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EarSonics EM10

Sound impressions

Presentation
EarSonics whisks us away with a dreamy, euphoric type of sound that feels pleasantly familiar, yet unlike anything I’ve heard. The EM10’s intended focus of the tuning is clearly on tone – but it’s a special, unique kind of tone. It’s a signature intent on letting the upper midrange shine. The sound is clear, but it isn’t bright; there’s a special, warm type of glow behind the sound – the combination of a rich bass and mid-treble tuning. According to Franck, the key to the EM10’s special tone lies in combining pairs of subtle peaks around 8, 10, and 12 KHz for ultimate musicality and finesse – because apparently, our ears love paired harmonics. Franck must be on to something, because the EM10 certainly seems to be agreeing with my ears. But even so, the treble region as as whole is relatively laid-back, and it’s mostly the 12 KHz region adding some colour to the sound. The result is a melodious signature, which remains silky smooth.

The S-EM9 seemed to be optimised for separation and resolution; a precise, articulated sound. The EM10 in turn takes a different direction, with different priorities. The difference resides in the upper bass and attenuated lower treble tuning. Where the S-EM9’s leaner notes formed a perfect match with its stage dimensions, the EM10 sounds rich and bodied. So while both construct a similar average-sized stage with even proportions in width and depth, the EM10 creates a full and more engaging sound, where the S-EM9 sounds cleaner and organised. And due to the EM10’s softer treble approach, the imaging doesn’t strike you as pinpoint precise. But rather than striving for analytical precision, it’s a very coherent presentation, that seamlessly weaves together. And by means of its depth, the EM10 makes good use of its layering ability to perform well at separation.


Bass
The EM10’s bass leans towards the fun range, due to its slightly greater than neutral quantity. It’s a bass that comes with a nice mid-bass punch. Even so, its low-end extension is about average, and it isn’t a mean, hard-hitting bass. It is however a natural-sounding bass. Due to the lower treble tuning, the bass has a soft touch. It’s a rounded bass, with a gentle decay. It’s decisively not a stereotypical dry, lean BA bass. While manufacturers often choose to dip the upper-bass in order to create a cleaner sound, the EM10 maintains a fairly linear tuning throughout the upper-bass region, in favour of tone. Taken together, it’s a fun bass with a gentle touch, which contributes to the overall tone.

Midrange
There’s a special glow over the EM10’s midrange. It’s exciting and engaging, but most of all, easy to listen to. The most common way to add some excitement is by lifting the lower treble, which also results in a brighter sound. But the EM10 instead lifts the higher treble regions combined with a classic 5 KHz dip, effectively avoiding the whole sensitive are. But the signature seems centred around its enhanced upper mids; a touch of added beauty, while remaining smooth. The purist might say it’s coloured, but it’s purposefully, and most of all, tastefully done. Which isn’t to say the tuning is wildly inaccurate, as instruments nevertheless have a fairly accurate timbre, resulting from the attenuated lower treble tuning. And combined with the rich bass, it isn’t an overly clean-sounding midrange; but it is a very harmonious one. It’s a tuning that invites to forget about analytical dissection – the hallmark of a coherent signature.


Accordingly, the EM10 creates a nicely full sound, and vocals are a treat. Full-bodied and slightly forward, as a result of a characteristic bump in its centre midrange frequencies. It’s a solidified, rounded vocal presentation, with sufficient vocal power. There’s body and depth to male vocals, but equally, a sweetness to that of female’s. It’s clear to hear the vocal presence was prioritised within the tuning, as they jump out from within the stage. But they do so gently, as the vocal articulation is incredibly smooth, in line with the rest of the presentation.

Treble
To accomplish its tone, the treble itself is slightly laid-back. It’s an articulate treble nonetheless, but one that doesn’t demand your attention. The EM10 breaks with its predecessors, by dipping the lower treble region. The result is not only an incredibly smooth treble, but one that results in a very coherent presentation as well. Selflessly, the treble takes a step back in favour of guitars, background choirs, and especially synthesised notes. It’s a treble reminiscent of something like the UE18+ perhaps, smooth, and warm in tone. But a crucial difference is that the EM10’s signature nevertheless sounds clear, exciting, and melodious. This is a tuning that seems to be fare especially well with our guilty pleasures – pop music for instance, or 80’s hits any true audiophile will never admit they listen to.

