By Nick Smith, 7th January 2024
Does a recipe for making great art exist? If it does, wouldn’t following it produce art that lacks originality and is no longer great?
As someone who enjoys earphones purely as a consumer I have no idea what goes into making them.
Is tuning IEMs a process of art or science, and is the final result all that matters?
Such thoughts occurred when SIMGOT reached out to me, offering to send a pair of their EM6L IEMs in exchange for a review. I assented, knowing nothing about the product and little of the brand. Whilst awaiting their arrival a friend casually mentioned a dreadful truth… the EM6L’s are Harman Tuned.
If you choose to stop reading this review now you have my full understanding and forgiveness.
The Harman Curve was created by Dr Sean Olive at Harman International, and is essentially recipe for tuning IEMs & headphones in a way researchers think will please the average listener. However this article articulates many common objections to the Harman Curve, and though consumers can find the recipe pleasing experienced audiophiles often regard it with disdain.
One way or another, this is set to be an interesting review. Buckle up!
Packaging
The USD $109 SIMGOT EM6Ls arrive in a small cardboard box, inside of which is an instruction manual, three sets of silicone eartips and a leather case that’s intelligently sized – realistically pocketable, yet roomy enough if you upgrade to a chunky 8 wire cable you won’t need something larger.
Speaking of cables the stock OFC silver-plated 2pin cable is disappointingly only available in a 3.5mm termination. I suppose that’s not unusual for budget IEMs, but in a world of DAPs with 4.4mm balanced connections which tend to sound better than their 3.5mm counterparts one wonders if offering consumers the choice of a 4.4mm cable even at additional cost wouldn’t have been appreciated.
I suppose the silver (excuse me, OFC) lining here is that only a relatively small percentage of the purchase price has been allocated to the cable, which is a fairly nondescript affair.
Ergonomics
Ergonomically the EM6Ls are a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand their polished shells are made of resin which you’d never guess from the weight which is quite substantial, and affords the EM6Ls a feeling of quality when handled. I can’t say if their durability is higher than that of other IEMs but their heft in the hand certainly lends that impression and I did not expect IEMs of this price to be finished so impressively.
It’s not all good news though. The 2pin sockets are raised, jutting out of the shells in a manner that mars their sleek appearance. The nozzles also lack raised lips to prevent eartips from sliding off, though thankfully they’re quite thick which mitigates that possibility to some extent. I also note the shells are vented, so pressure build-up should not be an issue.
Though small and smooth, the EM6Ls’ shells are not as sculpted to human ear geometry as we see in many IEMs, and this coupled with their weight renders obtaining a strong seal slightly more difficult, impacting comfort slightly. They definitely aren’t uncomfortable for me, but I wouldn’t claim comfort as one of their strengths either.
Page 1 – Introduction, Packaging & Ergonomics
Page 2 – Sound Impressions, Harman Target Thoughts & Technical Performance
Page 3 – IEM Comparisons
Page 4 – Cable Comparisons
Page 5 – Conclusion
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