The LETSHUOER Galileo was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn’t receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don’t use affiliate links. The regular price of the LETSHUOER Galileo is $109.99 and is exclusively available from HiFiGo.
Introduction
LETSHUOER in collaboration with a reviewer from Gizaudio have designed this new IEM called the Galileo with a dual-driver hybrid configuration. The pair has got stunningly beautiful ink-painted face covers that give an impression of the Milky Way and a starry night sky. Galileo houses a 10mm liquid silicone dynamic driver and a high-performance Sonion BA driver unit.
Technical highlights
The LETSHUOER Galileo houses a 10mm liquid silicone & Al-Mg alloy dynamic driver unit together with a Danish Sonion 2389 balanced armature driver unit as the core configuration. The pair is designed with an independent electronic frequency crossover and cavity for each driver unit. The tube ensures a precise sound phase and extremely low distortion in the output signal. The brand-new cavity and sound-damping structure developed by LETSHUOER effectively reduces the influence of high-frequency clutter and standing waves. The acoustic cavity structure of Galileo earphones is designed with high-precision 3D printing technology. The complex acoustic cavity is molded with resin materials simultaneously to achieve more accurate physical frequency division.
Build quality and fit
The LETSHUOER Galileo uses an ink-painted synthetic resin panel, with azure blue, dark brown, and silver-white complementing each other to give the impression of the Milky Way blending with the stars. The lightweight earshells are anatomically shaped with a semi-custom design that offers a very comfortable and stable fit with the additional benefit of the very good passive noise attenuation.
Cable
The LETSHUOER Galileo is equipped with a high quality oxygen-free copper silver-plated wire as standard. It comes with the standard 0.78mm interface and you can order it with a 3.5mm or 4.4mm plug. The cable is very well made, it has a nice appearance, it is soft, it doesn’t get tangled and it has minimal microphonic noise. A really excellent cable for the price.
Accessories
The LETSHUOER Galileo comes equipped with two sets of ear-tips, in three sizes each, a cleaning brush and a sturdy carrying case which has storage for the ear-tips and a waterproof rating.
Power requirements and associated gear
The LETSHUOER Galileo has an impedance as low as 14Ω with an 104db/mW of sensitivity which means that it is easy to drive but at the same time is pretty sensitive to source noise so you better use a decent USB DAC dongle like the iBasso DC04 Pro and the FiiO KA5. As per usual practice the Galileo was left playing music for about 100 hours before listening evaluation.
Listening impressions
The overall sound signature of the LETSHUOER Galileo is balanced with just a touch of bass emphasis, an evenly tuned mid-range and a smooth, non aggressive but still quite extended treble. Sub-bass extension and the overall bass response is well balanced, the Galileo can sufficiently reproduce deep bass notes and offer plenty of satisfaction while the mid-bass is clear, well defined and it doesn’t cloud the mid-range. The bass is tonally accurate and resolving enough for classical music, it is tight, controlled and layered with plenty of definition but it suffers from a rather lean, not as full bodied, texture and a relative lack of dynamics and physical impact.
The mid-range is evenly tuned without sounding recessed or too emphasized in the upper-mids. The tonality is accurate and the timbre natural, instruments and voices sound realistic, well blended and with the right amount of intensity. The Galileo sounds expressive , musical, smooth and inviting with plenty of harmonic wealth while keeping transparency and clarity at a very competitive level.
The treble is relatively smooth and forgiving but not that lacking in extension, energy and shimmer. This is not the most detailed or analytical sounding earphone, not that sparkling and airy in the treble but this is also its strength because this kind of inoffensive tuning makes it suitable for long listening sessions without causing fatigue or irritating people with a sensitivity to this particular area. The timbre is not as natural though, you can hear a touch of artificiality and some metallic tint while the Galileo is not that refined or resolving in the treble. There is a touch of coarseness to the treble and some lack of liquidity but nothing too much to detract from the overall listening experience.
The LETSHUOER Galileo is open sounding with a spacious and airy soundstage that can keep up with busy tracks without sounding congested. The presentation is mostly flat though, without any sense of depth or holography. The openness of the sound combined with the balanced tuning make the Galileo a good option for listening to classical music while it is suitable for most kinds of music where tonal balance and accuracy are desired. It wouldn’t be my first choice for critical listening but I very much enjoyed it with some lighter classical music tunes.
In the end
Despite the very crowded $100 price range, the LETSHUOER Galileo has a place of its own in the category as it is a good option for everyone looking for balanced and rather forgiving earphones that are suitable for most kinds of music. Don’t expect class leading technicalities but you will be compensated by the melodious sound, the excellent fit and the great looks.
Copyright – Petros Laskis 2023.
+ Balanced and musical sound signature + Good sub-bass extension + Expressive and melodious mid-range + Easy going and forgiving nature + Open and spacious soundstage + Beautiful looking and well made + Lightweight and very comfortable + Good passive noise attenuation + High quality cable with low microphonic noise + Comes together with two sets of ear-tips and a hard carrying case - Bass is relatively lacking in weight and physical impact - Not that resolving or refined - Average detail retrieval - Slightly coarse and metallic treble - Soundstage is without much depth and holography - Plastic and bulky case
Leave a comment