Simgot EN700 Bass In-ear Earphone Review

Sound –

The EN700 bass doen’t have the groundbreaking hybrid driver setup of earphones like the 1More Triple Driver and Magaosi/Audbos K3 Pro but rather utilise the tried and true dynamic driver. And I honestly have no issue with that, because the EN700 Bass has no issue keeping up with similarly-priced armature and micro driver models. And what technical ability they lack in comparison to the best $100 hybrids, they more than make up for with their natural tuning that represents far more maturity than one would expect from such a new company.

As always, I gave the EN700 Bass around 200 hours of burn-in before review but didn’t notice any substantial changes from initial impressions, perhaps the midrange has become a little more linear, but I wouldn’t say that burn-in is essential at all with these earphones.

 

Tonality –

DSC02050-12The EN700 Bass produces quite a balanced sound that can be appreciably altered via the two sets of included ear tips. As with the filters on the K3 Pro, the tips mostly just alter the tonality of the earphones while quality remains almost identical. With the high-frequency focused tips installed, the EN700 Bass produces a balanced, slightly brighter sound with a punchy low-end and prominent but not fatiguing high-end. The bass tips essentially just increase low-frequency presence without touching the other frequencies too much. They unsurprisingly provide a warmer sound, notably enhancing mid-bass presence and adding a little body to male vocals, the earphones simply sound lusher with the bass tips. The Earphones are actually quite balanced with the bass tips, they are mildly v-shaped with nice vocal presence and avoid being overly treble forward while retaining some sparkle and air up top. The high-frequency tips are aptly named, because I would not consider the earphones to be balanced when equipped with those tips, rather they slightly bias high-frequencies. If you’re coming from something like the Hifiman RE-400, the high-frequency tips may be to your liking though for a lot of listeners, myself included, the bass tips will likely provide a more pleasing listen. All comments will be with the bass tips installed unless otherwise noted.

 

Soundstage –

I’ve been on a roll recently with the K3 Pro and Fiio F5, and the EN700 Bass maintains my streak with another impressive soundstage performance. In fact, I do prefer them in this regard to the K3 Pro as they are better rounded and image better as a result. Space is very good though they still retain an ovular presentation that places emphasis on width. They are just as wide as the K3 Pro and depth is much improved; they do have a moderate amount of forward projection with track that call for it.  Centre image is a little hazy, they don’t have the solid centre of the K3 Pro but also lack the blank spaces. When listening to “Playing to lose” by Lemaitre, the EN700 Bass provided great vocal width with nice layering and an intimate but not congested sense of depth. Imaging was also really nice, both vocals and instruments were easily located. Separation is another forte of the EN700 Bass, they never struggled with congestion during my testing due to their spacious presentation and clear sound. They performed similar to the Oriveti Basic and were overall more consistent than the K3 Pro. If soundstage performance is important to you, the EN700 Bass is a good place to start.

 

Drivability –

The En700 Bass is quite sensitive at 101dB, less so than the TFZ King but also appreciably more so than K3 Pro. They have a lower impedance of 16ohms and, utilizing a single dynamic driver, did sound very consistent across my various sources. They aren’t difficult to drive at all and will be well served by most modern smartphones and iPods, even my iPod Nano 7G drove the EN700 Bass quite well with minimal compression and plenty of volume. Listening to my HTC 10 with Poweramp Alpha, my volume levels were as follows:

K3 Pro – 11/50

EN700 Bass – 8/50

TFZ King – 6/50

Through my HTC 10 and Oppo HA-2, the EN700 Bass achieved a considerably expanded soundstage with the Oppo producing some extra detail and resolution, especially within the high-end. That being said, users should not that amplification is a necessity with the EN700 Bass though they do scale with better sources, notable with their soundstage.

 

Bass –

Simgot made sure to emphasise that the “bass” moniker added to the new EN700 doesn’t insinuate that the earphones are bass-head targetted earphones, rather that they have addressed the analytical tone of their previous earphones. And taking a quick listen, it was good to see that Simgot haven’t overcompensated. Bass is characterised by mid-bass punch and impact over sub-bass slam with a slightly uneven tuning that provides an interesting yet mostly enjoyable character; they are actually tuned very similarly to the K3 Pro in terms of bass along with the same strengths and weaknesses. In terms of quality, bass might be my least favourite aspect of the earphone though they are hardly a subpar performer in comparison to similarly priced models. Sub-bass extension is okay but not exemplary, and the TFZ King and Oriveti Basic both provide considerably more slam to the very lowest notes. When listening to Simply Red’s “Holding Back the Years”, the mellow bass tones possessed some rumble and texture but sub-bass notes had a softer tone similar to the K3 Pro. Mid-bass has a moderate boost with the bass tips, producing a sound that is on the lusher side of neutral but retains enough balance for genre versatility. Some bloat is evident, producing texture loss; the K3 Pro’s had slightly more texture to bass notes and were more consistent between tracks while the TFZ King and Oriveti Basic sounded more defined and textured yet. The EN700 Bass also has a slightly slower bass response, they don’t become overwhelmed due to their mostly tasteful tuning though finer texture and bass detail during rapidly transitioning bass tones are frequently lost. Furthermore, though similar in tuning, switching to the K3 Pro’s immediately revealed a faster, tighter bass response.

Still, these comments are in comparison to some of the absolute finest earphones around $100 and when compared to earphones like the Shure SE215, the EN700 Bass holds just as much advantage as those earphones over the EN700 Bass. The EN700 Bass immediately boasts more sub-bass slam and extension than the SE215 while lacking the thicker tone of the Shure’s that can muddy bass notes and bleed into the midrange. The EN700 Bass retains a lusher character but avoids any spill and midrange detail loss. There’s really nothing wrong with the EN700’s bass performance and one can easily find enjoyment in their tuning. So I do feel that the bass tuning and performance of the EN700 Bass is good, they just lag behind class leaders at this price.

