In today’s review we will take a look at two products from SIMGOT. In the first part of it we will take a closer look at Simgot EM2 Roltion IEM and in the second part we will talk about Simgot DEW1 portable DAC. Both units were kindly provided by SIMGOT in exchange for my honest review. As always I’m not paid to say anything in particular about the products and all thoughts and opinions in today’s episode are my own.
The Simgot EM2 Roltion is a dual driver IEM from Simgot. This is an updated version of their previous EM2 IEM and it features one 10mm carbon nanotube diaphragm dynamic driver and 1 balanced armature. The headphones come in a beautiful pencil style box. On the front of the sleeve there is a illustration of a girl, who by the way is a ‘Luo Shen’. In the ancient Chinese legends, she’s a goddess of joy & sorrow, and also a symbol of love. On the back of the sleeve there is information about the IEMs and list of technical specifications.
Inside the box:
- Simgot EM2 Roltion IEMs
- A de-attachable 2-pin 0.78mm cable
- 2 sets of silicone ear tips with 3 ear tips sizes each
- Leather storage case with magnetic lid
- Lou Shen badge
- Welcome card
- Manual
- And a warranty card
I liked the selection of accessories and the unboxing experience was quite pleasant too. The SIMGOT EM2 Roltion use two drivers, 10mm carbon nanotube diaphragm dynamic driver and one Knowles 33518 balanced armature driver. The impedance is 32 Ohms and sensitivity is 109 dB.
Design, build and accessories
Design-wise I like how SIMGOT EM2 Roltion looks. The shells are large, they have an oval shape and are made out of plastic. In addition there is a nice looking metal face plate on each shell giving this pair of IEMs quite a distinctive look
The plastic of the shell is transparent, and if you look closely you can see the driver configuration. Dynamic driver is placed closer to the center of the IEM. The balanced armature is placed in the nozzle. There is a also a one vent on the inside of each shell. The nozzles are made from metal, they are on a longer side and are quite thick. There is a metal mesh at the end of each nozzle and also a small lip that helps to retain the ear tips.
The left and right channel markings are also printed at the top of each shell next to connectors, but unfortunately they are really hard to see.The shells have quite ergonomic shape, they are light, and they fit my ears well. The nozzles are on a longer side and quite thick which will be a problem if you have a narrow ear canal.
Ear tips
The SIMGOT EM2 Roltion come with two sets of ear tips. The first set is called transparent and it has larger bores. As a result it enhances mids, provides better resolution and makes the sound more natural. The second set is called Balanced and it has more narrow bores. It enhances low frequencies, and makes the IEMs sound more warm & thick. I have been testing this pair mostly with a transparent set.
The stock ear tips are of average quality, and surprisingly they are really hard to put on the nozzles. I managed to get a comfortable fit with the stock ear tips, but still, using this pair for example with Spinfit CP145 gives me a better fit and comfort.
Cable
The cable that comes with IEM is quite good. It’s a 4 core silver plated cable with a straight 3.5 mm connector on one end, and two 0.78 2-pin connectors on the other ends. It also features Y-splitter and chin slider and both are made from aluminum.
Overall cable quality is quite good, it’s low in microphonics but unfortunately it’s very prone to tangling.
Difference between Simgot EM2 and EM2 Roltion
First of all the shell of Simgot EM2 Roltion is more rounded and more ergonomic. As a result it provides a better comfort. EM2R also uses a 3rd generation carbon nanotube diaphragm dynamic driver that provides a better resolution, speed & control. And in addition the EM2R uses a Knowles 33518 balanced armature with a removed nozzle.This makes EM2R a bit more bright, but at the same time more resolving than the previous version
Simgot EM2 Roltion IEM sound impressions
Please note that all sound impressions I’m sharing on my channel are completely subjective so please take them with a grain of salt.
Simgot EM2 Roltion has a V shaped tuning (some people will call it a W shape tuning) with boosted bass, slightly recessed mids and quite energetic treble. This results in a very pleasant tonality and engaging sound and in addition this pair has a very good instrument separation and clarity for it’s price.
The bass on pair is elevated, so it’s far from being neutral. It’s quite fast, and I liked it’s note weight and texture. Sub bass extension is excellent, it has a good impact and weight. Mid-bass provides a good amount of punch, it sounds really natural with many genres of music and I liked how double bass drum sounded on heavier songs. The pair also handles bass heavy music really well and it sounds fantastic with EDM. Overall I’m pleased with the bass response on this pair and I think a lot of people will like it too
The mid range on Simgot EM2 Roltion is a bit recessed and it lacks a bit of body and note weight. But some bass bleed into mids slightly improves this situation. Upper mid range is a little boosted. It’s not harsh or sibilant but on some recordings it was really close to it. Vocals, especially male vocals, lack some note weight, but they are still detailed and sit well in the mix. The timbre of instruments is good and overall the mids have a good definition and texture, they just lack a bit of note weight.
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Treble is also a good aspect of Simgot EM2 Roltion tuning, and the treble extension is quite good. It has enough of air & sparkle and as a result, the overall treble presentation is very lively and energetic. If you are treble sensitive, you need to be careful with this pair, as on some recordings the treble might be hot. Detail retrieval is good, and I was also pleasantly surprised with the micro-details retrieval.
