SIMGOT EM6L REVIEW

>>I am brazilian and I speak portuguese, so forgive my english, I’ll use translation tools to help<<

INTRO:

This is the first Simgot Audio earphone that I have the opportunity to evaluate, and I’m starting with the highly praised Simgot EM6L Phoenix, a hybrid earphone with 1 DD + 4 BAs per side. I have high expectations for this product, as it was one of the highlights in the audio community being one of the best earphones of 2023.

The Simgot EM6L was sent by LINSOUL, one of the main distributors of Simgot products, as well as several other brands and audio products. More information on the links below.

For those who don’t know, LINSOUL is the same DD-Audio Store on AliExpress.

Price: $109,99 USD
Color: Black
Cable: No Mic

LINSOUL store:

https://amzn.to/3H9UJ46

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DCk2nxX

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DDIyG85

SPECIFICATIONS:

Hybrid: 5 drivers

(1) 8mm Dynamic Driver (DD) per side
(4) Balanced Armature (BA) per side

– Frequency range: 8Hz – 40KkHz
– Effective Frequency range: 20Hz – 20kHz
– Sensitivity: 119dB/Vrms(@ 1kHz)
– Impedance: 26Ω ± 15%(@ 1kHz)
– Termination Plug: 3.5mm (straight design)
– Connectors: 2pin 0.78mm QDC
– Cable size: 1.2m (detachable)
– Cable: Silver plated OFC HP
– Shell: 3D resin
– Earphone weight: 5.1g (one side)(without eartips)
– Cable weight: 18.1g
– Total weight (packaging, iems, etc): 233.3g
– Packaging size: 14.5cm [H] x 12cm [W] x 6.3cm [D]

UNBOXING:

Simgot EM6L Unboxing – Video made for Instagram Reels on @iemsandmusic

PHYSICAL ASPECTS:

Eartips. Perhaps starting with the product’s weakest point, because for a $109.99 USD IEM, I found the eartips kit to be limited. Only 3 pairs of silicone eartips came in sizes S/M/L. Let’s see, in this price range, it is essential to have more types of eartips, and perhaps even a more sophisticated (or proprietary) models. Anyway, that’s the eartip kit.

I made the modification to the SpinFit W1 only because I found the thickness of the EM6L eartips a bit too thick for my taste, but by no means are the ones that came with the IEM bad, I tested them and they sounded good. For a matter of more comfort, I prioritized the SpinFit W1 in size M, and they were the eartips that I review the EM6L.

Construction. The EM6L has a body made of 3D resin and a metal faceplate. It has a vent (hole) in the faceplate (on each side). The nozzle is made of metal. Aesthetically, the IEM is beautiful, I am biased to say because I already like IEMs with dark tones, preferably black ones. The IEM is very light, this is a very positive point, besides being small and very anatomical, which makes me think that it will be good for 99.9% of ears.

A detail in the construction that I didn’t find so cool is that it picks up a lot of fingerprint marks, although this is not as noticeable as it is with mirrored IEMs, because the EM6L is dark, it ends up disguising a little. I remembered another thing, the nozzle doesn’t have the “lip” at the edge, which can cause some eartips to come off the nozzle more easily (as happened here with me and the W1). PS: but this didn’t happen with the stock eartips, nor the SpinFit CP100, for example, it’s just that the W1 have a wider nozzle.

Cable. Great cable. I’m going to tell you that at first I found it strange, I thought it didn’t match the IEM very well, but when I started using it, I really applauded, it’s very good indeed. To start with, it’s a light and thin cable, which is what our ears need most of the time. Very thick cables end up generating a lot of volume (size) and weight, which soon makes us tired. On the positive side, it doesn’t present microphonics, it’s easy to roll up, it doesn’t take ‘memory’ (wavys). On the not so positive points, I would just make the observation that the material that covers the cable has a characteristic of being a bit “sticky” (but nothing that bothers), and the chin slider, which works but I would say it’s better for informal situations, because for professional use I think there are better ones.

The connectors of the EM6L are in QDC. It’s a very secure type of connector, perhaps the safest among MMCX and 2 pin. The earhooks are smooth, without waves… those who follow me know that this for me is always the best type of earhook, because it’s very comfortable, you forget that you have something in your ears.

The fit, as I mentioned in the construction, was excellent, the IEMs are 100% stable in my ears. The IEM have a very good ergonomics for the ears, and also they are very discreet, there are no protruding parts coming out of the ear. I found the insertion to be average, and the isolation I found to be good. The comfort also follows the same premise of the fit, also excellent. Very good IEM to spend a lot of time listening to music, I stay 2-3h without taking the IEM out of my ear, and during this time I didn’t feel any discomfort.

Among the included accessories, the IEM come with a semi-rigid case with a zipper closure. It has a good size to store the IEM, I liked the case, I would just add a company logo, because the case looked like a “cheap product”, generic.

SOUND ASPECTS:

The sound of the Simgot EM6L I understand as another IEM that follows a variation of the Harman Target (compensation curve based on the research of the Harman International group). In practice: the IEM has highlighted bass, forward upper-mids, and more controlled treble. Simgot itself makes it clear that the curve follows the principles of the “H target 2019”, which we know is Harman’s IE curve. The EM6L has a well-balanced sound, without missing the boost in the bass, which makes me very happy, as the sound becomes more fun.

