I like your thinking. And your musically interwoven reviews are a great way to do it.
That is what I intended. Great that you appreciate that, thanks!
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Simgot EM1
disclaimer: disclaimer: A big thanks to Simgot for sending the Em1 for review. If you have an interest in Simgot products, please check their website, Facebook page, or Amazon Store.
Unboxing / Packaging:
Those familiar with Simgot packaging with recognize the EM1 box as being exactly like the other siblings in the EM line. Slipcover with a lift-top underneath and understated graphics. The slipcover has all the details regarding model so the inner packaging is exactly like the other EM models. Earpieces are in a foam tray at top, carrying case below with accessories hiding inside a box in the lower compartments. This is perhaps a higher level of packing for an entry level model, but it does keep the line in parity.
Accessories:
Accessories with the EM1 are two sets of three tips (balanced and bass enhancing in SML), a soft cloth bag, and instructions. Here we can see the first difference in the entry level and the levels above as the case has gone from being the embossed leather magnetic closure design of the upper models to a simpler drawstring bag but it still serves the purpose well.
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Build/Fit:
Shape is shared by all the EM line of earphones, but unlike the previously reviewed EM2 that used smoked transparent housings, the EM1 uses red/blue transparent housings to differentiate left and right earpieces. The polymer used is light weight, well shaped and comfortable in the ear and offers to move very little. For me seating depth is slightly shallow but with large tips a good seal is fairly easily achieved (this requires a size larger tip than I typically wear). There is a single vent on the inside of the shell slightly offset behind the center of the driver and visible in photo 4 and 5 below. Nozzles are Nickel-plated brass and exit the front of the earpieces with a forward rake.
Internals:
The driver in the EM1 is the same 10mm titanium plated composite dynamic of the EN700 Pro so we expect to see similar strengths and weaknesses here. (This is nice for those that like the EN700 Pro but want to spend a few less coin). Nominal impedance is listed as 16Ī© with a sensitvity of >101dB/mW at 1kHz. I found the EM1 was easy enough to drive with a phone or tablet but does scale some with better amplification. The ceiling is still reasonably low as I didnāt see much of a boost going from something like the xDSD to something like the Burson Swing/Fun combination.
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Cable:
The provided cable is listed as a 4 core 6N OFC braided copper cable. The Jack is the straight TRS style with a brushed aluminum in clear soft rubber coating with a proper strain relief and a cable tie for use during storage. Cable is two twisted pairs that are then twisted together up to the splitter and single above it. The splitter matches the jack in style with brushed aluminum inside a soft rubber casing. From there, each pair exits and runs to a pre-formed hook without memory wire and a .78mm hooded bi-pin connector. This connector style is becoming more common but is still semi-proprietary as not all the recesses are the same dimensions. L/R marking on the connectors are extremely hard to see and a red/blue arrangement instead of the brushed aluminum bands would alleviate this and complement the earpieces as well (just a thought).
Tips:
Two cards of tips are provided each containing small, medium, and large tips. The first card is the balanced tips, while the 2nd card is low frequency enhancing. Both styles are single-flanged silicone tips but lengths differ between styles with the bass enhancing tips being taller while the matching neutral tips are wider but not as tall. They are indeed enough different to change the signature and it would be nice if Simgot offered the ability to buy extra pairs of your preferred size and type. For my listening, I used some of each style of tips as the bass enhancement was fun for pleasure listening while the neutral/high frequency tips are a bit closer to neutral (but still not close). Unlike some of the other Simgot models, the EM1 is very much tuned for pleasure listening rather than critical listening so you might was well do what you most enjoy right?
Sound:
Graph made using Tip style 1
Bass:
I have to admit that with the EM1 sharing a driver with the EN700 Pro, I expected some similarities in the sound profile and some of the same weaknesses to persist. I am very happy to say that the breakdown of the bass at higher volumes on the EN700 Pro does not seem to be shared by its little brother (unless above normal listening levels). That issue may have more to do with shell material and reflections than it does with the driver itself. Sub-bass is present in good quantity with reasonable rumble and roll-off not becoming notable until into the 40Hz range. Mid-bass is in similar quantity to sub-bass and while elevated slightly, it doesnāt bloom or get boomy. There is some perceptible bleed into the lower mids thats add a bit of warmth, but doesnāt detract substantially from detail (partially as this isnt a super detailed earphone to start with.) Overall the low end is good for those looking for headphones for popular genres that need a good bit of slam and rumble.
