box:
- Pair of LETSHUOER EJ07 IEM transducers
- Stock cable in 2.5mm termination plug
- 3.5mm single ended adaptor
- 4.4mm balanced adaptor
- Oval-shaped IEM storage case
- Cleaning tool
- 2 pairs of memory foam ear tips
- 3 pairs of balanced bore silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
- 3 pairs of wide bore silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
- Paperwork like product certification stub and instruction manual.
Regarding its power scaling and amplification,
LETSHUOER EJ07 can be driven decently from device sources with decent power output. But putting this set into the sources with better power output will deliver a more vivid and a full range sound that truly unleash its full potential of its dynamic sound.
As for tonality,
LETSHUOER EJ07 has an unusual and uncommon type of tuning in which I only encountered it on a specific audio brand which usually adhere this type of target tuning curve, The
Etymotic and also the
Sennheiser's HD800 albeit a bit modified on the treble part. It sounds pretty neutral, well-balanced and somewhat linear sounding across its overall frequency range as it has that DF(Diffuse Field) - like presentation on its intended tuning style.
Diffuse Field Target Curve is described as it is more of an ideal sound quality of specific target frequency response based on a multiple speaker set-up in a very reverberant and well-treated room where the sound waves bounces off from all angles and all direction through the head centre. The reasoning and idea behind this tuning concept is that it can be also applied to headphones and IEMs as it gives an even, linear and almost flat frequency response which can be described as an ideal neutral sound acoustically perceived by our auditory senses.
LOWS/BASS:
It has a tight, precise and articulate bass response like most DF-tuned sets either IEMs or cans that share almost the same characteristics. The sufficient amount of bass quantity is quite satisfying for a neutrally-tune bass response as we will definitely hear a good sub-bass presence and a reasonably textured midbass.
In my ears, I audibly felt its sub-bass rumble reverberation that were generated from instruments like low tone bass guitars, synthesisers, drum machines and octabasses from music genres like rock, synth-pop and older Hip-hop or RnB tracks.
As this set won't deliver that slam or authority that will be more favourable to bassheads as it focuses more on precision and less colouration. The bass guitars have a rasping and resonant sound from them in every pluck and strumming of its strings, while the bass kick drums have a good rumbling and thudding sound on every hit that it can show the precision and speed of double bass kicks from extreme metal tracks, and the bass-baritones vocals have sufficient vocal weight and tonal colour on them though it seems that they sound less darker and less voluminous but somehow, it has a fairly depth with a little bit vibrato on their particular voices.
MIDRANGE:
The midrange presentation of this one is quite well-balanced and neutral sounding that this is probably one of the best midrange responses that I've ever listened to in the midrange IEM segment. Clean, sufficiently textured and well-detailed that vocals and most instruments will sound quite natural, clear, vivid and crisp while maintaining an almost correct timbre.
On male vocals, baritones have those fairly smooth, evenness and plush sound from their voices as I'm enjoying to listen on light and lyric baritones although on kavalierbariton, verdi and dramatic baritones, we might find it less powerful but it still has some semblance of fullness and richness on their vocal quality. Meanwhile on tenors, they have an agile, clear and dazzling on their sound quality while having an ample vocal weight on them either its leggero, lyric and spinto types, but it should be also address that while dramatic and heldentenor vocals might have less depth and less darker tone on their vocals but still retain that rich and emotiveness on their voices. And then on countertenors, they have these soft, tender and ethereal qualities on them. On female vocals, they all give me that euphonic, comforting and mesmerising voices as contraltos have rich, husky and smoky vocals that this set is able to capture that realistic timbre that I'm quite familiar with while the mezzo-sopranos have velvety, a tad warmness and fiery as I find captivating and sweet, and then on sopranos, they have these silvery, creamy and crystal-clear vocals on them whether it is dramatic, lyric, soubrette or coloratura type that this set almost perfectly to project them quite accurately as intended as possible.
