SIMGOT EW300 (DSP EDITION)
Let's get started. So I'd like to start by thanking
Shenzhen Audio for the opportunity to review this unit. Thanks muchly. Appreciate it greatly. So this is the DSP version of the EW300. It comes in three versions (Standard with silver metal chassis/HBB collab version with black metal chassis/and the DSP cable version with black metal chassis). I was given the choice of versions, and I took the DSP version based on HBB himself stating that the DSP version was preferred to his own collab version, and the standard version only comes in silver, which reminded me of the Simgot EW200 I owned up until recently, so I decided to go with the DSP so I could give it a whirl. I've never owned a DSP cable IEM, so I figured why not? Let's give it a shot? So buckle your seatbelts and prepare for a 100% unbiased review with heartfelt observations and thoughts. Now on to the fun stuff.
The unboxing experience was decent. Fairly typical Simgot unboxing. There was the high class box sleeve, which is holochrome with mark branding and specs and graph on the back. Inside, there's a pull flap, that pulls up to reveal the beautiful but diminutive shells, and the smaller box containing the protective case. Also included are the DSP cable with mic (with a pre-programmed FR), assorted tips, tuning nozzles, and O-rings. I just kept the stock nozzle, as it's the most balanced, and I'm not into bassy boosted FR with reigned in treble. I like balance, and this IEM even in stock mode, has plenty of bass. As is the case with all stock tips, they are useless to me, as they are always too small even in large for my cavernous ears. DSP cable was attached and tried, and well, it practically blew my ear drums. The volume on the DSP cable is set to the highest volume possible. I have no idea why Simgot felt the need to set it this loud, and that it was a good idea to do so, but once I regrouped, and found out how to control the volume, I lost all interest in DSP, plus swapping from DSP to upgrade cable, I wasn't really feeling any upgrade in sound or changes that warranted continuing with the DSP cable, so out that went, and in came the Tripowin Mirage, which ended up being a sensational synergy sister cable for the EW300, and at $20.00, it's a bargain value and price to performance cable. Shells are so small and comfortable. These might be the most comfortable and ergonomic shells I've come across in this price range. I could wear them all day.
So now that we have the unboxing experience out of the way, let's move on to the sound? That's what you're all here for anyways!! It's time to get it on!!...but first, let me share with all of you some information about the IEMs themselves. Internals, specs, and a graph? Fun times indeed!
THE SPECS :
Simgot EW300 :
Technical Information:
Frequency Response graph provided courtesy of Simgot
PRICE : $79.99 ($69.99 for Standard Version)
Available for purchase at
this location.
The Gear :
What did I use for my listening sessions for my review??
Typically I source roll like a mofo, but in the case of the Simgot EW300, I decided to focus my source attention mostly on vacuum tubes. Now, I also used solid state mode and Sigma-Delta with the Sony's and the Cayin, but the majority of my listening was done with the Sony NW-A306 + Little Bear B4-X tube amp, Cayin N3 Ultra (Modern Tube mode + Solid State mode, No EQ, M gain, Slow Roll off filter, untethered) + Sony NW-A25 (untethered). There was fantastic synergies with all these sources, and made for a positive listening experience.
Music used for the review and all my reviews in general?