 

Mids –

The midrange on the EN700 Bass does a lot to redeem their bass performance; they have a very natural and balanced response that really surprised me. Both the upper and lower midrange are well balanced, mids are slightly brighter though I never found lower midrange instruments or vocals to sound recessed or distant. In relation to bass and treble, vocals are given nice presence, neither sounding as recessed as the K3 Pro or Oriveti Basic nor as aggressive and forward as the TFZ King. Mids are also given a really nice sense of body that grants vocals with a great sense of realism and the EN700 Bass avoids sound raspy like the K3 Pro and occasionally King. The EN700 Bass actually reminds me more of the very smooth, refined Oriveti Basic though with more balance and presence making for a very rewarding midrange presentation. Listening to IU’s “Palette” and vocals were very well rendered with plenty of clarity and great layering; often Asian tracks can sound overly thin due to their style of mastering

Listening to IU’s “Palette” and vocals were very well rendered with plenty of clarity and great layering; often Asian tracks can sound overly thin due to their style of mastering though the EN700 Bass provided a pleasingly restrained reproduction. And despite sounding natural and balanced, the EN700 Bass still retains its own character, they aren’t “flat” like the Hifiman RE-600, they just don’t sound artificially boosted. Resolution is also good, and though the King and K3 Pro both hold a slight advantage in that department, midrange detailing is on a similar level to those earphones. Background and even some micro-detail is well resolved though neither are brought to the fore quite as much as the King. That being said, they are clearly rawer and more detailed than the Basic whose smoother, more laid-back character glosses over these finer intricacies. Ultimately, the EN700 Bass provides a very tasteful balance between clarity and realism, resolution and smoothness. They aren’t quite awe inspiring like the King and even the K3 Pro, but they are ever more realistic without losing engagement.

 

Treble –

Treble is similarly very well done with nice extension and a natural tone. Similar to their midrange, high-notes also have realistic body when compared to the thinner King and K3 Pro, they also sound more linear and extended than the Basic which had a bit of roll-off at the very top. The EN700 Bass excels with instruments such as trumpets that sound lush and realistic whereas a lot of treble boosted/spiked earphones around this price compromise on that natural sense of detail and realism in pursuit of clarity and aggression. That being said, the EN700 Bass is not lacking in resolution, treble is clear and clean with pleasing linearity and no obvious peaks or dips.

I find Jazz a good indicator of treble performance as the mastering is very revealing of overly boosted or uneven earphones and the EN700 Bass unsurprisingly provided an impressive reproduction. Listening to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” revealed crisp guitar strums and smooth strings free of grain. By comparison, the King sounded a little over-forward and aggressive in the highs while the K3 Pro sounded uneven, losing a lot of background detail. The EN700 Bass rather excels with background detail without aggressively shoving it the listener’s face. They are a great choice for non-fatiguing listening sessions without compromising too much on clarity, resolution and air, something that I can’t say about a lot of earphones these days.

Next Page: Verdict

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ABOUT AUTHOR

Ryan Soo

Ryan Soo

Avid writer, passionate photographer and sleep-deprived medical student, Ryan has an ongoing desire to bring quality products to the regular reader.

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5 Responses

  1. Hi Jack,

    Considering your music tastes, assuming it’s in order of preference, I would probably point you towards the Basics, they have the best bass response of the bunch, they are also the most comfortable and are almost as stable and isolating as the Shures. The Simgots have strange earguides and are more semi-open so they aren’t the best in noisier environments. That being said, the Simgots have the best soundstage and are still perfectly comfortable if that is a main priority. I generally don’t recommend the Shures, especially not the SE315, the SE215 is a good earphone if you want a warm low-end and a super solid fit though I feel that these newer earphones perform at a higher level.

    Cheers,
    Ryan.

  2. Hi Ryan, great read.
    I usually listen to EDM, rock/metal, little bit of pop, and the odd RnB/hip hop song and a very small amount of classical/piano solos. How do the Oriveti Basic compare to the Simgot EN700 Bass and Shure SE215 (maybe I’ll consider 315 too)? It’s going to be a daily driver for me, and I may possibly hook it up to the PC too for gaming since I get terrible headset hair!

  3. Earbuds and in ear are great for commuters as the sound is in your ear and does not “leak”out to others around you. The real advantages are that these headphones are very very portable and kind of hidden within your ears The SoundMAGIC E10 Noise Isolating In-Ear Earphones are designed with comfortable ear tips that fit right into your ear, allowing for stability despite constant movement. The isolation also leads to richer sound. Get more information at http://www.soundmagic.us/index.php/product/soundmagic-e10-noise-isolating-ear-earphones/, about in ear earphones.

  4. Thanks for your comments Shaan, I hope you like it. Pretty much scored lower than the K3 Pro due to the non-removable cable and the fit isn’t quite as stable as the K3 Pro. If you are treble sensitive, the EN700 Bass is definitely a safer choice than the K3 Pro and TFZ King, I’m also a fan of the Oriveti Basic if you want more sub-bass and an even more laid-back tone.

  5. Hi Ryan,
    I think I’m gonna buy simgot en700 bass over k3pro for it’s natural tuning (and safer). I am thinking performance wise (details, clarity) they should be on the same ground and en700 bass got one point less than k3 pro because of it’s inferior built and non detachable cables.

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