Mids:
Lower mids have some shadow from the mid-bass bleed and are slightly recessed but begin to climb forward pretty quickly with upper mids being substantially forward. For this reason higher pitched vocals can sound in front of lower but lower have a bit more warmth and natural tone to them. The climb is gradual so it is hard to pinpoint at exactly what point things start moving forward in the signature and guitar at times seems on even footing with both male and female vocals. String timbre is helped by pushing the mids and upper-mids forward and is better than expected on an entry level product.
Treble:
Lower treble plateaus as it exits the upper-mids so it is inline with upper mids and gives vocals a bit more energy and life. True treble climbs a bit more forward with roll-off not being evident until above about the 7kHz mark. Sparkle and air are better than expected giving the EM1 a nice open sound. I did detect a touch of sibilance, but only with tracks that are known for having it recorded in and tracks with string noise (AKA Boston) are very prominent due to the treble tuning.
Soundstage / Imaging:
Instrument separation is unfortunately only middle of the pack performance and limits both the stage size and the imaging of the EM1. Soundstage is wider than deep and needs that width as instruments tend to overlap on more complex materials at times. A narrower stage would likely sound considerably congested as a result. Imaging is also good as long as their isnt too much going on, but can get a little off as things get complex. Seating the orchestra in your head sometimes overlaps instruments and sometimes gets them slightly out of sequence. While certainly not critical in an entry level set aimed at the casual listener, this will put some people off.
Thoughts / Conclusion:
Lets just start with this. If you are looking for a neutral highly detailed audiophile earphone, this is not it. If you are looking for something to pair with your phone and listen to your favorite hip-hop or pop, this will do swimmingly well. It has good thump and rumble at the low end, plenty of air at the top, and the mids arenāt down in a hole like so many entry level V tunings tend to be. If I was shopping for a music loving friend for a birthday or holliday gift, these would be one of my top picks as their tuning offers something for those who like bass, something for those who like treble and something for those who prefer a mid-centric tuning. Iām not quite sure how they pulled that off as it isnt a common trick. What they trade to get that, is a bit of detail and they donāt have the worlds best instrument separation both things that can certainly be lived with at this price point. If you have music lover on your gift list, or if you are the music lover and want to give yourself the gift, the EM1 makes a good choice.
Simgot EM1
6.5
Packaging
7.0/10
Build Quality
7.0/10
Accessories
6.0/10
Sound Quality
5.8/10
- Bass - 6.5/10
- Mids - 6/10
- Treble - 6.5/10
- SoundStage - 5/10
- Imaging - 5/10
Summary
Pros: Great tuning, very enjoyable with popular genres. Nice departure from typical V signatures.
Cons: Only average detail retrieval, some issues with instrument seperation!
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I posted on HF that whoever messages me can get a Fiio M6 case for āa really good dealā and it took a few weeks but someone finally did message me. The deal wasā¦ of course. FREE. I sent him the leather case I bought for it, unused for free, since I decided to return the M6 and get the A&K SR15 recently as I wanted a very small DAP to carry around with.
Anyway, the guy ended up sending me the KZ ZS7 he was reviewing as a compliment. Pretty cool! I am listening to it now and just from loose memories, these sound a lot better than the ZS6. The mids seem to be a little lacking, but the bass impact is fun and a tad bloaty. Treble is much more toned down from the disaster of the ZS6. I donāt know if this is the most technical IEM, or even that great sounding, but itās an improvement over the ZS6. Iād put this above some of the other recent KZ offerings but Iād still take the ZS10 Pro as the best in their lineup as of today.
Iāll have to give the ZS7 a little bit more listening and take a measurement too. I should be also receiving the AS16 in the near future.
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Really nice review. Very detailed.
Yep I definitely agree with this. The CCA 10s are currently the top of my budget box without a doubt.
