An Unexpected Surprise
PROS:
Highly resolving
More than capable technicalities
Speed performance of DD driver
Desirable bump in the mid-bass frequencies
Commendable treble extension
Fun and unique packaging with extra inclusions
Easy to drive
Rightfully placed mids
Detail retrieval
CONS:
Shallow fit might not be for everyone
Price
Smudge and scratch magnet
INTRODUCTION:
Sonic Memory, a new player in the audio world. It is the first time I’ve heard of them and somewhat affiliated to NF audio. Partnered with Widing technology which I’m not familiar also. I’m skeptic at first to be reviewing an IEM from an unknown brand but this caught me by surprise. Big time. A friend and co-reviewer, Eric Lab, was impressed with this and I find myself on the same page with him. When I was doing some background checks, a guy reviewed SM2 and it was the only review published at the time. I can tell you that we will be having different opinions on this, yet at the same time will have similar impressions. Why don’t we move on and find out.
DISCLAIMER:
The gear on hand has undergone at least 10-15 hours of use before it was assessed.
No EQ is ever applied in my reviews.
For the sake of convenience, I try my best to use a stock setup. Not everyone has access to personal ear tips or cables. If personal ear tips, cables, or accessories are used, you will be notified.
As I try to be objective, my claims inevitably will be subjective and biased to my personal preference. I cannot stress more that you should take this with a grain of salt for we have different perceptions to sound and what we hear.
SETUPS:
Blue ear tips was used. Wide bores.
LG V30 quad dac with Centrance Dacport HD via Hiby music app
Macbook Pro 2011 with VE Megatron on 3.5mm connection via Foobar for offline flacs, Tidal and Qobuz subscriptions for streaming.
Hidizs Ap80 pro DAP
Stock cable was used.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Configuration: 1 x 10mm Dynamic Driver
Impedance: 16ohms
Sensitivity: 103db
Freq response: 10hz - 40khz
PACKAGING:
Right off the bat, the packaging comes huge in size. And I mean quite huge for a set of IEMs. The concept is a lunch box or should we call it, a bento. Upon opening the outer black box, you will be greeted with an audio CD. I imported it using Itunes to ALAC format and it consists of 12 tracks of different genres to try SM2 with. Now on to the main show, the lunch box. There are three layers here. The first layer consists of a spoon and chopsticks. I know, right? Like what the? LOL I cannot grasp the full concept of this presentation but hey, I love surprises and upon reading the outer box, NF audio was responsible for the storage box. Diving deeper, we come to the relevant goodies. Upper box consists of the following.
Ear tips. Blue color are wide bores in 3 sizes. Pink color are stiff ones with regular bore in 3 sizes as well.
Sonic Memory post card
Instruction manual
2 black cardboard with instruction how to replace the damping filter
Lower box consists of the following.
the IEMs themselves, SM2
1.2m 5N+6N OCC Litz cable
Lunch box holder or cloth band to hold the boxes together
SOUND IMPRESSIONS:
The SM2 was claimed to be neutral before I listened to it. And I was quite expecting that. But I will take a different route here. As much as I respect every reviewer’s opinions, I would describe SM2 in a slightly different manner and description.
What I heard initially is a bassy set according to my ears and I was confused. I’m a believer of burn-in, and so I thought things would calm down after a good amount of playback. And it did.
SM2 has a sweet spot for mid-bass. This is probably the best presentation of mid-bass in terms of single DD’s. Drum kicks are well-pronounced and the same goes for bass guitars. TR-808 drum kicks and Moog synth basses have good rumble but rolls off quickly. SM2 might not favor EDM tracks that well if you are a legit bass head but for neutral heads, this will be a treat. Acoustic bass from jazz tracks are well defined even though upright bass or contrabass falls on the borderline of mid-bass and sub-bass territory. Attacks are well executed giving a very clean sound reproduction that never felt muddy with the right amount of decay and realism. Tone and timbre never sounded unreal or synthetic and as expected from a DD driver, being organic and natural comes effortlessly.
Pianos, guitars both electric or acoustic, organs, rhodes, and vocals on both genders are favored equally, are accurately presented with supreme clarity and density. Mids does not possess any recessed nature but rather perfectly placed at the center. Of course, tracks are all mixed differently and SM2 portrayed their placement and location with precision. I can say mids does not have any coloration as my favorite instruments all sounded realistic without overly being too dense or thin. With the right amount of attack and decay, mids are precise and ticked my fetish being mid-centric.
