udeupa
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[size=14.0pt][REVIEW] Earsquake Fish & Earsquake SHA[/size]
Introduction
My Taiwanese friend recently gave me a set of IEMs from Earsquake. I have never heard about this company, and never seen these IEMs before. My friend told me that Earsquake is looking for people to test and write a review for their IEMs, I think I am one of the lucky guys.
Earsquake
Since it is a new company, I wanted to know a little bit more about it. I have heard that Earsquake does OEMs for many famous brands in Europe and USA, therefore this company does have experienced R&D and know how to make good quality IEMs and Headphones. So they start a new division called Earsquake and start to launch its brand name IEMs and Headphones. They are trying to make unique appearance IEMs & Headphones with high C/P value sound quality, they wish to provide consumer the premium product with very low cost.
1. FISH – Heavy Bass
Colors: Black, White
Features:
FISH is primarily design for the high volume bass output; it is remarkably prominent for the driver that is less than 11mm. Gaming, Anime, Rock, POP, Hit Hop lover will love FISH, and will not let go after try it on.
FISH appearance like the big head fish; surface mining of metal paint and coated with UV hardening protection, bright colors, extremely wear-resistant surface, color won’t easily fade; color mach with the Black and White PSP3000 series associate with supporting eye catching colors.
2.SHA – Crystal Clear
Colors: Black, Silver, Red, Green
Features:
SHA is fastidious about the balance of the sound, the depth of field, and the detail of the performance. It helps release pressure and allowed long term wearing without fatigue to the ears. It is good for light music, vocal, POP, and classic.
SHA was designed by the smooth arc lines with 3 air holes and make it looks like a little Shark; surface mining of metal paint and then coated with UV hardening protection,, bright colors, extremely wear-resistant surface, color won’t easily fade; color mach with the IPOD NANO 5th series (Black, Silver, Green, and Dark Pink) associate with supporting eye catching colors.
Product Appearance Review
Before we get into the Performance Review, let’s see the product appearance first.
1. Left and Right Mark
SHA are very well marked with large text, easy to find and recognize. However, FISH is very hard to find, it is right on the tip of where the line coming out from the IEMs. It is very small and really hard to find. I had to use my Macro lens to find it. Pictures shown as following:
2. Logo
Both FISH and SHA have a Earsquake logo on the sub-line divider. Pictures shown as following:
3. Cable
There are different materials cables with each different color of IEMs. The silver one work especially well. It causes lesser tight up possibility and conform better.
4. Ears Tips
The ears tips come with SHA are very comfortable without even knowing you are wearing them.
Fish's ears tips have a drawback; they caused the material to against each other when doing the insertion and it causes high pitch noise for about 2 seconds that discomfort your ears. It is fine after those 2 seconds. I have complained this issue to my friend who gave me these IEMs; he said Earsquake are fixing the problem before they launch the product here in US.
5. Connector
Both Fish and SHA are using gold-plated 3.5mm mini connector. The SHA still with the joint brand name, Fish did not.
Performance Review
I do not have any IEMs with me at this moment in order to compare the performance with FISH and SHA. The only IEM I have right now is a pair of Monster Turbine. Now, I do know that to use Monster Turbine (MSRP$100+) in comparison to FISH and SHA (MSRP only $20) is not all that fair. Therefore, Monster Turbine is supposedly perform much better than FISH & SHA, it will be miracle if FISH and SHA outtake the Monster Turbine.
Moreover, because of FISH is specifically designed for the handheld video game, it is not design for HIFI music, so the most review on the music part should make FISH looks really bad. If the official is right, we can expect FISH is defeated when it comes to music listening.
Here are several sample songs I used to listen and compare with Monster Turbine, FISH, and SHA. Here we go:
Faro
FISH Performance:
Turbine already provided superb volume of bass, but FISH provided even more! It is almost too scary to listen. Although FISH provide quantity of bass, but the quality is kind of scattered. There are some details that FISH can do, but the huge bass overwhelmed all of them.
SHA Performance:
Details are surprisingly very good! Performers’ breathing can be listened, rubbing the guitar strings sound very clear. Guitar is very crisp, cut the air. The highs and details are somewhat better than Turbine. However, there is no bass at all…
Post Card second song
FISH Performance:
Seem to have singers singing in the bathroom sense of the kind of echo.
SHA Performance:
Human voice is very clear, clear teeth bite, but the human sound color is a bit cold. Good space, fast dynamic, but the drums are too light, low-frequency high-frequency have overshadowed the feeling.
L'Arpeggiata - La Tarantella- Antidotum Tarantulae
FISH Performance:
Guitar sounds disorder, too loose. Sound board is not crisp enough.
SHA Performance:
Guitar is too weak, but the details are good. Sound board sound is very crisp.
Dream Girl No. 9 and No. 10
FISH Performance:
Covered with a layer of silky cloth feel, more real human voice than SHA,
However, too much echo, as if singing in Karaoke Echo feeling.
SHA Performance:
Although the voices are detailed clear, and charm, too sharp is its shortcoming.
Level of good enough separation; the details are very good, but no bass.
Schindler's List
FISH Performance:
Quite unexpected!
FISH was not originally design for music listening, so I am expecting the same old bad result from it. However, it is very suitable for Schindler's List. The warmth of violin associate with FISH heavy bass made the cold color song an interested and different warm color. The loud and scattered bass makes the violin stand out clear.
SHA Performance:
I was expecting to hear this clear cool sound color IEM’s performance in this album, but it makes the whole thing a little bit boring. The violin is too thin and less bass support.
Straight No Chaser
FISH Performance:
Echo too much, a bathroom feel the music songs.
SHA Performance:
Good. Rich, warm a little longer, but the human voice would be more natural.
Movie and Video Games
FISH Performance:
When it comes to Movie and Video Games… I finally realized why they are making this IEM! Praise it! It is completely made a turn over from listen to music. Because of super heavy bass and echo, makes the conversation, voice acting, and the aside very nice to hear. Just like the movie preview type of voice acting, very deep and vibrate. The scattered heavy bass also make the gun fire, exploding, and the special sound effect very vivid and powerful. I really think FISH is perfect match with video games and movies. It is even better than Monster Turbine in this field.
SHA Performance:
No good. Te sound is too crisp, boring, and not powerful. SHA is better for music listening.
Sound Elements
Sound Quality
Fish: not good.
SHA: more slender, but somewhat electronic feel, not precise enough.
Sound Color
Fish: warm
SHA: cold
Density
Fish: Powder
SHA: Firming
Detail
Fish: Some, but covered by heavy bass
SHA: Good
Dynamic
Fish: very slow
SHA: fast
Space/AIr
Fish: Echo, but not space and air
SHA: Yes
Conclusion
Overall, Fish does not fit to listen to music, should be able to say that the whole play is not suitable. However, it was originally design for PSP, NDS, and other handheld video game devices, so it is design for listening special sound effect instead of music. It is also good for any movies play with handheld devices like iPod Touch, Cowon S9, and etc. The MSRP is $20, I think it is very good if you want this IEM for video game and watch movies, and you like a lot of bass. It worth for the money. Don’t buy if you want to listen to music.
SHA's work better than the FISH on music, it is also MSRP $20, excellent value for money. Its detail, air, space, sound stage are all perform very well, hard to believe it is only $20. It deserves $50+ MSRP. The colors are matches iPod series, I think this is a very economic replace to the IEM come with the iPod.