Great all round detail and solid punchy lower end. Not quite up to the standards of my favourite BGVG DMGs but still by far one of the best sounding budget sets without a doubt and none of the harsh higher end you tend to get on some of the KZs when you crank them up too loud 
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So the Simgot EM1s list for $59.99 on Amazon. They have a 10mm titanium plated single dynamic driver.
The Sennheiser IE 40 Pro goes for $99.99. It has a single 10mm dynamic driver.
I find the Sennheisers to be revalatory in their price range. I donāt have charts, but they are very coherent and seem quite well balanced to me. The bass is deep, and is fine on anything Iāve thrown at it from pop, folk, jazz, world, symphonic, chamber, etc. Yes, itās $40 more, and maybe not in the ultra-cheap category.
Have you (or anyone else) listened to several of these single dynamic driver IEMs? Is there anything in particular to look for in comparisons?
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The single dynamics typically do have better coherency than the multi-driver models as they donāt have phasing issues between drivers and varying power requirements etc to deal with. What they usually trade for that coherency is extension at one end or the other or both. To that end, the thing to look for in comparing them would be a loss of detail at either end or roll-off that presents too early to allow all the music to be heard.
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Precisely. And thatās where the Sennheiser IE40 Pro is surprisingly good.
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Final Audio E1000: First Impressions
They are plasticky, and feels cheap, even when compared to the E2000 and E3000 models. The fit is troublesome for me as itās very easy to fall out. I resorted to using double flange tips instead of the included premium Final E Tips. Sound is slightly warmer than neutral and laid back. Thereās a little bit of treble energy around 6K but not harsh once you get the fit right. Overall, a nice pleasant sounding IEM. No detachable cables.
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Woopsā¦think I might have damaged the left DD on my ZSN while I was trying to clear out the vent hole. Was using a staple to push in the little bit that was blocking it and I might have gone a little too far, making contact with the DD.
Guess weāll see if I can āexerciseā the DD back to where it should be, but itās a one-ear-only sort of deal for the rest of the day until that hopefully happens. Putting both IEMs in gives me that Iām sick and have one congested ear kinda feeling. Lesson learned, I suppose.
I just got the CCA C10s today. Pretty darn impressive for the $26 I got them for, the best Iāve tried for under $100 as far as tone. The bass is pretty unique.
Have you tried any other tips or are you just using the ones they came with?
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I really like my CCA C10s for the price and for non-critical listening situations. They are my current choice for āleave it in the bagā IEMs. The Moondrop Kanas Pro ($155) are a lot better on a balanced amp, but not meaningfully better with a PC audio jack or non-audiophile source.
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I just wish that Moondrop would offer the Kanas Pro in a different colour or at least a less blingy finish. I keep adding them to my cart and then not pressing ābuyā because of the shinyness, I really canāt see me wearing them outside or on a plane (which is when I use IEMs).
(Totally off topic from the ultra cheap IEM discussion, sorry!)
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One word: āskinsā
Just buy a pack of stickers or pull out some painterās tape. The Kanas Pro are pretty small and feel high quality in person.
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Oh, I would but I just bought BrainWavz B400s for about that price! I do wonder how they compare.
Eventually going to start getting more into IEMs, but they get spendy!
CCA-C16 are only $80 on Aliexpress !! They are truly amazing!! Iām tempted to get a second pair just for the price!! I got mine a couple of months ago for almost $100 and was really worth it.
My impression and review of the KZ ZS10 Pro
Wanted my first post to actually be hopefully helpful to someone so here goes.
KZ has been on the CHIFI seen for awhile now, making good price to performance earphones for the masses.
The usual sound signature throughout their history has always been heavily āVā shaped, excluding a couple of various models along the way. I have been using KZās IEMās for quite a few models now and have to come to enjoy them, for some of their merits.
Where I ordered themā¦
Amazon
The KZ ZS10 PRO has 5 drivers per side hence the 10 in the name. 4 balanced armatures (2 high and 2 mid) and 1 dynamic driver providing the lows.
Packaging
The ZS10 Pro comes in the usual KZ packaging.
A simple slip over a box.
KZ is claiming a frequency response of 7-40k which is excellent if it comes even close to this.
