SIMGOT EA500 Review

SIMGOT EA500 Review

The SIMGOT EA500 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 price of the SIMGOT EA500 is $79 and you can buy it from Linsoul

SIMGOT EA500

SIMGOT is by now a well established manufacturer of earphones with some successful products in their portfolio, like the EM2R.
The SIMGOT EA500 is a 10mm dynamic driver earphone with a friendly price.
The EA500 adopts a 10mm dual-magnetic-circuit and dual-cavity driver.
Different from the two single magnetic circuit forms of “internal magnetic” or “external magnetic” commonly used in dynamic headphones, the dual-magnetic-circuit system of the EA500 provides both internal and external magnetic circuits.
Combined with the N52 magnet, this driver presents a powerful magnetic field and amazing performance. The dynamic range and transient capability have been greatly improved, providing a wider bandwidth range and lower distortion, which gives the SIMGOT EA500 a stunning dynamic and sense of presence.

The DLC composite diaphragm of EA500 incorporates 3 kinds of different materials, which are used to build different parts. DLC is characterized by strong rigidity, high damping, and light-weight, and is used as a dome that determines the characteristics of treble.
The edge, which affects the mid and bass, is built with elastic composite material. The whole diaphragm has undergone multiple pattern design and material content ratio tests to achieve surging and natural bass, high resolution and high-density mid, and smooth treble extension.
You can read more here

Detachable Nozzle Design, Two Target Curves

The most innovative feature of the SIMGOT EA500 and something rarely found at this price point, is the detachable nozzle design.
By quickly disassembling and installing the nozzles of different tuning cloth systems, users can change different tuning styles.
When the filter is blocked after a long time wearing, users can replace the filter themselves, which can extend the service life of the product.

Nozzle 1 (red silicone ring)

The H2016 target curve is a very universal trend-oriented tuning style. It is also the basic target curve widely used by different brands of audio manufacturers in the industry (on this basis, each brand has a slight derivation).
The three frequencies are highly balanced, the positioning is accurate, the sound field is restored accurately, and the sound is plumb.
It has less sibilance on the treble, adapts well to different music genres, even to poor recording.
This tuning style can be sorted as “jack of all trades”.

Nozzle 2 (black silicone ring)

SIMGOT’s classic target curve runs through the tuning ideas of EN1000 and EA2000.
Through appropriate gain of the treble and slight forward shift of the first peak, on the basis of ensuring accurate positioning and clear image, the three-frequency keep balanced, making the instrument more beautiful, the separation clearer, and the female vocal more addictive.
There may be slight sibilance in the treble, but the resolution is higher and more details can be presented.
It is a little bit weak to adapt to poor recording source and belongs to the tuning style of “female vocal addictive”, or ” instrument type”.
SIMGOT promises to continue developing the nozzle of EA500 to bring more tuning styles under different target curves in the future.

Build quality and fit

The earphone cavity is processed through high-density alloy metal melting & casting with CNC fine engraving.
The inner surface is subtle uneven, which can effectively suppress standing waves and provide a clear sound floor.
The earshells are sturdy and well made with a mirror-plating finish technology that makes them look very premium and luxurious.
The overall build quality and the appearance of the SIMGOT EA500 are of the highest quality and much better than the price would suggest.
One caveat is the increased weight of the earshells, they are heavier than earphones made from a resin compound but actually this is something that doesn’t get very noticable because of the overall comfortable fit.
The contoured shape of the earshells and the angled position of the nozzle offer a secure, mildly tight and stress free fit that is suitable for long listening sessions while passive noise attenuation is very good.

Cable

The SIMGOT EA500 comes with a 2-pin detachable, silver-plated OFC, cable.
It is rather long and a little heavy for portable use while the 3.5mm plastic plug is of typical quality but on the other hand it doesn’t get tangled and it has low microphonic noise.

Accessories

Except for the tuning nozzles and the cable you also get three pairs of silicone ear-tips and a sturdy, hard, carrying case.

Power requirements and associated gear

With an impedance rating of 16Ω and 123dB/Vrms of sensitivity, the SIMGOT EA500 is very easy to drive and you can use it straight out from your phone’s 3.5mm jack.
Of course the SIMGOT EA500 can do much better as it scales pretty well and a USB DAC dongle is strongly recommended.
I have used the iBasso DC03 Pro , FiiO Q11 and iFi Go link  among others.
The EA500 was left playing music for about 100 hours before listening evaluation.

Listening impressions

Red nozzle

The SIMGOT EA500 with the red nozzle has an excellent tonal integrity and good frequency balance, cleverly avoiding any severe tonal shifts especially in the treble region.
The overall sound signature is that of a slightly warm and very enjoyable earphone that is quite forgiving and smooth while it still has enough energy and transparency for a more critical listening.