As for instruments, it seems that
EJ07 will deliver an even, natural and almost accurate tone on them that I even consider as quite correct and well-balanced sounding. On string instruments, acoustic guitars have a balanced sound with good presence of overtones as I don't hear it either too warm or too bright while violas have a full and stately sound and then on violins, they have that eloquent and pureness of their sound quality that I find it very pleasant. Woodwinds like piccolos, concert flutes and clarinets, a clear and brilliant sound on piccolos, an ethereal, mellow yet silvery sound on flutes, and a melodic and expressive sound on clarinets. As for brasses, trumpets have full and brilliant sound while trombones have solid and dramatic sound, and then on horns, they have a sonorous, mellow and velvety sound. Then on percussion, snare drums have clear and precise sound on every stroke while tom-toms have penetrating and resonant sound, field drums have sonorous and venerable sounds, and then kettledrums have substantial and somewhat velvety sound from them. Pianos sounds quite well-balanced and has that naturalness of its tone.
HIGHS/TREBLE:
It appears that
EJ07 has a neutral yet smooth treble response with just a sufficient amount of brightness on it. This type of treble response might be less appealing to the majority of treble-heads (I'm a bit of a treble-head too) who want more shimmer and energy but in my opinion, this one sounds quite almost perfect for its intended target curve that despite of its a bit relaxed tuning nature, it actually delivers a lot of details and quite resolving.
Upper-mids up to presence part of treble were just a bit accentuated just to give a presence and definition on vocals and instruments. Definitely, It won't give that harshness or sibilance that we usually encountered to some over boosted upper-mids and presence IEMs that in a long run it will definitely give you that listening fatigue.
While this set doesn't have the airiest treble in the midrange segment that I've tested and its sparkle is more than enough to give a sheen quality, the presentation of instruments are quite natural and very pleasant to listen to. Cymbals have a glistening and lustrous sound while hi-hats have a shortened buzzing sound to give that chicky sound. Then, celestas have bell-like and sweet sound, and glockenspiels have those lustrous and silvery sound either in keyboard form or mallet-type in an orchestral ensemble.
SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & OTHER TECHNICALITIES:
The overall sound field dimensions that this set is able to project within my aural perception is quite spacious as it has excellent height and depth while its lateral width span is moderately wide. Its imaging presentation gives me that atmospheric-feel that I can certainly pinpoint the exact position of vocals and instrument in a soundscape. It has remarkable separation and the layering is quite transparent and well-defined on how these instrument and vocal frequencies and dynamic tone are quite well-arranged in a sonic canvas. In that matter, it is very capable to play the most complex multi-instrumental tracks out there like orchestral ensemble and jazz easy peasy.
It is also noted that cohesive performance of its multi-driver set-up is also remarkable as it has responsive fast transient and decay on its dynamic driver and no distortion and unwanted resonance sound from its balanced armatures and “ESTs”.
Resolution capabilities of this set are quite excellent as it has a substantial note texture on its macro-dynamics and a fairly sharp micro-detail retrieval as I was able to hear clearly some nuances and subtleties like vocal end pitches, perceived room reverberations or reverberating effect from a drum stroke.
PEER COMPARISONS:
LETSHUOER EJ07M
● EJ07's successor model and a more affordable one. While it still retain the tri-brid set-up, it has a metal alloy shell and a stock cable is different and quite similar to other LETSHUOER product stock cable, EJ09. It doesn't have any modular option as it has only 3.5mm SE on its terminal plug.
● EJ07M's sound profile is also neutral but it takes a different type of neutral type of tuning compared to its predecessor. It has more sub-bass presence and a slightly elevated upper-mids to presence treble with more airy presentation. Overall, in terms of neutrality and uncoloured sound, if I compared both sets, the EJ07M is a bit more coloured in my opinion.
● Technicalities of both sets were quite similar as EJ07M also had a fairly spacious sound field, an atmospheric stereo imaging presentation, excellent separation and well-defined layering. As for resolution capability, EJ07M has a bit more sharper micro-detail retrieval.
KINERA IMPERIAL URD
● A tri-brid driver set-up IEM from Kinera. Like EJ07, it also has medical-grade resin shell albeit a bit more larger size. It also has a modular stock cable but its uses a detachable termination plug system rather than adaptor-type that EJ07 utilizes.
