Beautiful on inside and outside!

PROS: beautiful design, updated audiophile quality tuning, premium removable cable, great selection of eartips.

CONS: no distinction between packaging and accessories (EM3 vs EM5), depending on pair up EM5 treble could get a bit hot.

The product was provided to me free of charge for the review purpose in exchange for my honest opinion.

Manufacturer website: Simgot, available for sale on MusicTeck and Amazon.

---

Intro.

When the original EN series from Simgot was introduced, it received a lot of attention due to its unique shell design and build quality. As they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression, and EN700 nailed it. Today you will find a lot of pretty shells with an empty content when it comes to some Chi-fi IEMs. EN series went through a few transformations of their own, from EN700 to EN700 Bass, and later perfecting it to EN700 Pro which I still enjoy and recommend to people who are looking for quality budget IEMs with removable cables. Following the success of EN series, Simgot decided to introduce a new EM series.

The new series has 3 models, EM1 (single dynamic driver), EM3 (hybrid with DD and dual BAs), and EM5 (hybrid with DD and quad BAs). The focus of this series is to appeal to audiophiles who are looking for a more resolving tuning, need a decent removable cable, and prefer a premium shell design. Simgot EM series also features brand name quality drivers, such as Knowles TWFK-30017 and SWFK-31736. In my review I will focus on EM3 and EM5, and will combine these reviews together due to a nearly identical packaging and accessories, similarities in design, and upgraded EM5 tuning relative to EM3. Now, let’s find out more.

Unboxing.

The unboxing experience of EM3 and EM5 is very similar, which could be looked at as both a positive and a negative thing. Each pair arrives in a giftbox quality large premium cardboard box with Simgot logo and a metal tab at the bottom, etched with a model number. Under the cover, there is a large foam cutout for a leather storage box and iems, with everything else under the foam layer.

Fur sure, it looks and feels premium, and provides a satisfying unboxing experience, except for the part that EM5 is an upgraded pricier version where some might want to see more. Perhaps, packaging can remain the same while EM5 can get more accessories, to make it standout. For example, a balanced cable wouldn’t be a bad idea.

EM3 unboxing.

EM5 unboxing.

Accessories.

Just like with packaging, expect similarities in accessories. Both have the same manual/warranty card, and the identical storage travel case. Not sure if it’s a real leather or pleather, but this a high quality nice looking case with Simgot logo on the top and “Salute to Art and Science” slogan on the bottom, lined up with a soft material and with an elastic pocket for extra storage. The cover stays securely closed under a spring-loaded hinge, and this travel case can easily fit the pants pocket, though it is a bit on a larger size.

I will talk about the cable in the next section where despite a different shielding and purity of wires, both use a premium 4core hybrid design. Eartips selection is also similar, despite EM3 set having a black core to match its dark shells and EM5 having a white core to match its transparent shells, with 2 sets of S/M/L silicone pairs that vary in diameter and depth. You need to look closer to see the difference where one set is wider and shallower, while the other one is narrower and taller. Eartips selection is critical to achieve an ideal seal which going to affect the sound signature. Wider eartips will give you more seal, enhancing the bass, while narrow ones relax the seal. And the depth/height of eartips will vary the distance between your eardrums and drivers which could affect the soundstage perception.

EM3 accessories.

EM5 accessories.

Cable.

Overall cable design has a lot of similarities, considering both feature a 4-core hybrid design with single crystal copper and silver-plated copper OCC wires. The obvious difference is the wire sleeve, which is like eartips, matches the shell design with EM3 cable featuring an all-black shielding and EM5 cable featuring a transparent shielding where you can see wire details. But according to Simgot, the wires itself have a different level of purity, and they selected more premium wires with a different level of coating and production techniques in EM5 cable.

When you interchange these cables between EM3 and EM5 – you will hear subtle differences in sound with EM5 cable being brighter and more revealing to my ears. Also, please keep in mind, Simgot use these specific cables when tuning corresponding EM3 and EM5 models.

As far as the cable exterior design goes, starting with a headphone plug you have 3.5mm gold plated TRS metal housing connector which has a single piece frosted transparent rubber sleeve over the top, which enhances the grip and extends to provide a strain relief. All wires are inner-twisted, 2 separately twisted L/R pairs twisted again below the y-splitter. Y-splitter design matches the headphone plug connector, the same metal cylinder with a rubber sleeve. Chin slider is a matching metal only piece.

Closer to earpieces, you have a pre-shaped springy earhook, no memory wires. Earhook has a fool loop which wraps around your ear for a wire up fit, the only wait to wear these. The 2pin connector housing is clear plastic and has 110deg angle. 2pin connector has standard 0.78mm pins, but the connector housing itself is proprietary since it extends to cover the shell joint which creates a seamless look when cable is attached. Basically, you can use any standard 2pin cable with either EN or EM series IEMs, but their own cables can only work with Simgot IEMs to create that seamless secure junction look where you can’t even tell that cable is detachable.

While Simgot tuned their IEMs using included premium cables, it’s still fun to try it with different aftermarket ones, to see if you can fine tune the sound further. I didn’t want to go crazy with super fancy expensive cables, so decided to compare Simgot copper/SPC cable to Effect Audio’s pure copper (Ares II) and gold/silver plated copper (Lionheart).

EM3: stock to EA Ares II -> very similar presentation of bass and treble, but mids get more body and sound a little smoother. Also, I hear a little more rumble in sub-bass.

EM3: stock to EA Lionheart -> more rumble in sub-bass, bass it tighter, mids are a little smoother with more body in lower mids, yet I hear a better retrieval of details and more transparency.

EM5: stock to EA Ares II -> similar to EM3, mids get a little more body and sound a touch smoother, there is some additional rumble in sub-bass, and treble is just a touch smoother.

EM5: stock to EA Lionheart -> similar to EM3, I hear a little more rumble in sub-bass, mids have a little more body in lower mids and sound smoother, and treble is just a touch smoother as well.

As I mentioned already, both IEMs come with good pair of cables, and it’s not necessary to buy a new one unless you want to refine the sound a little further. If you have any pure copper cables, I do recommend giving them a try since they help with adding a little more body to the mids and taking an edge off the treble sparkle.

EM3 cable.

EM5 cable.

Page 2: Design and Sound Analysis.

Page 3: Comparison, Pair up, and Conclusion.