@@PaulWasabii Tried ur tips about the Eq on this. Especially a little more midbass was nice and EQ at about 15k took away the little "shine" or "shoutyness" at higher volume on this for me. It went from a little underwhelming to my favorite iem that I can use for everything now. Selling everything else. Amazing allrounder. Thank you!
I have these. They are tuned like the EA1000, but with more spread out sound. The bass is very good, textured, detailed, well controlled, and the weight is quite balanced with the top end. The treble is very detailed, and never harsh. It’s slightly on the bright side. Driver integration is great, it doesn’t sound like 4 driver types inside. But the treble coherency with the other parts of the spectrum is a little bit affected by the slightly bright nature of the trebles. Technically easily matches other 300-400 dollar sets. My only issue with it is, well, typical mid-bass tuck of Harmon tuning, which gives more separation at the expense of sense of fullness. All in all, a very good Harmon set, but i prefer the ea1000 more intimate soundstage which gives more sense of fullness.
Yeah, you hit a few key points. The EA1000 is a tough one to beat as I said. Not everyone agrees with that but when it pairs well with your ears, can be better than SM4. And yes to everything else you said, the Harman parts of it, the tuck, the slightly over treble, pretty much what I did in EQ. Just small changes make a big difference on a set of very nice drivers.
@@PaulWasabii Yes I agree the technicalities of the SM4 is extremely high for the price. And the integration of the drivers are pretty well done. If one manages to get the tone to his liking, it could be an end game set.
@@PaulWasabii If the supermix4 had a bit more mid bass and a little less pinna gain I would be all over this set. As it is now too much of the Simgot “house sound”. I have been purposely steering away from “Harman” sets for over a year now as well.
@@fiddlix same here. also tired of harman and only looking for something different. Luckily some more "relaxed harman" tuned iems are coming out. I'm betting more will come.
Great review as always! Simgot keeps pumping out some pretty nice and consistant IEMs. EQ is a mighty powerful tool! I just haven't been using it much for listening.
You’re becoming one my favorite iem reviewers. With 16 iems, and now using the Doscincos and Meteors 99% of the time and quite content, I don’t seek out new iems as much as the past. You do a great job covering budget sets and it’s nice seeing you branch out a bit. As your channel grows, companies will be sending you more expensive sets. Your concise and straight delivery is so welcome. Was intrigued with the Supermix but I need more than harman bass and hate the mid bass tuck. Hoping you can review the Dunu DaVinci, one of the few these days I’m interested in. And btw what ever happened to the Timeless 2? Was hyped late last year and still nothing..any insight? It’s supposed to be a bass beast.
The Doscinco is f’in fantastic, I use them more than my hype 4 becausw they don’t make me as nervous about sweating into them lol. They sound so close though
@@Hijynx87 yeah the Hype 4 looks too close to consider for me. The Doscincos should be the iem of 2024 but it’s already a solid year with a lot of competition. Just hope more impressive basshead sets come out, but seriously - the Doscincos will make your other iems sound bland, while still being a chill all day listen. I don’t know how they did it and under $300. I’m hoping Ziigaat makes an EST version of them. Same 2 DD, 2 mid BA's, but instead of the ultra high BA, use 2 ESTs. Charge $400. Insta buy. Would dominate at that level.
Timeless 2 is still in the oven. The midbass tuck is hard to avoid, also why I keep EQ'ing sets. The 2DD sets are changing that as you don't need to tuck as hard. Some brand will figure that out. Davinci is possible, I am hoping HifGo will tour it, but getting Pilgrim Noir first which might have some midbass, Thank you
Good review Paul, I got the EM10 first and if the SM4 is Harmon on rails the EM10 is Harmon on LSD. Nozzle filter helped huge but getting tired of throwing a 500 filter on every Simgot! I hope the SM4 is better for me.
Yeah 500 probably works on SM4 too but I didn't try. The pair of sets are interesting in that I do wonder if people will like one more than the other. At first glance, I probably like EM10 more than you so now I am super curious on your SM4. The EQ I used on SM4 isn't a good fit on EM10. I have no idea actually, SM4 sounded more like the graph, EM10 not as much.
