Actually, the secret way to 100% get a legit unit, is to buy their bluetooth amp/dacs. The SBH-20 for example.
I did see some people say the Chang Le is the spiritual successor to it though.
So not sure how worth it is to buy the MH755/750 nowadays…
It’s worth it, if you want a Sony bad enough. None of the Sonys are particularly accessible whether for price or availability, but if you want them (like EX800ST, XBA-N3, IER-Z1R, etc.) they’re usually worth it to some extent
Yes, those other ones definitely.
But I really dont think the MH755/M750 are anything special in the budget world nowadays.
To the point where I would want to spend 20+ for the bluetooth dac/amps to get a 100% legit version or risk getting a fake.
That’s a very fair point. Listen to your Uncle Riku, kiddos
Tbf, I do think it is an iem that any BIG collector should want, it was the UNCONTESTED budget KING for quite a loooong time after all.
Especially at the original prices u could find it at (and without getting a fake), which were like 3-5 usd.
I concur, 750/755 were great budget sets for their time, but the difficulty of getting a legit set combined with the annoying stock cables (microphonic, J-hook, MH755 short) makes them a pass in the current budget market.
I still have MH750s stashed all over the place as beater sets and pulled out my modded MH755s to refresh my memory after seeing it mentioned.
100% agree with how you describe the bass on Vulkan.
I don’t get any sibilance issue, maybe we are sensitive to a different frequency zone
Hello again. So I usually refrain from jumping reviews from the order I listen to things, but I’m going to make a special exception because the opportunity to have four Simgot IEMs in hand at the same time, to do a full Simgot retrospective is too good of an opportunity to pass up on. So let’s find out how the 2023 Simgot releases do against each other and which one(s) I think are the ones to grab.
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. With new songs added for extra details to consider
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)
1 Thing - Sophie Powers (For sibilance, harshness/shoutiness, high volume listening check 1:28-2:01
*Wire & Guns - KID DAD (For general tonality (warmth vs. brightness) and note weight :10-35, for high volume listening 1:34-2:08)
Face to chest you make me question, everything I think I am; Tell me which side of the medal, Is the one you’re standing on
Wire & Guns - KID DAD
(IEM Tuning Style: All 3 - Harman-Neutral (Bright) )
The first thing to understand about EW100, EW200, and EM6L is that they are a departure from the blueprint that Simgot was using, even from last year with their exemplary EN1000 and market-altering EA500 sets. Those sets both more closely followed Simgot’s house target based on the Harman 2016 target. EW100 starts the divergence from that by adding bass to their target to make it more consumer-friendly. EW200 and EM6L each take steps to further refine this new sound, with EM6L being based on Simgot’s take on the Harman 2019 target. This is why the older sets are more of a neutral-bright, and the three newer sets are all taking on more characteristics of Harman-style tuning.
First thing to understand with Simgot is that they do not tune for bass quantity. I personally think their sets have a fine bass quality (at their various price points), but if you want visceral, pounding bass, then I don’t think Simgot will ever be the company for you. And that is okay. If you want quantity we’ve got companies for you, and if you want clean, textured, engaging but not overpowering bass, we’ve got Simgot. If you want the most bass quantity in the Simgot lineup (particularly in midbass), I’d send you to EW200. If you wanted the best quality bass (in terms of sub/midbass balance), I’d look at EM6L and then EW100 over the 200 and 500.
The midrange and treble performance is where the sets fall in line, in terms of their price brackets and what your expectations should be: EA500 and EM6L are a step beyond the cheaper offerings. EW100 doesn’t have the treble performance to keep up. It’s good enough to make 100 an enjoyable super-budget set but it’s job is to be a gateway drug to Simgot, not be the market-breaker. EW200 is better than 100, with better treble and a more balance in the signature towards midrange performance but there is a caveat to this. Neither EW100 or 200 is especially good when turning up the volume. They both struggle with Sophie Powers when beyond mid-volume but EW200 especially falls apart, as she gets downright harsh in the chorus at higher volume. 1 Thing is VERY prone to sibilance and harshness, as you turn the volume up and the EW models spike here badly. By contrast, EM6L and especially EA500 handle this well to my ear. The EA500 and EM6L are still obviously brighter than neutral in their treble, so if you’re more sensitive than I it may still be too much. For me though, those two retaining some control shows them to be the standouts, and definite upgrades, when looking at technicalities, and not just sound signature/frequency response: If you want less fiddling with volume, or are a Shuffle Master like me, the step-up models are at an advantage. I do think all of the sets will benefit from some extra dampening though.