Ezra Collective - Dance, No One's Watching
Robert Glasper - Canvas
Alfa Mist - Antiphon
Hugo Kant - Far From Home
Alfredo Rodriguez - The Little Dream
Bob Marley & the Wailers - Survival
Rob Van Bavel Trio - Dutch Weather
Junior Kelly, Bounty Killer, and Capleton - The Good, The Bad, and the Blazin'
Dominik Eulberg - Avichrom
Abysmal Dawn - Phylogenesis
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Drive By Jehu - Self Titled
Cognizance - Phantazein
Metallica - 72 Seasons
In Aphelion - Reaperdawn
Cradle of Filth - Midian
SOUND IMPRESSIONS :
Dynamics : 4
Resolution : 4
Details : 4
Instrument separation : 4
Imaging : 4
Sibilance : 2
Soundstage : 3.5
Overall score : 4/5
BASS/MIDRANGE/TREBLE :
The
Simgot EW300 is unlike anything ever released by Simgot. Up to this point, Simgot's house sound was Harman target with few exceptions. From the EW100 to the EW200 to the EA500LM to the EA1000 to the Supermix 4 and everything beyond and in between, the flavor was Harmanish, with crisp upper mids, bordering on crispy, with forwardish mids that relied on a boost for resolution, and punchy and elevated mid bass that was clean. When I purchased the Supermix 4, my hope was that the tuning would be uniquely Simgot, but with a refinement that would bely it's previous penchants. This was not the case. The treble was a bit restrained, as the upper mids were close to Harman, but the bass response was soft, pillowy, and lacking any heft or character that would help mask or enhance the Harman upper mids and restrained treble. It made for a disjointed and disappointing listen. So when asked to review the EW300, I had apprehensions to say the least, as I had boomeranged and sold every Simgot I ever got my hands on. I ended up relenting, as you can see, and anxiously awaited the arrival of the EW300. Well, from the first few moments of my initial listening sessions, my mind was blown. This was not my father's Simgot. No way! The sonics were very balanced, unified, and controlled. The bass stood out as being very punchy, weighty, and resolving. It had a bit of elastic character, and some depth, so the sub bass was there, but not excessive. Mid bass provided a nice touch of warmth and presence, with punch, so it made for a very interesting and engaging bass response, which is not what I got from the SM4. Bass is present and accounted for, and doesn't overwhelm the mids and is quite balanced and refined. On fast metal tracks, it's able to keep up and not smear, which gave me great pleasure in proclaiming this an all-arounder set. Regardless of complexity of track, the bass remained composed and present, and unified in it's delivery.
The midrange is forward, crisp, and resolving, with a nice warmth, weight and timbre. Though not top mid-fi class (what do you expect from $79.00?!), it's definitely punching way above it's price point in terms of clean, well separated, and resolving midrange. Pianos has nice reverb and tonality, as do kicks and guitars. Stringed instruments have bite and note trails that reverberate with a clean and natural tone, which belies the PZT and planar that is handling the mids and highs. Classic rock music absolutely sings with a naturalness and a sharpness (in a good way) that screams controlled high resolution playback. There's power and heft to the midrange that provides a very satisfying listen, without any dryness or thinness that might introduce softness, other than notes are rounded enough to not get any screech or crispiness, which are annoyances present in previous Simgot IEMs.
The treble is the star of this show, just from the standpoint of it's wispiness, it's texture, and it's tone. Shimmery and assured, but never strident or metallic. There's enough air to make sure the treble never gets dull or uninteresting. That's where the EW300 walks the fine lines. This was a masterstroke of tuning, in that the treble never does get offensive, or bright, or metallic, which usually, when a treble is tuned this carefree and wispy, it can give way to these tendencies. Not here. There's enough reign in, just enough control, that you get a clean, crisp, and shimmery treble experience, with beautifully presented natural overtones and resonances. It's a brilliant balancing act of tuning all these different drivers to achieve a cohesion and control that's admirable at this lower price point.
OVERALL :
The EW300 excels as a cohesive all-arounder, that you can feed reggae, metal, rock, jazz, hip hop, or electronica, and it will reward you with a standout play back, that will have you scratching your head in wonderment of how something as cheap as the EW300 can deliver the goods in such a high class way? From the plunks of piano keys, to the plucks of bass guitar strings, to the strums of guitars, there's such an incisiveness and resolve that really pulls you into the music. I think this is where the EW300 comes into it's own and rewards you with stellar price to performance. It's in how it pulls you into the music and you feel like you're along for the ride on a magic carpet so to speak. It's a wistful journey, but one capable of turning on the juice and giving you headbanging bass or wispy treble or pounding sub bass or delicate midrange. It's a jack of all trades and a master of all. Technicalities are above average and details pop out in your music from dense passages to the most wistful pop. How the Supermix 4 didn't get the job done with more tech, and at a higher price point, whereas this little giant did, is beyond me? I found myself enthralled with latino jazz, like
Alfredo Rodriguez - The Little Dream or
Tocororo. It captured my attention and never let go. Same goes for
Pink Floyd- The Wall. It was like the EW300 pulled me into the cinema of this album, and was able to convey the emotions and ebb and flows of this classic at all bullet points. Congrats $79.00 IEM for doing something some $300 IEMs fail to do!