Good constraint and control are what I’ll give the trebles. Not overly bright yet not veiled all the same. Chimes, bells, cymbals, and brass sections are hovering rightly with enough energy to be open and airy. No compromise in details be on macro and micro. If I have to nitpick, I wished there would have been just a tiny bit of grit and bite but that would hurt treble sensitives. It never became a chore here on top. Female vocalists with added vocal ranges are well covered here making SM2 a versatile player in terms of vocals. Those micro details I was talking about? Well, they are not as forward as I like them to be but it is there. Trebles have a sense of laid-back nature and less aggressive hence, making trebles very safe for sensitives. I’m sensitive to rock tracks thus the reason I don’t listen that much to this genre, yet SM2 was able to allow me to finish an album of Incubus leaving me with no listening fatigue.
Conclusively, I can’t find any fault in the whole spectrum of frequencies in the way SM2 presented each. A nitpick would be the lows could have been snappier but that is just me. Ultimately, I personally can’t claim this a neutral-sounding IEM but rather a well-executed balanced set. It reminded me greatly of Tforce Yuan Li, another great IEM. To my ears, SM2 performs brilliantly in most genres thus being a good contender in “all-rounder” category. Mid-bass have a slight bump, mids with the right amount of density, and trebles with good constraint and control, all effectively working cohesively. Polished with the right amount of smoothness and not overly edgy giving SM2 that hint of being relaxed without sacrificing technicalities where we will be moving on to next.
TECHNICALITIES:
When I was starting in this hobby and learned that reviewing gears is not all about tonality, I became focused and obsessed with technicalities. There are some aspect I favor more than the other and I often look for in a gear.
Detail retrieval is one that I tend to look for on a gear straight away. And details with SM2 are quite high and spectacular. Macro and micro details are evidently present. I’m always on the watch on hearing new elements surfacing and while there was no new surprises to my ears, those small nuances are presented accurately and precise. Furthermore, SM2 is highly resolving and brings into light what needs to be highlighted. Albums from Bill Evans which is mostly from his live performances are far from being a perfect recording and SM2 delivered those imperfections quite nicely. Imaging is very realistic and most of the time on point. Before I reviewed SM2, I just came from auditioning a mid-range IEM the Audiosense AQ7 Insight and that IEM is precision at its finest. While I can say the SM2 is inferior in some ways, still, placement of instruments here is something to brag about. Performance of the drivers are speedy and never fell behind with complex tracks. It gave me satisfaction listening to high-speed tracks like Harper Lewis by Russian Circles and Stress by Pain of Salvation. Layering is nothing short of brilliant and gave me the space of each instrument which will benefit me as a musician, deciphering chordal harmonies. Sound stage which is the least of my priorities, is still commendable but there was nothing awesome or that made me stop in my tracks. Sound stage is one technical aspect I find hard to describe as I both enjoy wide and intimate presentations. If it is not stupendously wide, then its average to my ears.
Conclusively, SM2 is a very highly technical set and it is by far the best DD IEM I have in these terms. Besting my two single DD favorites, the Tforce Yuan li and Bqeyz Autumn. We will have a good comparing with these sets later on.
FIT & ISOLATION:
If you are into deep insertion, SM2 is not your cup of tea. Similar with Bqeyz fit and seal which I am familiar with did not bother me at all. It is a welcome fitting on my side and I was not forced to any adjustments. Naturally, seal and isolation is not that great but fear not, optimum seal is still achievable with the right tips and isolating your listening pleasure is still decent. I have nothing to complain on comfort and I found myself even laying in bed with SM2 with my head on one side. The rectangular shape made me skeptical and by surprise, it did not give me any problems with wear.
COMPARISONS:
Let’s get started with one of your favorite section on reviews. Let’s admit it, we love comparisons and while I personally avoid this for I embrace each gear as it is, comparisons is an effective way to guide you which ones will fall on your preference. Here I decided to compare SM2 head to head with two of my all time favorite single DD’s.
TRACKS: Hermosa Skyline by David Benoit, East of the Sun by Diana Krall, That’s the Way of the World by Earth, Wind, and Fire
SETUP: Macbook Pro 2011, Centrance Dacport HD, Qobuz Studio
against Tforce Yuan Li:
SM2 has a more pronounced mid-bass
SM2 has better treble extension.
