EarSonics S-EM9 – 9 BA driver flagship Earphone
EarSonics S-EM9 Earphone
Pros
- Masterful Tuning
- Excellent fit, This really is one of the best fit for univeral flagships
- Hiss free so its very easy to pair with sources
Cons
- Package is a little austere for a flagship earphone
- Stock cable is not great, would be nice to have supplied a better cable more inline with the quality of these excellent earphones
Sound Impressions
Bass
The Earsonic S-EM9 earphones are not bass heavy IEMs like another flagships where the bass is more present and heavy, but that doesnt mean these have lacking bass.
These have quick, tight, punchy bass while maintaining the articulate and impressive layering. There is a slight focus on sub bass and it is more focused that the midbass presence.
The layering on the bass is outstanding and shares some characteristics of dynamic drivers earphones reminicent of the Sennheiser IE800 and Oriolus Hybrid earphones.
It is really impressive how Earsonics achived the composition of bass layering with only one driver dedícate to the bass.
Mids
Mids are clear, controlled and articulate.
Lower mids leans towards a lighter tone, the bass never comprimising the mids, and helping to mantain the nimbleness of the sound. Giving a pace and dynamism to the sound, making you rise the volume more and more for pleasure.
The upper mids have a little dip similar to other Earsonics IEMs, but less pronunced. This helps to mantain the smooth rich tones Earsonics are known for and also giving instruments especially guitars a very good bite and detail.
Vocals are neither too forward, like Noble Audio K10 or neither recessed, but they always remain centered in the stage with the instrument kind of surrounding them, giving the very great imaging these in-ears are well known for.
Treble
Treble on these Earsonica S-EM9 earphones are slightly elevated, with a core characteristic of these having an light airy, spatial feel.
They are a little bright and can get a slightly sharp on some poorly mastered recordings but the brightness and airiness help to give them a bump in resolution and detail, that i only found in the JH Layla among other flaghships.
Soundstage and Imaging
The soundstage width is above average but the depth is impressive. It reminds me of the Hybrid earphones style of imaging, like the Oriolus in that regard, especially in the way it layers bass with the rest of the sound spectrum, giving a very deep soundstage with bass taking a back seat, vocals remaining center stage with layering of instruments between them.
Helping create coherent layering, the imaging has precise positioning of each instrument along with the separation of them which is top class in my experience.
Hiss
The S-EM9 are totally silent with my Iphone 6 and Lotoo Paw Gold, making them very easy to pair up. There is particular synergy with the excellent Lotoo Paw Gold digital audio player.
Cable Swap
I found these earphones scale much better than other IEMs, if you select a decent aftermarket cable.
I tried them with a PW Audio nº 5, Rhapsodio 2.98 but my favourite pairing is with a PW Audio Sevenfold Hybrid Cooper and Silver Cable.
Comparing the Pw Audio with the stock cable, you will get more resolution overall, with tighter bass, fuller mids and smoother highs. There is also a very impressive increase in the soundstage area.
With the Rhapsodio 2.98 you will get a more laidback sound with a bump in the subbass area. Soundstage is a little closed in and less detaied than the PW hybrid cable.
Comparisons
Campfire Andromeda
The Campfire Andromeda earphones are more fuller sounding IEMs when pairedwith the Lotoo Paw Gold. Perhaps this is due to the near 0 output impedance, on contrary the S-EM9 are more dynamic and agile but managing not sounding cold or light.
The bass on the Andromedas has a larger focus on midbass giving the lower mids a thicker feel. The mids are more forward on the Andromedas specially for female vocals, which sound stunning on the Andromedas, but the resolution on the S-EM9 is alround better. The treble is airy on both iems but more smoother on the Andromedas which the S-EM9 more brightness and bite.
Soundstage width is bigger on the Andromedas but depth of stage is better on the Earsonics. The resolution and instrument separation is more precise on the Earsonics S-EM9 also.
Overall i found the S-EM9 more on the dynamic side and the Andromeda earphones on the relaxing side, they really complement each other for the collectors out there.
Noble K10AU
The K10 Aluminium have more subbass and midbass fullness than the SEM9, is more shouldery, but the SEM9 bass is more detailed.
Mids are more forward and intimate but the are less airy being similar in resolution.
The treble i s little less refined than the SEM9 and the soundstage is a little closed in because the fowardness on the mids. The imaging is very good but the SEM9 is better pinpointing all the instruments.
Oriolus
The Oriolus Hybrid earphones have greater sub and midbass than the S-EM9 but they are a little slower paced in comparison, with some bleeding in the mids on occasion.
The mids and highs on the Oriolus are really well balanced, neither forward or neither laidback with a very beautiful timbre, but it lacks the resolution the Earsonic S-EM9 has.
Soundstage is equally big in both IEMs but I found the imaging better in the S-EM9.
