Ear Acoustics Silver Angel SPA Hi-End Ultra – Energetic Songstress
PREAMBLE:
EarAcoustics is a company that from the outside seems to have just jumped onto the scene out of nowhere. Nothing could be further from the truth as they are the reimagined TFZ company who have a history of producing quality earphones. Presently they offer not only three different lines of iems, but various cables and accessories as well.
The present iem product line includes the SPA, STA and PHX series of earphones, the latter designated “Stage IEM”. There are seven iems that make up the STA lineup and five that are included in the SPA releases. There are some major and not so major differences between lines including a dual driver layout in the STA lineup and the use of a single dynamic in the SPA earphones. All of the SPA iems use a single 11.4mm dynamic driver but as you move up that line the driver material is different. The less expensive “Pro: models employ a Graphene diaphragm while the “Hi-End” models are furnished with a driver made of Titanium Gold Ball. On top off all that the shell materials used varies at each price point including resin, zinc alloy and aviation grade aluminum.
If all of this seems confusing, imho it is more than it should be. This is my one criticism of this product release. There are just too many in the product lines released at once for most consumers to make an informed purchase decision unless they really dig for information. To add to all this, the tunings are different for each iem.
The redeeming thing through all of this is that the SPA Hi-End Ultra sounds wonderful. It is an iem that the more I listened to it the greater my involvement with the music. Here we have an iem rife with details yet still sounding musical not clinical. An iem with a bass that initially put me off, but with continued listening I came to appreciate greatly how it is presented. Tuning wise we have more neutral presentation with some moderate upper frequency upward tilt. The SPA Hi-End Ultra is a chameleon though and occasionally had me questioning my tuning description.
The SPA Hi-End Ultra is fairly easy to drive but is source and tip sensitive. The $190 USD SPA Hi-End Ultra can be resolving and as such driving it from a competent source is a must. I recommend pairing it with a slightly warmer yet revealing source to get the best performance. As for tips I tried a few and surprisingly settled on the stock medium sized wide bore tips. I almost never use stock tips but there ya go.
SPECS:
Model: SPA Hi End Ultra
Unit: 11.4mm Titanium Gold Ball Top+Silicon Crystal Edge Double sided Composite Diaphragm Double Magnetic Circuit Double Chamber Dynamic Coil Unit
Sensitivity: 110dB
Impedance: 26 ohms
Frequency response range: 5-40000Hz
Wire specification: 0.78MM dual pin oxygen free copper and silver-plated wire mixed weave 1.20M
BUILD AND FIT:
The Ear Acoustic Silver Angel SPA Hi-End Ultra is one beautiful IEM. From its shiny Zinc Alloy shell to its beautifully done Year of the Snake motif and company branding on the caps and writing on the shells themselves, this earphone really is a quality product. Seen was what looks like a vent integrated into each shell. Even that has some nice design flair to it. I don’t know whom Ear Acoustic uses to manufacture their iem but rarely have I encountered this exemplary build quality.
The retail packaging also follows suit reinforcing the quality nature of this product. The included accessories are of high quality including the attractive case. The cable has good haptics and even better looks. My only gripe is that at the time of this review I don’t believe a 4.4mm balanced option is available. I received the 3.5mm SE.
Ear Acoustic has done a stand-up job with both the quality manufacturing and the presentation of this product. From the retail presentation to the iems themselves, it all screams quality. Let’s now see how the SPA Hi-End Ultra actually sounds.
SOUND:
Bass:
Bass does go deep, is well controlled and with respect to energy reflects what’s in the track rather than being overemphasized. The low end is snappy with decent slam and an overall natural sound playback. This versatile bass presentation is well suited to acoustic music, house music or anything in between.
On “Angel” by Massive Attack the driving bassline was there as it should be with pleasant texturing and power yet with a great level of control. Likewise, for “Inertia Creeps” also by Massive Attack where the bass was present with power yet not overshadowing the rest of the track. “Ekuseni” by Caiiro is a wonderful house track with a thick thumping bassline. The SPA Hi-End Ultra was more than up to the task with a nice and meaty playback.
I then moved on to “He’s a Carioca” by Eden Atwood and was pleased to hear the rich texture of the double bass coming through clearly. Now on the “The Journey Home” by Kriz where the SPA Hi-End Ultra again represented itself well with beautiful clarity in the low end. I was also taken back by how the SPA Hi-End Ultra rendered the bass in “No Jive” by Dephazz with such a natural and organic playback. The low end did not bleed into the midrange as the mid-bass stayed in its place.