COMPARISONS :
Tri i3 MK III : The Tri i3 MK III is considerably more expensive than the EW300. Retail it's about $199, but has been on sale as low as $150.00. The i3 MK III features a single DD + 1 BA + 1 planar, so close to the tri-brid EW300, with the IEMs swapping a Piezo driver for a BA. Now this is a Sonion BA, so it's high caliber BA performance. Whereas the highs are handled by a Piezo electric driver in the EW300, the highs in the i3 MK III are handled by a planar driver. The interesting thing about that is the tonality, the wispiness, and tecture of the treble area is very similar. You'd find it hard to separate the two IEMs in terms of treble response and air. It's pretty much twinzies and a toss up. Now since the midrange of the i3 III has less bleed, or let me actually say, less influence from the DD, and it's a more dry or less warm character, the midrange tends to lack some heft in the i3. So tonally, when we move into the midrange instruments, there's just a little more natural tone and note weight present in the EW300. Neither are more forward than the other, and the instrument separation probably goes to the i3, as well as wider spatial cues, but clarity is similar, with a wet vs dry tonality being the difference. In turn, there's a feeling of more spaciousness and a wider soundstage while listening to the i3. The EW300 provides more fullness though, thanks to the edge in warmth and maybe a touch more depth. Now the bass is where these two most definitely separate. The bass performance of the EW300 is a cut above the Beryllium DD of the i3. There's more micro resolution, heft, punch, and sub bass depth present in the EW300, as well as a feeling of impact. If there's a drawback of the i3 MKIII, is that the bass can sometimes come off as soft or pillowy, despite it having very good micro and macro details, and clarity, but the softness can leave you wanting for a bit more presence and punch, and shed light that this is a brighter, midrangy aminal, vs a more balanced and bass dynamic IEM like the EW300. So the i3 MK III I'd characterize as analytical, dry mid forward, and treble present with a wide soundstage tuning, that handles most genres with precision and accuracy, while the EW300 is a fun, bassy, warm, but tonally natural IEM that can handle any genre with am engaging tuning. Advantage : Toss up, but maybe I'll lean into the EW300 as the more fun IEM? But it's close.
CONCLUSION :
The Simgot EW300 has been one of the biggest personal surprises of 2024 for me. I was expecting not much, and I got much more than I ever thought. The balance, maturity, tonality, and control are all aces for me, especially for an IEM that comes in at $79.00. There's a lot of IEMs that are double or triple the cost of the EW300 that don't do tuning as well, and couple that with the superb comfort of these small shells, and we have a budget winner on our hands. Though there's been quite a few budget winners released in 2024, this might actually sit at the very top of the totem pole as the best budget IEM of 2024? It's got all the outstanding qualities you want in a budget all-arounder, plus an attractive and diminutive shell, with stunning tuning, and very few negatives, and the negatives are all quibbles tbh. Maybe not enough bass quantity? Maybe not the widest soundstage? Maybe not the most extended treble? None of these are substantive strikes against the EW300, and again, are quibbles based off someone else's preferences. As far as I'm concerned, none of these things truly set the EW300 back at all, and even as I wrap up this review, these IEMs remain in my ears, engaging my imagination, and my attention, and I can't recommend them highly enough. If these aren't in your rotation yet, then do yourself a huge favor and add them right away. You won't regret it, and you can thank me later. Ok, you don't have to, but it would be a pleasure steering you right. Night.
RECOMMENDATION LEVEL : BUDGET BOSS LEVEL - HIGHEST 9/10.
Thank you so much for reading and remember to be water with your audio luv! When you do...
AUDITORY ZEN UNLOCKED!
What should I get moondrop Aria 2 vs ew300
Or should I wait for new upcoming iem in 2025, like zero red 2, hexa 2 and some more.
Thanks in advance lol