Yuan li sounded darker
Yuan li has a more forward mids presentation
Speed managed to be the same on both
SM2 has a relaxed presentation, Yuan li is on the edgy side
Both offers very natural and organic sound
Surprisingly, Diana Krall sounded more natural with SM2 than Yuan li
Yuan li has leaner lows. Aimed towards neutral signature.
Separation favors Yuan li just by a miniscule margin.
Conclusively, SM2 beats Yuan li in terms of natural presentation, especially on vocals. Technicalities are on the same page. SM2 sounded polished and had a hint of smoothness, while Yuan li tended to be edgy and aggressive.
against Bqeyz Autumn (on normal filters):
Autumn beats SM2 on sound stage
Both possess a very similar balanced sound signature
Autumn has better treble extension by a small margin
SM2’s trebles are safer for sensitives. Autumn might go overboard for some
Both are well-detailed in texture, speed, and resolution
Diana Krall sounded very natural on both
SM2 again is on the relaxed side of things, Autumn is aggressive by a small margin
Piano sounded almost the same on both gears
Mids have a bit of forwardness with Autumn than SM2
Conclusively, this comparison caught me by surprise. They are near identical in sound! What sets them apart are the trebles being Autumn a brighter set. The quantity and quality of lows are 95% the same, and the mids are a bit forward with Autumn. Treble sensitive? Pick SM2. Both are technically the same and almost identical.
SOURCES AND GEARS:
LG V30 Quad dac
Hiby Music player
UAPP app (USB Audio Player Pro)
Tidal Masters subscription
Qobuz Studio subscription
offline FLACS
Hidizs AP80 pro
Centrance Dacport dongle
VE Megatron DAC-AMP
MacBook Pro 2011
iPhone 7 plus
Here are some tracks I usually listen to when reviewing:
That’s the way of the World by EWF
Africa by TOTO
The Girl in the Other Room by Diana Kral
Balmorhea album All is wild, All is Silent
Sila by Sud
Smooth Escape by D’Sound
Never too Much by Luther Vandross
P.Y.T by Michael Jackson
Ain’t no Sunshine by Eva Cassidy
Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC
Another one bites the Dust by Queen
Good times bad times by Edie Brickell
Alice in Wonderland by Bill Evans
Ain’t it Fun by Paramore
Redefine by Incubus
Far Away by Nickelback
Lovesong by Adele
Lingus by Snarky Puppy
Harvest for the World by Vanessa Williams
Love Bites by Def Leppard
No Such Thing by John Mayer
As by Stevie Wonder
Whip Appeal by Babyface
Ain’t Nobody by Chaka Khan
Futures by Prep
Landslide by Fleetwood Mac
Every Summertime by NIKI
SADE tracks
AC/DC tracks
Queen tracks
Russian Circles tracks
Daft punk tracks
And many more… I always listen to High resolution format, being the least quality 16bit/44khz FLACS be it offline or online.
VERDICT:
SonicMemory, you have made something special here I can tell that much. This will be a welcome addition to my rotation and is definitely a keeper. It tickled my fetish as a mid-centric and as a treble-sensitive. The lows are my only nitpick. I wished it could have been a tad bit punchier and thuddy.
As far as technicalities are concerned, SM2 satisfied me more than I expected. This completes my holy trinity of single DD’s IEMs. It surpassed my old-time favorite Tforce Yuan Li when it comes to realism and natural sound and it almost dethroned my beloved Bqeyz Autumn. Safe to say, this is one of the best releases when it comes to single DD configuration.
I would strongly recommend SM2:
to those who want a good balance of tonality and technicalities
to those who desire an all-rounder set
this will cater both audiences, casual and hard-core audiophiles
to those who find joy in intricate details
to those who prefer single DD driver configuration
Is the price point justified? If you have 240$, don’t miss this one. Yes the price point is quite steep, and you have the Bqeyz Autumn to consider and will be saving you 40$, with the versatility to change magnetic filters to tune according to your preference.
I look forward to future releases from this company. You guys over there are in a very very good start.
SM2 deserves praises and a hype and I’m being totally honest.
I would like to give credit and thanks to Pickup Audio for sending SM2 to me. You can check out their store here.
Aliexpress Store: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1102158016
Shopee Store PH: https://shopee.ph/pickupaudio.ph
I’m wrapping this one up and catch you on the next one. Thank you for reading!
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