Letshuoer EJ07M or Why It’s Kind of a Shame You Went Fourth
Now it’s time for the finale on my EST Tribrid World Tour with one of the OGs: The EJ07M. What are my opinions of it, and would I recommend this over my current tribrid favorite, the DTE500? Why don’t we find out together?
Songs to Listen to and Follow Along:
As usual, I’m going to write my thoughts in generalities, but I’ll give you a sample of songs that I listen to, that will relate to the concepts I write about. Feel free to ask for specifics, if you don’t keep up with my thought processes.
Playlist
Swashers/Bubbles - Yosi Horikawa (For imaging/detail retrieval (:00-1:00 Swashers), general technicalities check (both), soundstage depth/dynamics/layering/separation (:00-:30 Bubbles))
The Speedwalker (Live at Madison Square Garden) - The Fearless Flyers (For bass elements, particularly sub-bass/mid-bass interplay, drum kits, soundstage/layering)
DISINTER MY HEART - TRAILS (For treble response and resolution, male vocals, midrange response)
When I Fall (Outta Love) - Kevin Olusola (For Imaging/detail retrieval :00-:07, tonality, timbre, male/female vocal interplay)
Fundamental Elements of Madness - Dax Johnson (For soundstage width 1:10-1:26, piano tonality)
Holding On (Rome In Silver Remix) - Dabin (For female vocals, tonality, mid-bass response within mix From 1:12-1:36)
THE SOUND
Come a little closer, sink into the sofa; She don’t want my, she don’t want my love
Adios - JAWNY
(IEM Tuning Style: Harman-Neutral (Treble))
Thanks go to @cal_lindo for allowing me the opportunity to hear an OG of the relatively recent past. This is a set that is pure Harman-Neutral to me; sub-bass shelf into tucked midbass, with flat and clean lower mids, forward vocals and a bit of emphasis in the treble. This doesn’t own it nearly as much as Thieaudio Monarch Mk 1, but is definitely in a similar class as Monarch Mk 2. I find the EJs to lean a little bit more into the clean, pulled-back midbass though, which makes the entire signature lean a little bit lean and airy. For me, it is a little bit too much of a good thing: while the upper-midrange and treble emphasis are the calling cards here, they sound a little less…pure, and have a bit of sheen over the sound to me. It is not BAD, but I need some edge taken off the treble to put the correct weight on male vocals and take that thinner, sharper edge off the treble. The tuning can speak to people that want but I know it’s not for me and that I need to make adjustments. Paying this kind of money and being handed options of how to hear the sound (like a Yanyin Canon) is a positive. Having to EQ or mod, at this price, to get a satisfying sound is not.
Regarding the technicalities and soundstage: I found the soundstage good. I’m not a big fan of the width and the depth was fine, but this did bring good height to the table. I can understand where the talk about how “holographic” the EJs comes from, but I didn’t get the special sauce the way other people do. I only got tastes of it. The technicalities are fine: I think there is very good imaging/separation and things in that arena, but the dynamics are lacking for me. But that comes down to the tuning decisions. There’s not enough midbass to give different tones their pop. This is a design choice, not a flaw, per se. But it doesn’t work for me.
THE GOOD
- More musical version of Harman tuning
- Good sub-bass performance
- No midbass bleed be seen here
- Very nice vocal playback
- Very airy treble playback
- Pretty good soundstage, though short of the reputation that precedes it
THE BAD
- Thinner tonality can be harsher
- A little too much treble emphasis for my taste
- Not enough midbass emphasis for balance
- Some moments of driver flex issues
- Technicalities that didn’t impress me
WHO IS THIS SET FOR?
- Vocal-centric fans who didn’t get along with Monarch Mk 1 and don’t want to go to Mk 2
- Those with a sub-bass over midbass preference
- Possibly someone who has a different experience with the soundstage and gets the 3D sauce
- Someone looking for a stronger treble emphasis
WHO IS THIS SET NOT FOR?
- Someone that wants their music with body over cleanliness - Just needs a touch more midbass to treble balance
- Someone not looking to EQ/mod at this price if it’s not their preference
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
I honestly think the EJs and the 10ths are neck-and-neck with each other, though they get to the point in different ways: I would describe the EJs as more “Audiophile” and the 10ths as more “fun”. Now that’s dumb because both sets are audiophile and fun but that’s how I’d describe them on the spectrum. For me, ties go to fun, and the fact that I think the 10th has boosted treble but handles it with a little more deft hand gives it just a little bit of an advantage over the EJs, if I were picking one over the other. But that does mean that both fall just short of my number one tribrid: the Sound Rhyme DTE500. If I had to have one tribrid, at this point, that would be where I get off. For me, the EJs are a very good experience, but where we are at in the hobby, they are a set that takes an experience we can get at better prices, and pushes it into a higher price bracket, but I’m not exactly sure what we’re bringing to the table, and why we should be dealing with it (just because other people made it more “mainstream popular”). So I would just go on to something else. And that’s going to be it for this review. Enjoy your days, and take care till next time!
Rank for Letshuoer EJ07M: B+
Rank With Personal Bias: B
Recommendation Level: Not Recommended Relative to Other Options (Harman-Neutral (Treble))
Rank As a Food: Gentrified Oxtails
