Shuoer EJ07M

disclaimer: The Shuoer was loaned to me by HifiGo for review.  I was in possession of the EJ07M for roughly 3 weeks before sending it on to the next person in line and have no financial interest in Dethonray or HifiGo.    For more information on the Tender 1 see Dethonray’s website or to purchase the Tender 1 visit Hifigo.

The EJO7M history starts with its parent, the bespoke EJ07.    Each EJ07 was hand-made which not only limited the production quantity, it also drove up the price.  The original EJ07 is still available and retails at $849 in its base configuration.   Since they are handmade, options may be available that aren’t on the mass-produced EJ07M, but the savings is tangible with a retail of only $599.    Internally the two share the same driver configuration with only slight placement modifications due to shell construction.

 

Unboxing / Packaging:

The EJ07M comes in a white outer cover with a black inner box that slides out the bottom.  The cover has the earpiece on the front cover along with the make and model along with the Sonion and Knowles logos.  The rear of the cover has product specs and an FR plot.   The box itself is a book-fold design with the hinge at top and lifting the lid reveals the earpieces in a foam surround in the lower portion and the manual in the top half.  Removing the manual reveals the tips which includes two different types of silicone tips in small, medium, and large,  a set of foam tips,  and the metal pill shaped case.   The cable is packed inside the hard case and is available in either 3.5mm single ended or 4.4mm balanced configuration so be sure to order the appropriate version as it only comes with one or the other.  it would be a nice touch to include both at this price.

 

Build/Fit:

To facilitate, mass production, the EJ07M has gone to a CNC machined 316 Stainless steel inner shell with nozzles machined as part of the inner shell.  Shape is a fairly uncomplicated tear drop shape with nicely rounded edges and the nozzle having a very slight upward rake when in the ear.  Nozzles do have a lip for tip retention and seat fairly shallowly in the ear which for me is more comfortable.  The Steel shell comes in either brushed finish or a dark gun-metal depending on the face plate it is paired with.  The darker color mates to a carbon fiber and gold flecked faceplate while the brushed finish mates to an artistic painted faceplate that guarantees each EJ07M is unique in aesthetic even if mass-produced.  Fit and Polish are quite good with the seam between face and inner visible but not discernible by touch.  the bi-pin connectors are also well fitted with no visible gaps between steel and connectors.  Size is mid to small and all but the smallest ears shouldn’t have a problem with fit.  Comfort was also quite good with long wear leading to no physical fatigue.  Isolation is above average despite a single small vent on the rear face of the shell and a relatively shallow fit.   These do have good heft in hand but don’t feel overly heavy in the ear so durability should be good without the weight becoming a problem.

 

Internals:

Inside the steel shell there is an awful lot going on.  The EJ07M uses 4 Sonion Electrostatics, a pair of Sonion 2389 Armatures and a single 10mm dynamic driver with a carbon nanotube diaphragm.  The  Electrostatics are used as super tweeters and only operate at the very top end of the spectrum.  The 2389 can be wired a couple of different ways and is often seen center-tapped to increase the high frequency output but in this instance I suspect it is not and left with a bit more mid-range at the low end and a bit less at the top where the electrostats will cover that territory anyway.  If you are interested in the 2389 wiring options more can be found here.     Nominal impedance is listed as 19Ω with a sensitivity of 107dB/mW which puts the EJ07M into territory where it is easy enough to drive for most dongles and phones as it simply doesn’t need a ton of power.  That having been said it does require more than the specs might suggest to do its best work and it scales quite well with higher potency sources.   The EJ07M is capable of great detail if your source is capable of feeding it so a well-detailed source is a must.

Cable:

The stock cable is monocrystalline OCC Copper in a clear casing with a two wire twist from the jack to the splitter and a single wire to each ear above that point.   The jack, chin slider, and bi-pin connector housings are all clear plastic while the splitter is a polished metal barrel  style.   The 4.4mm Jack is of the 90º type I prefer as it puts less strain on the source.  My understanding is the 3.5mm version shares this layout.    At the north end the cable does have pre-formed hooks and uses the standard .78mm bi-pin connectors sans hood.   A Velcro tie is provided for storage and fit of the earpieces and cable in the provided case is quite comfortable.