● IMPERIAL URD has a “warmish-neutral” sound profile that makes it more coloured sounding compared to EJ07 as it has more texture on its mid-bass, a warmer and meaty midrange and a quite similar treble response as it is also smooth and relaxed sounding, though if I compared it to EJ07, its a bit darker as there are some instances that it sounds too smooth in my liking.
● As for technical aspects, while IMPERIAL URD has a moderately spacious headroom, its stereo imaging presentation is rather two-dimensional and also, I'm struggling a bit on pinpointing the placement of instruments and vocal in a perceive soundscape. On resolution capability, this set is more focus on macro-dynamics than micro-dynamics as the latter's micro-detail retrieval aspect is quite average and its definition seems to be blunted and less sharp.
EMPIRE EARS VALKYRIE MK.II (DEMO)
● One of the sets with tri-brid driver set-up that I've tested from a more established international brand and not part of Chi-Fi sphere. This is the most expensive one in this comparison segment. Like the EJ07, its shell construction is also made of medical grade resin material and it was also implemented with their own anti-resonance technology inside along with its choice and custom drivers. Like most EE sets that I've tested, it has a driver flex on every insertion into my lugholes.
● The VALKYRIE MK.II has a more coloured tonality as it presents me a more U or V-shaped sound profile compared to the more balanced, almost uncoloured and neutral sounding EJ07. This set is definitely has more authority and slamming bass response, a noticeable notch midrange presentation as it has some instances of leaness on its note weight and a sudden accentuated on the upper-mids to give a crisper and bright tone on female vocals and some string and percussive instruments. Treble response of this one is indeed on the brighter side and quite very sparkling with similar treble airy extension of EJ07. Overall, its tonality sounds a bit artificial and less organic sounding that it will more appealing to more digitally-oriented modern tracks.
● In terms of technical capabilities, VALKYRIE MK.II has a quite spacious sound/speaker stage and a concave-like stereo imaging presentation. Its separation and layering appears to be good enough but if I compared it to EJ07, its performance a bit inferior and less refined in my opinion given for its asking price. Coherency-wise, that Weapon IX dynamic driver that gives the VALKYRIE MK.II more authority and a tad boomy bass response somehow gives more sluggish transient and decaying takes some time to dissipate that affect the overall cohesive performance with other drivers. On resolution capability, it has a solid macro-dynamics and a quite sharp definition micro-detail retrieval.
As I conclude my review about this set, this set is truly impressive as it take me some time to put up a review on this one as I really enjoy the sound quality of this one. This is probably the defining moment of
LETSHUOER, as this product truly eclipse its previous ones with leaps and bounds. It also uncommon to encounter a set with similar target tuning curves that aligns with Etymotic's tuning and make it even better. The eloquence and refinement of
LETSHUOER EJ07's tonality and technical performance truly leaves an indellible mark on the annals of the portable audio history.
LETSHUOER EJ07 is still available in online store vendors, check out the unaffiliated links that I've provided below.
★★ LETSHUOER OFFICIAL STORE★★
★★ LINSOUL ★★
★★ HIFIGO ★★
And also check out my previous reviews on other
LETSHUOER products:
◆ LETSHUOER GALILEO (First impressions)
◆ LETSHUOER CADENZA 12
◆ LETSHUOER EJ09
◆ LETSHUOER CONDUCTOR (First impressions)
◆ LETSHUOER D13
◆ LETSHUOER S12 PRO
◆ LETSHUOER EJ07M
◆ LETSHUOER DZ4
◆ LETSHUOER S15
SPECIFICATION:
MODEL: LETSHUOER EJ07
IMPEDANCE: 17Ω
SENSITIVITY: 104dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 40KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m
PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR (0.78mm)
PLUG TYPE: Modular (Adaptor-type) 2.5mm, 3.5mm, 4.4mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): 1 DYNAMIC DRIVER + 2 BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVERS + 4 ELECTRET DRIVERS
Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)
Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
P.S.
I am not affiliated to LETSHUOER nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.
Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to IVY GAO for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.
Lack treble and details at the top-end