The IEM is a great “all rounder”, that is, an IEM that matches with many musical genres. The EM6L reminded me of the recently reviewed, Truthear Nova, which was also another IEM that follows the Harman curve. There in the Nova I felt that two regions – bass and upper-mids – were well highlighted, but here in the EM6L the sound seems to me to be more “balanced”, even though the EM6L also has a good presence in the bass and upper-mids. Unfortunately, I only managed to hear the EM6L in 2024, but it would certainly enter in the list of the best IEMs I heard in 2023, perhaps even take the Top2 in place of the Nova…

Bass:

Quantitative: The bass of the EM6L has a good presence and is at the level of moderate to high. Isn’t a basshead IEM, but I think it has a very interesting amount of bass, I like IEMs with bass and I was satisfied with what I heard here. It is the amount that for me makes it play well genres like EDM, Hip-Hop, Pop, Reggae, Rock, Metal, etc. Sub-bass and mid-bass are present, even though the sub-bass appears with a little more prominence in the presentation. The plus here of the sub-bass is really the qualitative part, because even though the EM6L has more highlighted bass, it doesn’t lose the quality of the sound. I didn’t feel roll-off, and the extension is very good.

Qualitative: This part here really deserves praise, the bass of the EM6L has a very good definition, you listen to the instruments with a lot of precision, they are bass that have mass, weight, authority, but don’t lose the “format”, that is, they are bass in which the sound is well delineated and with good detailing. They are fast, clean bass, they don’t invade the mids, and they are also not muffled, nor bloated. The impact is strong but well defined, the “punch” sounds contained. I didn’t find it to be a champion in texture – although it has – but for me, a Kiwi Ears Quintet has more of this characteristic. Now, physicality it has, the beat of a bass drum you feel the kick.

Mids:

Quantitative and Qualitative: Another excellent region in the EM6L. The mids of the IEM are well present, specifically speaking of the upper-mids, they are forward, have a good energy, and the coolest thing is that they don’t sound aggressive or harsh, everything is very clear, transparent and detailed. An interesting thing here in the mids of the EM6L is that, even though the IEM have highlighted mids, the sound has a certain amount of spaciousness, especially for the voices, but of course this also depends in part on the recording. Pianos, violins, saxophones, electric guitars, etc., have a lively and coherent timbre with reality.

Voices: The voices in the EM6L are excellent, both for the male/low timbres and for the female/high timbres. That is, the IEM can offer great performance for both types of voices. The EM6L sounds quite correct with the voices, for example, the higher ones the IEM can confer energy without sounding shouty, and the lower ones, the IEM can present a nice warmth making them very engaging.

Treble:

Quantitative: I think the level of the treble of the EM6L is moderate. For me the treble of this IEM are also correct. The tuning was very well done, I don’t feel lack or excess. Here unlike the Truthear Nova, the EM6L has a little more treble, which in fact makes a “correction” (subjective), so for me this region here ends up being better than in the Nova (in my opinion). I’m already calming those who feel sensitivity with the treble, the EM6L is safe, that is, it doesn’t bring hearing fatigue because of the treble. I did not feel roll-off, the extension is good.

Qualitative: The treble of this IEM are balanced, correct, versatile, don’t have coloration, nor peaks. Very linear treble, accompany the presentation with great detailing and great definition, and all this without extrapolating the level of moderate, so we have treble with very good resolution and comfortable to listen to. The sparkle is very coherent with reality. They aren’t strident, they aren’t harsh, nor do they present sibilance. Fingerpicking on steel-stringed guitars are very detailed and precise, Hi-Hats play clearly without sounding aggressive.

Soundstage: The soundstage of this IEM is great. The feeling I have is as if the singer was at the front of the stage, and the musicians were behind. Much of this is due to the fact that the IEM has the mentioned presence in the upper-mids, which makes the voice closer to the listener. The IEM performs well in the 3 dimensions: height, width, and depth.

Imaging: The separation of the instruments I found to be great. The IEM has good detailing, and with good spaciousness, everything is easier to identify in the recordings. You can hear the instruments in their proper places with a lot of clarity. The stereo image of the EM6L is also very precise. No musical genre I put in got congested (remembering that separation can also vary according to the recording and other processes during musical production).

Driver Flex Test: The conclusion is that during all the time I spent evaluating the IEM, it didn’t present the noise of driver flex.

Amplification: I used the DAP FiiO M11S to do this review. The output used was 3.5mm and the DAP in High Gain mode. The EM6L doesn’t need dedicated amplification to play correctly, it plays well on any source. As always, I think it’s good for you to have at least one dongle to run your IEM, it’s already something better than the audio output of the csmartphone. Speaking of dongle, I also tested the EM6L with the Aune Yuki, I only needed 30% of volume for the sound to be good for me. With the M11S I left it at volume 80, out of the 120 available. I tested the IEM on my notebook (without dongle) and it played correctly.

Music is subjective, so below is the list of some musical genres that I personally think that was better with this IEM. Remember that were only few genres and few artists tested. If I describe that one genre was better and the other don’t, it doesn’t mean that you can’t listen to your favorite music genre with this IEM and love it. So, here goes:

Better:

Hip Hop
Reggae
EDM
POP
Rock
Blues
Metal
MPB*
Bossa Nova*
Samba*

*Brazilian musical genres.

Not so much:

Classical
Jazz

PLAYLIST LINK: