Sound Review by Kev
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.
PROS
|
CONS
|
● Phenomenal
Build Quality
● Comfortable
fit, with zero rough edges or protrusions
● Substantive,
value-for-money package
● Hyper-realistic
Mids
● Clear
and concise, upper- mids
● Super
vocal performance
|
● Unforgiving
on poorly-recorded tracks
● Lack
of Bass
|
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
Genres
|
Artist
|
Songs
|
Live
Recordings
|
Diana
Krall
|
Desperado
(Live)
|
Natalia
Lafourcade
|
Soledad y
El Mar
|
|
Case Lang
Veirs
|
Atomic
Number
|
|
Depeche
Mode
|
Question
of Lust (Live 1998)
|
|
Instrumentals
|
Max
Richter
|
On the
Nature of Daylight
|
Santa
Esmeralda
|
Please
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
|
|
Nils
Frahm
|
Toilet
Brushes (Live)
|
|
Jazz
|
Bill
Evans
|
A Waltz
for Debbie
|
Chet
Baker
|
I'm a
Fool to Want You
|
|
Sons of
Kemet
|
Your
Queen is Harriet Tubman
|
|
Ryo Fukui
|
Scenery
|
|
Rock
|
Avenged
Sevenfold
|
Nightmare
|
The
Stooges
|
Down On
The Street
|
|
Avenged
Sevenfold
|
Unbound
(The Wild Ride)
|
|
Guns N’
Roses
|
Sweet
Child O’ Mine
|
|
Ozzy
Osbourne
|
Crazy
Train
|
|
Green Day
|
21 Guns
|
|
Classical
|
Niccolò
Paganini
|
La
Campanella (From Violin Concerto No.2 In B Minor)
|
Pyotr
Ilyich Tchaikovsky
|
The Year
1812 Solemn Overture
|
|
David
Arnold
|
Independence
Day
|
|
Pop
|
Hu
Yang-Lin (胡楊林)
|
Perfume
is poisonous (香水有毒)
|
Fish
Leong (梁靜茹)
|
Love Song
(情歌)
|
|
Western
Pop
|
Anamanaguchi
|
MEOW
|
Iamamiwhoami
|
Chasing
Kites
|
|
Algiers
|
Dispossession
|
|
New Order
|
Bizzare
Love Triangle (Extended Mix)
|
|
Marian
Hill
|
Breathe
Into Me
|
|
Tyler,
The Creator
|
EARFQUAKE
|
|
Tones and
I
|
Never
Seen the Rain
|
|
Red Hot
Chili Peppers
|
Around
the World
|
|
ACG
|
Saori
Hayami
|
オレンジミント (Orange Mint)
|
RADWIMPS
|
前前前世 (Zenzenzenzense)
|
|
RADWIMPS
|
スパークル(Sparkle)
|
|
DAOKO
|
Cinderella
Step
|
|
Kana
Hanazawa
|
恋愛サーキュレーション (Renai Circulation)
|
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.
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.
Shuoer Tape
|
BQEYZ Spring 1
|
|
Suggested
Retail Price
|
$129 USD
|
$139 USD
|
Driver
Configuration
|
1 Low
voltage, Electrostatic driver
|
1 Balanced Armature, 1 Electrostatic driver and 1 Dynamic driver
|
Scalability
|
DAP
suggested
|
DAP Suggested
|
Fitting
|
Snug and
lightweight
|
Lightweight
|
Comfort
|
Excellent
|
Very Good
|
Sound Signature
|
Incredibly
accurate mids, heavy treble emphasis
|
Light V-Shape, sweet treble, warmish mids
|
Lows
|
Soft-bass
response, more sub-bass than mid-bass.
|
Deep but light sub-bass, slightly forward
mid-bass
|
Mids
|
Incredibly
clear midrange, slightly heavier focus on upper mids to lower mids.
|
Organic, lower-midrange emphasis,
warmish/analogue midrange
|
Highs
|
.
|
Rolled off highs, zero harshness
|
Soundstage
|
Above
average horizontal width
|
Above average horizontal width
|
Separation
|
Above
average imaging capabilities. Struggles under musically complex tracks
|
Good imaging. Slight bass bleed affects
separation on faster tracks
|
Vocal
Performance
|
Amazing
female vocal performance
|
Incredibly flexible, fares well with most
vocals due to lower-midrange emphasis
|
Instrument
Performance
|
Exceptional
pairing with string and brass instruments
|
Good with lower-mid focused instruments such
as acoustic and electric guitars + percussion sections
|
Remarks
|
Suitable for consumers who favour clarity and
midrange detail
|
Suitable as a
“grab and go” earphone for many occasions.
|
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.
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