The bass is sufficiently extended and then follows a rather neutral curve without too much emphasis.
Thankfully this is not another Harman target IEM, the mid-bass is quite clear and well resolved without any serious audible masking and without bleeding into the mids.
The texture is rather lean, but not too dry, layering and definition are excellent for the category, the bass is tight and controlled, it can sound dynamic and quite impactful but there is a touch of echo and hollowness, nothing too serious though.
The overall bass tuning is quite realistic so the low pitched instruments of the orchestra are faithfully reproduced while the EA500 will satisfy with all kinds of music as long as you don’t seek boosted low end and subwoofer-type impact.

The mid-range sounds crystal clear, detailed and present, articulated and textured, mostly balanced, just slightly projected.
The EA500 is musical and engaging,it has a touch of sweetness in the mid-range, it is lush and organic with plenty of harmonic wealth.
You can easily distinguish the unique timbre of each instrument and the voice idiosyncrasies of a singer, like when listening to the absolutely stunning throating voice of Stéphanie d’Oustrac accompanied by the harp.

The treble balances between being smooth and energetic, it is luminous but not bright, airy and quite detailed but not analytical, extended but not emphasized.
The SIMGOT EA500 is transparent enough but not exposing, it is forgiving but not dark or veiled while the timbre is natural and realistic without sounding artificial or metallic.
This is not the most refined or resolving earphone but the overall performance is on par with the price point and the competition.

The SIMGOT EA500 has good texture consistency throughout the whole frequency range, the treble is not thinner sounding than the mids or the bass so the sound is very cohesive.
It is also surprisingly open sounding with plenty of air around the instruments, satisfying imaging and nice placement of the performers, at least in the horizontal axis because there is a certain lack of depth layering and holography.

Black nozzle

Switching to the black nozzle will get you to a more reference sound signature making the SIMGOT EA500 suitable for critical listening.
The differences are subtle and not night and day but easily audible.
The bass becomes a touch more neutral and gains in tightens, control and precision while the echo effect gets minimized.
The upper-mids and presence areas get an emphasis that adds some extra bite and energy in the treble, and favors female vocals and various solo instruments.
The differences in the tuning are discreet and the SIMGOT EA500 doesn’t become bright, sibilant or unforgiving, it just gains in clarity, luminosity, transparency and positioning accuracy while everything else remains pretty much unaffected.
This is still an enjoyable and musical sounding earphone with a smooth treble performance and a rather forgiving nature, the two sound nozzles are like variations on the same theme.

Compared to the FiiO JD7 ($79.99 to $99.99)

There are so many earphones at this price point that doing comparisons is rather vague but anyway I am including a brief one to the FiiO JD7

The FiiO JD7 is also very comfortable to wear and slightly more lightweight than the SIMGOT EA500 but both are really suitable for long listening sessions and have good passive noise attenuation too.
Both have excellent build quality and a nice looking appearance while they differ in the supplied accessories and the cable.
The SIMGOT EA500 is accompanied by a premium carrying case rather than the plastic one of the FiiO JD7 but the cable of the JD7 is of higher quality while it comes with seven pairs of eartips.

The tuning of the JD7 is as close as you can get to the Harman target curve while technicalities are on the same level with the SIMGOT EA500.
In the end it comes down to whether you prefer the Harman curve of the FiiO JD7 or the slightly more reference SIMGOT EA500 and the ability to fine tune the sound.

In the end

The sub $100 is getting very crowded lately with some really good sounding earphones but the SIMGOT EA500 can surely hold its own.
It is a well made and beautiful looking IEM which is comfortable to use and has a sound signature which effectively balances between critical and forgiving.
Additionally the two sound nozzles allow for an extra fine tuning, making it very versatile and suitable for listening to all kinds of music.

Test playlist

Copyright – Petros Laskis 2023.

Pros: + Balanced sound signature
+ Natural timbre
+ Clear sounding and quite forgiving but without lacking in transparency
+ Low distortion and good technicalities
+ The sound nozzles are effective and offer a meaningful fine tuning
+ Open sounding with good imaging
+ Easy to drive
+ Excellent build quality
+ Beautiful looking
+ Confirmable fit and good passive noise attenuation
+ Premium carrying case
+ Good quality cable albeit the plastic plug

Cons: – Not the last word in resolution and – refinement
– The bass is slightly lean and hollow
– The soundstage is horizontal without too much depth
– The cable is rather long and heavy for portable use
– The shiny surface can get easily scratched
Only one set of ear tips