Sound stage size is about average, and it’s more wide than deep and the music sounds slightly out of your head. In addition, due to well controlled bass, recessed mids and crisp treble, the sound stage feels more expansive than it is. Imaging is okay for the price, but instrument separation is very good. The overall clarity is good, detail retrieval is also good, and micro-details retrieval is above average.
Conclusions
In my opinion, Simgot EM2 Roltion is a very engaging, fun and musical pair of IEMs. It’s has a lively and dynamic sound, with a well extended bass and quite detailed treble
Pros:
- Good design & ergonomic shape
- Open and spacious sound
- Low frequencies have a good impact and energy
- Very good instrument separation, clarity and detail retrieval
- IEMs are comfortable for long listening sessions
- And come in a nice package with a lot of accessories
Cons:
- Long and thick nozzles might be a deal breaker for some people
- Stock ear-tips are hard to put on the nozzles
- Lower mids lack some note weight
- And treble can be a little hot if you are a treble-sensitive person
Despite a few small cons, Simgot EM2 Roltion is a very musical pair of IEMs that provides a very good instrument separation, clarity and detail retrieval in it’s price range While the competition is very stiff in this price bracket. I think Simgot did a really good job with the tuning, and their dual driver configuration sounds powerful, crisp and refreshing.
Now let’s proceed to the second part of this review and take a close look at Simgot DEW1 portable DAC/AMP
At the heart of the dongle, we have ES9270C DAC chip from ESS. DAC supports PCM decoding up 384khz at 32-bits and has a Native support for DSD128. DEW1 comes shipped in a white carton box. On the front of the box there is a branding. And on the back of the box there is a list of technical specifications
In the box:
- Simgot DEW1 DAC
- Basic USB-C to USB-A adapter
- and a manual
The DAC chipset is ESS ES9270C DAC, and offers frequency response range: 20hz to 40Khz. THD+N is 0.0007% and SNR is 117 dB which is quite impressive. The maximum output power per specification is 61mW@32Ω
Design wise Simgot DEW1 looks like your typical USB-C dongle. The metal casing gives DEW1 both sturdiness and the ability to shield the device from external electromagnetic interference. The metal used in the build has a glossy finish and it picks up fingers prints easily. It has an ESS logo on the main enclosure and the SIMGOT logo on 3.5 connector enclosure.
The overall length of the dongle with the cable is 130 mm and the cable is non de-attachable which can be a deal breaker for some people. The weight of the DEW1 is just 8g. The DAC/AMP has has 1 headphone output which is a 3.5mm single ended port the USB Connection type is USB-C.
Pairings, controls and my user experience
I was mainly using DEW1 with my Samsung S10 running android 12 and USB Audio Player Pro (UAPP). When I connected the Simgot DEW1 to my S10 it was detected right away. When you disconnect the headphones from DEW1, it pauses the music and when you reconnect the headphones, it automatically resumes the playback which is a good a good feature to have. This also means the device has an idle mode which is good for your phone battery.
DEW1 is quite power efficient DAC/AMP and at the same time it provides great performance and enough power for non-demanding headphones & IEMs. The DAC/AMP provides 61mW at 32Ω, which is quite standard at this price point and form factor. When I was using it with my IEMs, the average volume was around 60% and there was still a lot of headroom left.
I also tested this DAC with a few of my full-size cans (particularly 250 ohm Beyerdynamic DT 1770, 300 ohm Sennhesier HD 6XX, and HIFIMAN Sundara which has relatively low impedance but it also has a very low sensitivity! With this trio I had to turn the volume to 100% and I can tell you, that with all three pairs I was really close to my comfort levels of volume. But there was no additional headroom left as well as performance wise all three pairs were missing some presentation.
That being said, with less demanding full-size headphones DEW1 will perform really well and it will still have some headroom left.
Simgot DEW1 sound impressions
The DEW1 surprised me with it’s punchy, and resolving sound. Switching from Samsung S10 onboard DAC to DEW1 was quite a difference. DEW1 offers natural, clean and very transparent sound signature. I also didn’t notice any audible noise with IEMs which is really good
Low frequencies are well extended, the bass is thick, fast and detailed. The mid-range has a good body and note weight, and the mids sound very natural. And also there is enough clarity in the mid-range, which I liked a lot. The treble is well extended too, it has enough energy and sparkle, resulting in a clean and transparent presentation
Conclusions
Simgot DEW1 is a tiny, flexible, and very good sounding DAC.
Pros:
- Enough power to drive a lot of IEMs and many full size headphones
- Well balanced and natural sound signature
- Excellent technical abilities
- And the DAC has a music pause/play feature when you disconnect/reconnect the headphones
Cons:
- Glossy finish easily picks up finger prints
- USB-C connector on my unit was not the best quality
- And the device gets warm almost immediately
Overall I think that SIMGOT managed to make a well-balanced, quite powerful and natural sounding DAC under 50 US dollars. It pairs well with many headphones and it particularly shines with SIMGOT’s own EM2R IEMs that I reviewed in the the first part of this episode.
And that concludes my review for today. If you want to see more content like this consider subscribing to my YouTube channel for future updates. Thank you for joining me, and until next time, goodbye!
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