Disclaimer: Shuoer has graciously provided us with this sample unit in exchange for an honest review. The views discussed below are a reflection of Project A3's thoughts surrounding the product. It has been run-in for at least 50 hours prior to reviewing in order to achieve an accurate representation of the product.

Introduction:

Shuoer is a brand from Dongguan City specializing in IEMs'. With their entry level model, the Shuoer Tape, the brand has established themselves as a serious competitor in a saturated marketplace of budget IEMs’ clamouring to be the best.

What makes the Tape special, lies beneath its unassuming shells. It features a single nano-sized, low voltage electrostatic driver. Today, electrostatic miniature drivers, especially ones manufactured by Sonion, easily cost up to $900 USD. The Shuoer Tape has significantly undercut the entire electrostatic driver market, being competitively priced at $129 USD.

The 10mm “high-performance nanotechnology driver” on paper, should attack and decay at a faster rate than traditional diaphragms, achieving a lower total harmonic distortion and flatter bass response that mimic the sonic qualities of planar-magnetic headphones. However, unlike a planar magnetic driver, the high-performance drive utilized in the tape requires little to no current, making it much more efficient than traditional orthodynamic headphones.

Despite its low cost to entry, will the Shuoer Tape be able to live up to the sonic capabilities of its more expensive counterparts? Available at Linsoul.

Specifications:

●       New technology with Low-Voltage Electrostatic Dynamic Driver

●       5-Axis CNC Carve Metal Body

●       High Purity 6N Single Crystal Copper Cable

●       High Quilty MMCX Connector

●       Coming with 2.5mm Balanced Jack and 2.5-3.5 Adapter

●       Frequency Response: 20Hz- 30kHz

●       Sensitivity: 104 dB +/- 2%

●       Impedance: 18 ohms

Gear Used & Tracklist:

Onkyo DP-X1 | Sony NW-A105 | Aune X1S | Periodic Audio Nickel (Ni) | Venture Electronics Odyssey | Google Pixel 2XL

Unboxing:

The Shuoer Tape comes in an orange canister style box. Lifting open the top lid, reveals the earphones themselves, which feature MMCX connectors. The UFO-style metal case, the 6N OCC Copper cable terminated in 2.5mm balanced, a 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter and tips of varying sizes can be found under the top foam insert. Like most chi-fi products, the Tape comes with a generous accessory package that covers all bases right out of the box.

Props to Shuoer for including a beautiful copper cable and balanced/unbalanced options, considering its affordable price tag.

Scalability:

The Shuoer Tape on my Sony Walkman NW-A105 requires +10 extra steps of volume to reach listenable volume levels. While it can be driven by most portable sources, be prepared to crank the volume knob up in small increments. With my Aune X1s DAC/Amp, the Shuoer Tape sounds clearer in the mids, with a tighter bass response. Power is your friend here. Nevertheless, it is still easily driven out of most sources. Consumers can rest easy, knowing that a simple dongle and a smartphone provides ample driving power.

Fit:

Working with CNC machining is a double-edged sword. The only audio brand to successfully tool a comfortable IEM ala CNC is Campfire Audio. I am proud to say, the Shuoer Tape has achieved that goal at a portion of the cost. The earphones are not only light, but they rest snugly in my ears, barely moving an inch as I make my daily train commute with little to no discomfort.

Its aluminium chassis is well finished, with zero blemishes to be found.

Sound Sig:

The Shuoer Tape has an interesting mid-forward signature that favours a sparkly treble, with a slight upper-mid emphasis, sacrificing bass-response and extensive highs in the process; the complete opposite of the traditionally favored V-sound signature.

Bass:

Unfortunately, the bass on the Tape is alittle tame. On tracks such as “Chasing Kites” by Iamamiwhoami, the punchy bassline while present, lacks the heft in the mid-bass that complements electronic music well. Sub-bass carries enough body, but it lacks the mid-bass depth for a well-rounded, bass response. Strangely enough, the bass is drowned out by its energetic midrange, placed further behind in the mix.