It also boasts 111db/mW and at 30 ohms, allowing these IEMās to be driven to decent volume levels from most portable sources.
After making it past the slip cover you are greeted by the ādisplayā inner box showing off some beautifully polished 304 [stainless steel], and of course the model info and 10 driver bragging.
Lifting the plastic and IEMās nice foam holder up reveals the usual fanfare.
Complete box contents include: IEMās, cable, a set of starline tips (my personal favorite) and the user guide.
This is the usual KZ minimalistic packagingā¦ but I think its rather classy and if it allows them to dump the money into units themselves Iām happy.
Units Themselves/Build Quality
This time around KZ seems to have stepped things up. The back is POLISHED 304 [stainless steel] attached to their typical high grade plastic. This gives them a heft and feeling of quality over the usual all plastic builds.
Removing the stock smooth medium tips reveals KZ gave us a metal sound tube WITH a tip retention groove, this also reveals the good metal screen.
Sound Impressions
When they first came out of the box I plugged them in and popped on some music.
I was not very impressed with what I heard, the bass was boomy and dominated over the rest of the sound, the upper bass/lower mids were completely recessed and everything in that range was distant.
I wasnāt about to give up on them, so knowing that BAās donāt really need any burn and dynamic drivers are helped by it I didnāt want to run pink noise and chance popping a BA so I played music with the bass boost on just to focus on that driver.
Viola! so please give them the chance they deserve before tossing them aside.
Here goes the actual sound impressions now that that is out of the way.
Audio equipment used for listening is as follows: Samsung Galaxy Note 9, Topping NX4 DSD, Hidizs Sonata II, Khadas tone board running into a JDS Labs atom amplifier. Audio files ranged from MP3 V0 to 24 bit flac.
Bass 8.5/10
The bass is powerful, tight, punchy but not boomy or muddy (after some burn in) but it can be overpowering at times. It doesnāt bleed into the midrange as it seems well kept in check. The bass extends very low and can easily get down into the sub bass rumble region.
Midrange 7/10
The midrange (after burn in) is rather detailed albeit slightly recessed. Male vocals are present and forward female vocals get up into where the midrange BAās sing giving them deep detail and spaciousness.
Treble 8/10
The treble extends well gently rolling off in the upper registers. Itās slightly emphasized in the high midrange giving it air and sparkle without getting to hot or screaming. Some sibilance may creep in on some songs but it really stays in check.
Comfort/Isolation
The ZS10 Pro is a large earphone there is no doubt about that, but if fits well in the ear and more flush than the old ZS10. The nozzle is also deeper than the old ZS10 allowing for better seal/insertion than before. The cable sits comfortably over the ear and is well braided, long enough to be convenient but short enough to not get in the way. Isolation is about average with IEMās as there appear to be air holes in the outer shell, as well as on the inner surface. Unlike other KZ models I wasnāt able to detect sound changes by changing positioning what little can be. Sound leakage isnāt the best but more than adequate to not disturb those around you.
Overall/Conclusion
kZ has stepped things up this time around, the ZS10 Pro is a vast improvement over the original ZS10. Gone is the hugely āVā shaped sound of old and I feel the ZS10 Pro is mostly well balanced leaning towards bass happy. The soundstage is about as wide as expected for IEMās but the sound is well detailed and shows great amounts of instrument seperation and depth.
They have a very fun pleasing sound that lends itself well to many music types. I have been thoroughly enjoying listening to them and will whole heartedly recommend them to anyone looking for an earphone in the $40-$50 range.
I know i donāt have frequency graphs and all (yet, Iām building a test rig) but i hope this is helpful to someone.
Iām only allowed 1 picture because Iām new, but more will come I plan on being here awhile if Iām allowed 
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Damn decent write-up, bud. Looking forward to seeing more from you with this community as well.
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Nice review man!
The KZ ZS10 Pro is the first legitimate KZ iem I like a lot. They did a good job with it. I mean, at some point, releasing 5 IEMs every 2 months, theyāve got to hit it home right?
Their newest releases, the KZ AS16 and Tripowin TP10 are kind of crappyā¦ But Iāll get to those in a week or so.
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