 

Sound:

 

Bass:

Sub-bass has good extension and is elevated with a peak around 70Hz and a gradual drop through the mid-bass before leveling off and plateauing through most of the mids.    Rumble is quite good and as much felt as heard.   Mid-bass likewise has good slam and above average texture and the driver is fast enough with just a touch slower decay than attack which lends a very natural sound to the mid-bass.   Bass is not dominant here and while there is a slight elevation of the very low end, it sounds more balanced than the graph might lead one to expect.  In a lot of ways the bass sounds much like a balanced armature implementation with its speed and clarity and to me the Etymotic ER4XR comes to mind when listening to the EJ07M although shape and driver wise they have little in common.  Sound wise they are more alike than not.

 

Mids:

The mids are definitely the main focal point of the EJ07M and are quite good.  Again the tuning is reminiscent of the Etymotic style diffuse field tuning.   Lower vocals have good weight and a touch of warmth to them but don’t jump forward of other instruments.  Guitar has a nice sharp edge to it and strings have good tonality as well.  I think the thing I found best about the EJ07M though was the piano.   Listening to Serkin play Beethoven, you can hear peddles, his foot tapping at times, and even some of the echoes and reverberations from the piano itself.  The Telarc recordings are fantastic for exposing every detail and the EJ07M seems to be quite capable of delivering those to the listener (at least throughout the mids) .  Strings have enough energy to have a nice natural tone as well and female vocals also benefit from a mild lift in the upper-mids/lower treble.

 

Treble:

Lower treble has a very mild emphasis before dropping back fairly quickly above about 4 kHz.   This surprised me as I expected an electrostat to be tuned with a much more forward treble but instead the EJ07M is very polite and chooses to go for non-fatiguing rather than bringing out everything the top end is capable of.   This does make for a more forgiving signature than something like the previously mentioned Etymotics that can sound harsh, but it also loses a bit of detail and energy here that would have been nice to have.     Snare has fairly crisp rattle, but cymbals fall short of realistic and there is a lack of air and sparkle at the top.  I would like to see cymbals a bit sharper and hotter.   It seems odd to suggest the EJ07M needs more treble extension with the armature and electrostat top end and I suspect it is more a matter of tuning than anything, but the treble rolls off early to my ear with a distinct drop in energy above about the 8kHz mark that detracts from an otherwise great performance.

 

Soundstage / Imaging:

Stage on the EJ07M is quite expansive with slightly more depth than width and a clear sense of height as well.   It stops just short of 3d for me which is impressive for a significantly sub-1k in-ear. Seating the orchestra is straight forward with no large gaps or overlaps and instrument separation is above average as well.   Stereo separation is quite good as well which gives the EJ07M a feeling of more dynamics than some of its competitors.   Imaging is good with well defined positions in space and easily tracked movement although directly in front and behind is a touch less precise than movements around the periphery.    Try as I might I could not induce any significant compression despite throwing some insanely busy passages at it to try.

 

Thoughts / Conclusion:

I fully expected to find the EJ07M great until you got to the treble partially because that part of the signature is easier to get right I think and partially because I fully expected the EST drivers to be too hot since they have a history.   Turns out,  I still get so say the EJ07M is great up to the treble but for the opposite reason.   The bass is nice and tight and well textured, the mids are great with good tonality and texture and even a hint of warmth, and the lower treble has good energy as well, but then it tapers off.   I understand the tuning, its very polite and non-fatiguing and the only way I could make it become harsh was to feed it something that was harsh to begin with.   The problem for me is why use drivers expressly designed to extend the treble and then neuter it?   I liked an awful lot about the EJ07M but don’t understand why you go to the effort and expense of including the electrostats and not put them to more use.    The EJ07M has a very Etymotic like sound signature and seems to have used the same diffuse field model as the basis for the sound, but where Ety might be a bit too forward at the top, the EJ07M might be a little too reserved.   The EJ07M is good with a broad range of music and equally at home with piano, strings, and rock and makes a pretty good all-around IEM particularly for the treble shy.  The tuning grew on me the more I used it, but I have to think it could have been more.