Mids:

The midrange is the obvious star of the show here. The Shuoer Tape has an ultra-clean midrange that sounds wonderful with female vocals. On Natalia Lafourcade’s “Soledad y el mar”, Natalia’s vocals sound eerily lifelike, alongside the hyper-realistic representation of flamenco-style guitars and string instruments. It is easy to discern the sonic capabilities an electrostatic driver carries over the traditional balanced armature/dynamic driver configuration.  

Overall, the Shuoer Tape absolutely excels in the midrange, and it is easy to see why it has become a community favourite. However, it has a tendency to sound thin on certain genres.

Highs:

The highs on the Shuoer Tape are airy and well-formed, with little to no harshness or rough notes to detract from the overall experience. On Max Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight”, the violins on that particular track tend to sound shrill on IEMs’ with an unconstrained high-section. On the Tape, the highs are ever-present, but it decays rapidly without overstaying its welcome on overly bright tracks. Even then, instrumental sections with crystalline highs are given ample room to breathe.

Treble:

The Shuoer Tape has a treble response that favours tonal accuracy, in lieu with its mid-forward tuning.

On “My Queen is Harriet Tubman” by the Sons of Kemet, the percussion section, alongside the prominent snare drums sound tonally accurate, recreating the timbre characteristics of each instrument with ease and precision.

However, it is important to take note that the Shuoer Tape is particularly unforgiving with badly mastered tracks, hastily revealing all their imperfections and recorded flaws, especially with dynamically compressed music.

Soundstage:

The Shuoer Tape has above-average soundstage, with decent left-right channel separation. The rectangular vent on both faceplates of the Tape allows the bass to dissipate, and allows the Tape to enhance its sound staging capabilities. 

While it isn’t exceptional in this department, instrumentation and vocal section on tracks like “Please don’t let me be misunderstood” by Santa Esmeralda are separated well enough, creating a decently wide stereo image.

I am more than satisfied with the Tape’s sound-staging capabilities, given its entry-level price point.

Separation:

The Shuoer Tape touts above-average imaging capabilities, allowing for easy discernment between both instruments and vocals.

However, musically complex tracks with a giant array of instruments and vocals, such as the aforementioned “Please don’t let me misunderstood” by Santa Esmeralda reveals the limitations of the tape; everything starts to sound like a cohesive mix, making it much harder to pinpoint the positions of each instrumental or vocal cue.

Musicality:

The Shuoer Tape favours string instruments and brass instruments that emphasize odd-harmonics and coarser highs. The Tape shines on jazz standards, such as John Coltrane’s “Blue Train”. Instruments with a porous timbre sound airy and open on the Tape due to its saturated upper-mid section, allowing these instruments to shine, doubling down on their strengths.  I would highly recommend live jazz standards or classical music to be paired with the Tape.

However, because of its unique mid-forwardness and upper-mid focus, the Tape’s thin-mids and bass-light signature does not do pop tracks justice, lacking a commensurate low end.

The Tape excels with acoustic tracks and live recordings. Bassheads, look elsewhere.

Comparison:

Falling under the sub $150-dollar price bracket, the Tape is one of the only affordable electrostatic IEMs’ in the porta-audio marketplace. Nevertheless, it faces stiff competition against other lauded brands in the audio community, such as the BQEYZ Spring 1; a triple-hybrid IEM with 2 balanced armatures and 1 electrostatic driver that is priced similarly to the Tape.

Sound Conclusion:

The Shuoer Tape is an exceptional value proposition. Its sound signature is an acquired taste and it may not appeal to those who prefer a more forgiving tuning. Nevertheless, its exceptional mid-range is something to be experienced. The Tape serves as a wonderful showcase of what an electrostatic driver can do at an attractive price point.

The Tape’s existence is a testament to the price-to-performance philosophy; good sound does not necessitate an expensive price. I implore the audiophiles out there to at least experience what the Tape has to offer.

I cannot wait to see Shuoer has in store for us in the near future*.

*All ratings are accurate as of date of publication. Changes in price, newer models may affect Project A3's views on the performance and value of the reviewed product.