In terms of soundstage and technicalities, it’s easy enough for me to say that the EW models are outclassed. They are very solid as under-$50 models but they’re not going to blow the doors off. EA500 rightfully deserves its reputation as a technical beast but it is not a soundstage monster, compared to its older sibling the EN1000. EM6L has good width but not much depth or height, to my ear, and it’s technicals do not lag behind, but also do not outpace, EA500.
and you know who you areHonestly, we have hit the point that Simgot may be a victim of their own success. The EN1000 and EA500 are the sets that announced Simgot is a player in the IEM market. The EW100, EW200, and EM6L are sets that prove Simgot will have staying power in the market. If you like bright signatures and well resolving IEMs, Simgot can give you what you’re looking for at any price from $20-200. But it is both a blessing and a curse to be able to hit the market with this many competent sets. All of these sets are good, but do you need all of them? No, you don’t. For veterans of the IEM game, you can just pass on the EW100. If you want a cheap EDC, I’d start at the EW200. I think the EA500 is a definite step up on EW200 though, so there’s that.
As for EM6L, I think its place in the market fully depends on your status in the IEM game. If you’re new to hybrids, or spending up to and beyond the $100 mark, then EM6L has a lot to say about where to spend your money. However, I think that if you’ve been around the block a few times, this is a much more questionable purchase because you will be firmly in sidegrade territory. The EM6L will satisfy a lot of your base needs, but it will not blow you away. If you’ve already heard truly special sets, then this is a very good set, but it’s just another set, in my opinion. At the end of the day, Simgot has dropped a lot of amazing sets, for their price brackets, and it’s easy to stuff yourself on the multiple courses of musical goodness they provide. But it’s like my terrible habit of going to the Cheesecake Factory and eating so much good stuff, from the appetizers and drinks to the main course, that I never have room for the actual namesake of the damn restaurant. So while I think I’m close to the point that Simgot is an automatic thumbs up when they drop a set, it’s vital to leave some room for their next set that actually (and truly) moves the market. And that’s going to be it for this review. Enjoy your days, and take care till next time!
Rank for Simgot EW100, EW200, and EM6L: EW100 - B-; EW200 - B; EM6L - B+
Rank With Personal Bias: EW100 - B-; EW200 - B; EM6L - B+
Recommendation Level: EW100 - Entry Level Recommendation; EW200 - Highly Recommended; EM6L - Lukewarm Recommendation Relative to Other Options (All Harman-Neutral (Bright) style)
Rank As a Food: Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake
You have a knack for analyzing iems. It is really a pleasure to read you and, honestly, your reviews are the one that I take into account the most in my purchasing decisions. More than any other YouTuber or celebrity.
Would you say that the Em6L is better than the EA500 as an all rounder? Jumping genres all across a huge library. I’ve heard that the EA500 are good at that.
In my opinion, the EM6L is safer as an all-arounder if you just want to pick up and play.
If you’re willing to tinker and mod, EA500 has a higher ceiling for finding exactly the sound you want
There have been ebbs and flows in my IEM journey where I’ve been getting to hear a lot of things at once, and times where I’ve been at a place where I haven’t wanted to have much more than 1 or 2 sets in my ears. My personal collection has been getting closer and closer to a place of contentment, and thanks to my friends, I’ve gotten to scratch a lot of itches and tell you about the experiences (and maybe help out with some of your audio journeys). What I get to today, is an IEM that could easily be a final stop for many people who read this. Thanks to @sonofholhorse I can tell you about my time with Shortbus Glamdring: Quite possibly the last IEM you’d ever need.
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.
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)
1 Thing - Sophie Powers (For sibilance, harshness/shoutiness, high volume listening check 1:28-2:01
*Wire & Guns - KID DAD (For general tonality (warmth vs. brightness) and note weight :10-35, for high volume listening 1:34-2:08)
Honey I wanna race you to the table, If you hesitate the getting is gone; I won’t lie if there’s something to be gained, There’s money to be made whatever’s still to come
Eat Your Young - Hozier
(IEM Tuning Style: Bassy-Dark)
If you don’t know much about Shortbus projects, they are the love children of Michael Bruce (https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelBruceShortbus) who has spent the last 2+ years doing various mods on the Letshuoer S12, to unlock it’s true potential. I say this because I was not a fan of, and was rather dismissive of, the S12 when I had time with it. Glamdring, however, is what Michael has created out of the base that is the S12 Pro.
