Pros –
Attractive shell design, Unique warm-vocal boosted tonality, Great mid-bass texture, No veil despite its warmth
Cons –
Poorly extended treble, Poor separation
Verdict –
If you enjoy a warm, lush tonality with a nice analogue fuzz, the Cappuccino comes across as an authentic offering at an accessible price point.
Introduction –
If you’re familiar with high-end IEMs, you’d likely be familiar with Jomo. At the time of flinkenick’s flagship shootout, I recall lusting over Jomo’s intricate and desirable designs especially. After experiencing Joseph’s experimental work at MMR, I was excited to revisit Jomo when he reached out about his new line-up. Taking after JDM cars, the S100 Cappuccino represents the most value-minded option among them and also Jomo’s first single dynamic driver earphone. It was designed using the same processes as the company’s high-end products but also with the budget audiophile in mind. In turn, this earphone has been designed to be easy to drive in addition to being sonically and visually pleasing.
The S100 Cappuccino just launched for $299 USD. You can read all about it and treat yourself to a unit on Jomo Audio.
Disclaimer –
I would like to thank Joseph from Jomo very much for reaching out to organise a review of the S100. All words are my own and there is no monetary incentive for a positive review. Despite receiving the earphones free of cost, I will attempt to be as objective as possible in my evaluation.
Contents –
- Page 1: Intro, Unboxing, Design
- Page 2: Sound Breakdown
- Page 3: Comparisons & Verdict
Specifications –
- Driver: Single 10mm Dynamic Driver with Double Harmonic Acoustic Chamber
- Diaphragm: Liquid Crystal Polymer
- Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
- Impedance: 15 Ohms
Behind the Design –
LCP Dynamic Driver
We’ve seen a few earphones adopt LCP diaphragms as of late and with good results. In essence, this is a liquid crystal polymer that is rigid yet lightweight. The driver has a 10mm diameter and has been curated by the company according to material, shape, size and magnet material.
DHAC
Loudspeaker enthusiasts will want to reinforce that it isn’t just the driver but also the surrounding acoustics that can heavily contribute to the end sound quality. This is one of Joseph’s specialties as seen on the custom chambers 3D printed for MMR’s models. The S100 receives the same treatment with a doubule harmonic acoustic chamber that encapsulates the driver within a 3D printed solid uni-body shell. Printed at 50 micron resolution, the DHAC balances airflow at the front and rear of the driver and reduces resonances, achieving greater fidelity and efficiency.
CSU
Cross sync uniphase encompasses both electronic and acoustic filtering in a unique crossover system to achieve the company’s desired frequency response. This system underpins their new lineup including the S100 as, despite its single driver design, it does allow for greater tunability and a smoother frequency response in addition to improved frequency range at high SPL.
Unboxing –
It’s clear that Jomo has put some effort into the unboxing that provides the impression of a higher-value item than the Cappuccino really is. The box slides open to reveal a carbon-fibre S100 card and the faux carbon fibre zippered carrying case inside. The case contains the earphones and accessories and is a spacious unit as a result. With its hard skeleton, it feels very protective and sports convenience features like a soft elastic inner pocket. In addition to the earphones and silver-plated 3.5mm cable, you also receive a ¼” adaptor, 2 pocket mesh pouch and a box of ear tips. This includes 3 pairs of dual flange tips and 3 pairs of hurricane tips though I personally enjoyed them best with aftermarket options.
Design –
Few would deny that the Cappuccino is a good-looking earphone, one that has been purposefully styled and appeals heavily to the inner-coffee head in me. The 3D printed resin shells are very reminiscent of the Soft Ears/Moondrop monitors with their solid (not hollow) construction and gorgeous amber tint that matches the faceplates. Speaking of which, bronze frames serve as a nice complement to resin faceplates that emulate a barista-made coffee, a charming touch. A metallic fleck has been added to the bronzed resin for extra bedazzlement. Overall, I was pleased with the density of the shells and their immaculate hyper-gloss finish. Though the faceplate matching isn’t quite perfect, the edges are all smoothed off and the level of finish is up there with the best.
As you would expect, this earphone comes with a removable cable using ubiquitous 0.78mm 2-pin connectors. The stock unit is of pleasing quality and is similar to that included with the cheaper MMR models. This is a silver-plated OFC copper cable in a 4-wire braid. It has a highly flexible jacket with a smooth texture and near zero memory giving it great ergonomics and minimal microphonic noise transmission. The pre-moulded ear guides are quite long but fit comfortably all the same and the terminations are metal with moulded strain relief. Due to its thinner gauge, the wires are more prone to tangling than some competitors. However, for the asking price, one wouldn’t expect a custom or curated cable to be included and this is a fine combination.
Fit & Isolation –
Ergonomics are typical of your usual CIEM-style uni shell albeit with a more elongated nozzle than most designs. This means the shells aren’t especially compact and protrude noticeably from the ear. They do taper at the rear to minimise hotspot formation, however, you would be best to try these before purchase if you have small ears and struggle with other IEMs. For my average-sized ears, I didn’t experience any notable hotspot formation, however, the deeper than usual fit wasn’t perfectly comfortable long term. That said, wearing pressure is minimal due to the vented design and no driver flex was apparent to me.
You will have to size down your ear tips due to the longer nozzles yet in return this does provide a very locked-in and stable fit. Despite this, isolation is just average and they do feel more open than most modern hybrid earphones or standard compared to other single dynamic drivers. This makes them suitable for daily commute and public transport though not for especially noisy environments such as air travel where you may want to look into a sealed IEM instead.