The SPA Hi-End Ultra is not a basshead iem, but one which a listener like myself who values musicality over everything else very much appreciates. Some clarity incoming folks. The SPA Hi-End Ultra does not lack bass. Let me be clear that the It has ample power when called for in a track, a natural delivery and is incredibly versatile. The low end has good pacing combined with a more organic delivery that I find alluring. With respect to speed, it was also proficient though not as fast as some balanced armature bass driver earphones I have heard but still better than most dynamic driver based iems I can remember in this price range and even above. Well done!
Midrange:
The SPA Hi-End Ultra has midrange that is clean and expressive with a good mix of micro and macro details. The midrange is more lively than laid back but in a very good way. All too often a lively midrange usually means harshness or some kind of overemphasis, but with the SPA Hi-End Ultra this isn’t the case. Vocals, both male and female, are more immediate than recessed with a level of clarity that is noteworthy.
The midrange is open and uncluttered sounding with an organic delivery. At times I also found myself hearing details in familiar tracks that had been hidden from my ears in a few recent iems I have listened to. Another thing I found myself doing often is unconsciously tapping my feet and nodding my head to the music. This iem really pulled me in and it was well appreciated.
Layering and separation were notable, the SPA Hi-End Ultra never sounding confined with that dreaded wall of sound effect. Listening to “Beautiful Lie” by Vick Lavander was refreshing as each element in this hyper busy track could be clearly heard in its own space.
Transients were handled admirably with fast attack and natural falloff. Timbre was also good. Listening to “Our Relationship” by Dephazz the sonics are natural with that additional feeling that you are hearing with great clarity absolutely everything.
There is a well managed pinna gain with no harshness. The SPA Hi-End Ultra is not the most forgiving iem I have heard for poor recordings though. It’s not the most unforgiving I have listened to, but it can be resolving which does make well recorded music even more enjoyable. Poorly recorded tracks can still sound fine, but the resolving nature of the SPA Hi-End Ultra really makes well recorded music a joy to listen to.
I found that the SPA Hi-End Ultra’s midrange made it easy for me to be pulled into the music. This is high praise enough imho. It has a midrange, like the bass, suited any genre of music I threw at it offering an open window into the music.
Treble:
The treble is fairly extended with ample air and sparkle. Listening to “Vanston Place 12am” by Ronny Jordan the treble playback had a nice crispness to it with a natural, not overdone shimmer. The treble here really opened up the expansiveness of this track and was a joy to listen to.
There is a level of refinement here that while being bested by the Oriolus Szalayi, several times the price of the SPA Hi-End Ultra btw, still was distinguished to these opinionated music lovers’ ears. As with the rest of the frequency range, an admirable level of control and detail retrieval was experienced.
IMAGING AND SOUNDSTAGE:
The SPA Hi-End Ultra has on offer a moderately large soundstage with ample space around the instruments. Single dynamic driver equipped iems have a leg up on cohesiveness and in this regard this iem does not disappoint.
Imaging a solid with a lateral placement being beyond the ears with a nice sense of depth and height as well. Layering within that soundstage nicely done and contributed to the open sounding sonics.
CONCLUSION:
To these Opinionated Music Lovers’ ears, the SPA Hi-End Ultra is a fantastic iem. When listening to them I found a few interesting things that contributed to winning me over. Firstly, I found myself eagerly listening to whole albums where usually I would just cherry pick one or two tracks for my critical listening. I also found myself unconsciously tapping or moving my feet to the music. Time would also pass quickly leading to long listening sessions and sometime not enough sleep. 
This just points to how easily the SPA Hi-End Ultra allowed me to get lost in the music. As part of an extensive, maybe too extensive, lineup of quality iems from Ear Acoustic, the SPA Hi-End Ultra stands out in its price range and above as a true gem of a performer which suits my listening preferences well.
With fantastic looks and build quality combined with an immersive and detailed sound, the Ear Acoustics SPA Hi-End Ultra is a musical and expressive beast. It gets a definite recommendation.
Pros and Cons:
Clean simple resin shell design is smooth and refined, on the small side, and lightweight.
Occasional planar shimmer.
My music sources:
BGVP Phantom Snake Year Limited Edition vs GAudio TODI.
