I'm back with an earbud impression, which isn't as frequent as some may want but at least I get some good ones for the earbud people and this new earbud company ShoonTH is quite likely one of the good ones. Available on Penon's website, this ear bud is also one of the few shells that actually fit me well, and due to its overall light weight and build, doesn't fall off my ears with use!
As buds go, minimalist and recyclable packaging is always good and this passes that. Aside from the box, the shell looks nice and a little more different than the MX, PK shells running around, it helps differentiate it in a sea of earbuds in the current market but other than looks, design and build, it's usually the sound that makes the most difference and a key element in any purchase. So here I am with a short impression with the ESEP-01BL (and hopefully they will think of something easier to remember their model names), using the Zishan Z1 with Burson V6i-D OPAmp and a totally random song selection.
All By Myself - Jaime O'Neal: The intro piano had beautiful weight and crunch, but the voice! The texture! The exclamation points! Definitely not over the top or sounding like a $100+ earbud, but the mids were able to convey the singers feelings, emotive! Granted it's nicely forward for the upper mids, clear and bodied without sounding thin, there's good detail presentation as well. The part near the end where she sings in an prolonged manner "aaaaall byyyyyy myyyyy seeeeeeelllllfffff aaaaannnnyyyyymmmmoooooooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrreee" felt strong and powerful, quite emotive, nearly hair raising. The drums felt good and had impact, the treble harmonics were a little extended, more than enough to convey a good amount of crisp and natural sounding cymbal crashes.
Don't Stand So Close To Me - The Police: Lower mids also shine here with it being nicely forward too, the cymbals, hi hat taps sound crisp without being harsh, there is an almost delicate nature to the sound there, and the drums hit well, you can feel them in you ear though nothing like a basshead level earbud, decay sounded on the average with a little bit of rumble/reverb. Vocals sound good and bodied here too, not very thick that details are harder to hear, it's a good level of middle frequency sound.
Lithium - Nirvana: Kurt's voice sounded natural, the intonations and shifts in his voice sounded good and detailed, the way the 01BL portrays mids is something I could call exquisite, when the track gets busy, the sound does not compress or sound congested, there is good separation and instruments all sound crunchy, like what grunge is supposed to sound. The cymbal hits, crashes, harmonics sound well controlled, reaches well without inflicting pain in your ears, there is enough rumble/reverb to sound raw, resolution to pull it off well, drums that hit with good weight, though it does seem to just have average bass quantity and reach, the level of engagement you can get from this is quite good.
Overall, I believe the ShoonTH ESEP-01BL has very good mids, alright bass and treble, good stage and a relatively balanced signature that won't trigger treble sensitive people but remain quite engaging and enjoyable to listen music of varying genres. This is a rather exciting earbud to review, so stay tuned and till then, take care!