As you can see, we are talking about a completely different IEM, but this is true in far more ways than can be appreciated on a graph. There is a slightly higher bass quantity, but with the upper-mids pulled down by around 7dB there is an incredible difference in the perception of that bass. It’s massive amounts of bass, such that even when I normally have found planar bass to be adequate but not amazing (outside of Panda), Glamdring breaks all the conceptions I have and I find its bass to be far past adequate. This is legitimately great bass that is super well controlled. There is zero bleed at any point. It’s so clean I’d almost want a couple of dB tossed in there between 100-250Hz just to get a little more in there. Almost though, but not really.
The mids are incredible. They are pristine, without ever being aggressive or boosted about it. If you’re used to super forward mids that have extra bite on them because they’re so emphasized Glamdring can be a change for you, but the presentation you get from this set is about as unique as I’ve heard in the hobby. Frankly, for me this is what I’d have expected to get from MEST Mk II or the 64Audio sets I’ve heard but found to be a little too safe or by-the-book…
And that’s because of the treble performance and how all of that adds up to create the intangibles that Glamdring brings to the table. I have an affinity for sets that don’t really do a pinna gain, but run their gain all the way out to the early treble. There usually is a smoothness on them that gives a whole different look to your music. You aren’t fighting with the volume dial to keep guitar harmonics or sibilant female vocals under control. Now that won’t work for the listener that wants to have that shoved in their face, but I think it’s a very welcome change, to not have everything boosted all over you, so you can really dig into the low-end performances. But the part about the gain going out to the treble is that you will get the emphasis you need there for full clarity and resolution, and you get it without having to overly boost or spike just to cut through all of the upper-mids you have thrown at you. I think it’s a genius tuning when you can get it. But that’s not even the sauce on Glamdring.
This IEM has one of the special soundstage experiences in the entire hobby. It’s wide, it’s tall, it is DEEP, and as you crank the volume up it never stutters. It can take all the juice you throw at it and keeps going and going until you are entirely enveloped in sound. Then you get pinpoint imaging, layering and separation that is on point; you can pick the element you want to follow and just about always follow it, regardless of how busy a track gets. And you get exactly what the mix of the track promises you: If the drums and guitar were mixed light on a rock song so the female vocals sit well in front, you get that. If you’re listening to a mixed orchestra where the brass and woodwinds are center and left and the string instruments are front and right, with percussions middle/back, then you get all of the elements there. It is close to the most technically proficient IEM I’ve heard.
It’s an IEM like Glamdring that makes me re-evaluate my own IEM journey. Right away I knew this was a pretty special IEM but I couldn’t find myself ready to make grandiose claims about it. It’s fantastic and if you wanted to buy it, there’s no reason to tell you no. But as I spent more time with it, I kind of got to a point that if this set is everything you’d want from an IEM, nitpicking it on performance, price, and whatever else you might use to talk yourself out of it are just a bit of ego and being a cheapskate talking. If you don’t have a budget for this set, that is okay and you can either save up or find something wonderful in your price range. If you’re in this hobby and have the money to spend, this is a wonderful surprise of a transducer. When I put ears to Glamdring I had some expectations that it was going to be a special experience, but I did not expect to be so thoroughly blown away by them. And having spent enough time with them I know I would eventually regret not getting this into my collection to have a taste of that Michael Bruce magic at my fingertips. And that’s going to be it for this review. Enjoy your days, and take care till next time!
Rank for Shortbus Audio Glamdring: S
Rank With Personal Bias: S
Recommendation Level: Highly Recommended (Bassy-Dark style)
Rank As a Food: Free, Fresh, Still Hot and Gooey Baked Cookies You Weren’t Expecting
Wow, looking at the graph I thought it is MEST MkI- like, but Paul really took it to the extreme reduction of pinna gain. I am really tempted now knowing what you have heard in life.
How is the vocals positioning in general? Isn’t it too recessed in your opinion?
How would one put in an order for one of these glamdrings from Michael Bruce? Interested in these for sure
He’s making/modding many S12 sets as we speak. He will make an announcement for it soon. How soon? I have no idea, but probably less than a month
Yeah, he will announce it on the youtube channel
Cool beans thanks for the help✌🏼
I haven’t done the headwork for you, no, but if you check my rankings list, almost every set on there has been posted about, so you can just do a search off this thread and my username and probably find it
Another spot on review. Glam is definitely an IEM that should be listened to first without seeing a graph. You made me realize that Glam is everything I thought the hobbyist made Mest MKII out to be. Definitely the most unique and enjoyed set in my possession.
