I got two of the three IEMs that were in the mail. The Simgot EA500, and the Letshuoer x Gizaudio Galileo. The Galileo sounds way too much like the Kiwi Ears Cadenza, which I bounced off of pretty quick. The bass was too thin for my liking.
My first impression of the EA500 is very good, and it is an incredible value. I think I like the Olina SE ( or modded OG ) better, mostly because it has deeper bass. The EA500 doesn’t scale up quite as well as the Olina, but it has great detail and sound stage. I definitely get why people are so crazy about these. They seem like a set that will have a spot in my rotation.
EDIT : The black nozzle gives a bit deeper bass, so that is nice. OK, the fact that they do both at that price point is insane.
Perhaps if comparing price to performance value you need to account for the fact that the Hexa was also on sale on Aliexpress when EA500 was. There was only a €6 difference between them in the end. Picked up Hexa for €59 and EA500 for €53. Levels the field a little bit more.
Sadly didn’t check the price on Olina last week but it could previously be picked up for around €70ish in the sales. I suppose next weeks Anniversary sale will give a better guide on value price comparison.
If you’re in the US take c.21% off of those prices to account for the extra tax that we pay in Europe on consumer goods.
I didn’t know Hexa was on sale that low (Olina SE was about $65-5%), so like I said about it at full MSRP, I can see the argument for Hexa more than Olina during the sales.
But overall, that still falls in line with what I said in the first place
I actually opened a return about a week ago and planned to pack them up, a set I respected a lot but wasn’t necessarily a keeper budget wise.
Here I am listening to them though. I’m not the most ritualistic person, so I don’t always know which IEM I’ve put into which carry case I have with me. I was going to listen to the Fan 2, or Serial, or maybe even give the Canon a quick spin. But I opened the case and saw these and I thought “go on then”. Still black filters no tape. Vocals are great, and despite missing the lowest rumbles bass is better than most sets.
One day, we’re all gonna have to pitch in to get your excess sets sold and keep you off the classifieds/store sites so you can actually get out of the gear acquisition part of the hobby
been listening and a/b testing the ea500 and kato, and there’s not much difference. Maybe a tad bit more bass extension and amount on the kato, and slightly better midrange timbre, but it’s really minor all things considered. The cables are also weirdly similar in both design and feel.
guess I’ll be selling my katos to my friend for his price of 180 CAD. win-win for both of us lol
Black nozzle + Y1 filter: amount of bass is about as much red nozzle without Y1. Highs 10-15 khz are reduced. everything sounds slightly less sharp. I do miss some of the airnness, and openness red nozzle provides. Don’t like it.
Red Nozzle + Y1 filter: Bass increased about 2-3 db. I have not recieved my measuring coupler to verify, but it sounds stronger. I like the increased bass. The highs are airy, but do get in a way a little when listening to rock, metal, or anything that has cymbals and electric guitars.
Spiral Dots + Y1 + Red Nozzle + High Density Foam : The borderline sibilance of ss- sch- sounds on some tracks is gone. Slightly less of the special sauce of EA500 - less clean airy open vocal presentation, more warmth. Mid bass starting to show itself more, probably because of Y1 filter boosting it more, but also psychoacoustics, since highs are less with the foam inserts.
Stock Tips + Y1 + Red Nozzle + High Density Foam: Switching to stock tips from Spiral Dots improved the tonal balance. The midbass/lower mids area is pulled back a little ? and everything opened up again. The highs sound louder to me with stock tips, so overall tonal balance improvement could be due to increase of the highs.
Red Nozzle + High Density Foam + Stock Tips: My favorite mod! Smooth detailed highs, just like in the Heyday. The special sauce of EA500 is still mostly there, Just slightly less energy in the treble, reduced -ss- sch to perfect, less spicy level. and a little less airness. I don’t even feel the need to cover the vent near nozzle with Y1 filter. Bass and midbass present slightly more, almost sounds like i have Y1 on the vent. Probably psychoacustics at play again. or it might be actually getting boosted, but without measurement coupler i can’t verify.
I am expecting one more EA500 and a 711 measurement coupler to arrive in about a week! I will post graphs once i figure out how to do it. It will be easier to compare mods once i have second EA500 on hand.
edited