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ABOUT AUTHOR

flinkenick

flinkenick

Nic is currently in pursuit of a PhD degree in social neuropsychology, while trying not to get too distracted by this hobby. In pursuit of theoretical knowledge by day, and audiophile excellence at night. Luckily for him, both activities are not mutually exclusive which helps to lighten the workload. Always on the go, Nic's enthusiasm for hi-fi is focused on all chains of the portable system: iems, cables and daps.

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8 Responses

  1. I think something like Ares II or HanSound Zen would be nice options at $150. But if you decide to get the EM10 I would just check with the no 5 first, and then check back with me 😉

  2. Crystal clear!

    Do you think my PW no.5 cable is suitable for EM10? Which cable, not super expensive :), do you recommend?

  3. Hi buddy,

    In short, I absolutely think EM10 would suit your preferences. In fact, of all iems I would probably recommend this one. Tonality was also a bit hard for me to nail in the review, but in brief the EM10 is as follows: A deep-reaching, punchy, ‘musical’bass with nice impact, combined with natural and bodied vocals. The upper mids are slightly forward and colored very nicely, giving them a melodious sound. It’s a beautiful tone, that works very well with pop, rock, and soul. The treble itself is quite smooth.

    The Prelude is actually quite different. It’s more of a smooth, audiophile, warmer tuning. Its focus is on timbre and naturalness, where the EM10 is a bit more playful and melodic. I know these descriptions might be a bit vague, but generally speaking you could say the EM10 works better for melody-driven music like pop, while the Prelude has a more jazzy, soul-based sound if that makes any sense.

  4. Hello Nick,

    I’m currently the owner of Earsonics S-EM6 v2 + PW Audio no.5 cable and I really like them, they are very refined and the vocals are just a bit forward and superb.

    As in our game we always want « more » I was questioning myself about EM10, your review about them, as always, is very precise and exciting: that’s why I’m particulary interesting about EM10.

    To tell more about myself, I listen primarily to vocals / pop / rock / soul. What I miss from the S-EM6 is a bit more musicality, I’d like sometime more bass and maybe smoothness. In fact what I « imagine » as an ideal IEM would be something like an S-EM9 (great bass and refined trebble) but with superb midrange and vocals.

    Do you think EM10 would apply perfectly with my listening genre? Do you see an IEM that would fit my ideal IEM that I described previously?

    Also about EM10 tonality, where its magic happens, I have some difficulty to represent it. I can clearly imagine the bass of Vega, the resolution of EM9, the vocals of Zeus, but the tonality is a concept that I feel I don’t understand very well: can you please describe it a bit?

    Also from your reviews, it seems that EM10 and Warbler Prelude have a lot in common, am I wrong? Is EM10 « better » than Prelude?

    Thanks for all !

  5. Hi Vel,

    You are right, EM10 and A18 seem to share a similar euphoric sound, but at the same time are quite different. The similarity lies in the presentation of the upper mids, that seems to convey a ‘warm brightness’; a clear sound with a warm glow, that works very nicely for melodies and guitars for instance. But the difference between them is that the EM10 is significantly smoother, more organic, with more full-bodied vocals. The treble in turn is quite laid-back and smooth, despite the enhanced upper mids. The A18 in turn has both enhanced upper mids as well as treble. The result is a faster, brighter, and more detailed sound, that trades some of its vocal body in return. Plus, its resolution is greater and its stage is wider. Still, I prefer the EM10 for a more relaxing listen and for vocal-based pop music for instance, while the A18’s more stimulating sound is more engaging for EDM, as well as classical for instance.

  6. Hi Nic,
    Can you post a comparison between EM10 and 1964 A18 considering the fact that both seem to have an euphoric artistic signature with a slightly colored tonality?

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