Earsonics EM10 Review – Rich, Dreamy, Warmth
Earsonics EM10
€1990
Pros
- Earsonics Sound as it's best yet
- Very precise solid Construction
- Very fast turnaround time for a custom (1-2 week)
Cons
- No customisation options
- Needs some power to sound at best
- Set of accessories could be better for price
Construction/Fit
EarsSonics offer only one configuration for the EM10 CIEM, glossy piano black finish, with the same style faceplates.
Despite the lack of customization I find the EM10 acrylic glossy black very classy, elegant and with a timeless design style.
Construction is hand made in France.
There is no trace of bubbles or imperfections and the glossy piano finish makes them very very smooth to the touch.
In one word, construction is Quality.
Fit is also very nice and I don’t have any problem with these CIEMs, offering a very good level of isolation and comfort.
Sound Impressions
Disclaimer
All the tests were made using a Lotto Paw Gold and the EM10 stock cable.
Despite their high sensitivity and impedance I found the EM10 earphones needs some decent powerful DAP to sound best. I normally use them with my Lotto Paw Gold, being the Sony WM1Z (Balanced) my second preferred pairing.
I’m a fan of cable swap, to ultimate fine tune earphones to my preference, but I found on these, I could achieve my preferred tonality with stock cable.
It offers the most balanced tonality and makes them more enjoyable to me than with all custom cables tried from my collection.
Bass
Its clear that EarSonics have taken a different direction on the tuning of the EM10.
The Bass is different to that on the EM9, it has significant more body and is more oriented to mid-bass than sub-bass, but given this it is not a hard-hitting bass it is more a kind of denser one, with a more natural slow decay and pace.
It bleeds a little into to the mids, affecting overall clarity, but in a nice way contributing to make an overall smooth, musical and coherent sound.
Otherwise EM10 bass has a very good quality, resolution and layering, as per the previous EarSonics earphones.
Mids
Mids follows that path, offering a greater body than on the SEM9 model.
The mids are forward, not as much as on some more mid-centric iems, like Zeus or Noble K10 AU, but with voices especially having a very nice body, a beautiful tone and are very clear and separated from the rest of frequencies.
I found the EM10 to have a little lift on the upper mids, which contribute to make the voices especially shine over other instruments in the mix, contributing to this also centred image and intimate presentation the EM10 have.
On the other hand, instruments like guitars, are more neutrally positioned than voices, but the lift in the upper mids contributes to give them some energy than contrast a little to the smooth tone EM10 delivers.
Treble
Treble on the EM10 is a smooth one, its silky and warm in tone, avoiding peaks or the somewhat sharp edges SEM9 has.
Sure the EM10 treble its not the more extended one, the most airy one or the most resolute, but it blends very nicely to the rest of frequencies contributing to the coherence and overall timbre.
Of course, aside from some peaks the SEM9 offers, more resolution and a more forward character, but I find the EM10 more enjoyable at the end.
Soundstage and Imaging
EM10 soundstage is intimate and a little laid-back, with a very centred image. Width is a little above average but I found stage is more deeper than wider.
Layering and separation of instruments is very good but is affected by the overall warmth of tone. The SEM9 have better resolution (or at least it is more apparent) and better positioning of instruments, but the tone is more realistic and accurate on the EM10.
Overall
If I have two words to describe the EM10 would be “smooth criminal”.
They are not the most technical proficient Iems in my collection in terms of resolution, imaging or clarity but for sure they are one of the most enjoyable.
They combine a somewhat dreamy, warm, smooth, coherent and balanced sound with a spot on timbre that is a joy to listen to.
Excellent work EarSonics on creating a great flagship earphone.