My sm4 has a bloaty bass or recessed upper mids and trebles when plugged directly to my phone and laptop. It works properly when I use a dac/amp dongle. I thought this was an easy to drive set with 7.25 ohm impedance Edit: I just learned it actually needs a lower output impedance source than the iem's impedance to sound what it should be
@@PaulWasabiiWhat does this mean? Im new to iems, what type of dac would work with the sm4 to make it work? I want to connect to the sm4 to a dac and then the dac to p.c.
@@DevilDaRebel Which Apple dongle dac do you have there's two the one with apple lightning and the one with the usb c. Use the usb c one to plug into the usb c port in your pc. You can google what it looks like. Then just plug the iem into the dongle 3.5 jack.
I used foobar so the only thing it exports is a text file that looks like below. Basically offset values on the sliders for the frequencies you see in the pic. -2 -1 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 -1 -1 -1 -1 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2
Thanks Paul, new to your channel and really enjoying your reviews, also find your responses to the comments insightful. I'm reasonably new to the iem space, isn't almost everything Harman of some flavour? Wondering if you could give me a couple of examples of good modified Harman or non-Harman iems at around the $150-200 price point.
Yes, you can't win either way. If you just call everything Harman, then people get annoyed when it doesn't strictly follow the target. Essentially you are looking for sets with more of a bass glide, both subbass and midbass and sub10db pinna area. I think AFUL Explorer might have both of those, but I don't have it or looked closely. Elysian Pilgrim was half, bass was right on, treble lower. Tangzu Fudu, more bass, less treble. Cadenza 4, similar but not Harman. Simgot and sometimes KZ tend to point out when they try to hit H2019.
Love the review! Was debating if I splurge on the SuperMix 4 but the tuning ultimately killed it for me; not a fan of anything Harman honestly. Curious though on what would be your 150$ kings regarding other tuning preferences?
If you aren't a fan of Harman, most of Simgot are out. $100 kings might be CCA Hydro. AFUL Explorer is just coming out. There was never really a $150 king, there were some ok sets, and lots with problems. I am hoping SM4, Explorer, Hydro, and others to come are re-vamping that bracket as it really wasn't good.
I'm still looking for a good midbass. Most of the iems I've seen don't have midbass. I have the Ikko OH10s, the bass is very good, but the treble is very sharp. I think I will wait for a sale and try Dunu Davinci or BGVP NS9. Maybe the best option is use EQ and don't waste money haha
Honestly learning basic eq is probably your best bet. We hear and perceive sound differently, listen to different music and have different preferences.
As someone who enjoys warm iems like qkz x hbb and owns the EW200 and did not enjoy the brightness and bit lack of bass, would the EM6L be a better purchase than the MX4? Is the brightness from the MX4 very noticeable or does it have some warm to it?
Yeah EM6L is closer to that. Simgot doesn't really do warm, they do Harman targets which are leaner, brighter. EM6L is more of a modified Harman, more midbass, lower upper mid.
If it's tuned like the Quintet, then the right tips can make a difference. I wasn't impressed with the tips that shipped with the Quintet, but after trying a few other 3rd party tips, it really came into focus (auditorily).
If you were to try this eq out Preamp: -3.0 dB Filter 1: ON PK Fc 120 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 0.700 Filter 2: ON PK Fc 3200 Hz Gain -2.0 dB Q 1.000 Does it end up slamming comparable to the CKLVX or the Dusk ?
Eh, my CKLVX was not good. DD was really not good. Dusk is still better if you nitpick it as the treble resolution all the way out is really good. Some people are willing to pay the extra for that and the 2DD, others will be fine EQ'ing SM4. As I said, if you are EQ'ing both, they are better than most reviews will describe them, especially Dusk. Dusk is really good but 2-3X more money.
@@PaulWasabii Ive seen other reviews mention that even with EQ the Supermix 4 bass still ends up being quite pillowy , thats the only reason im holding back on going with it and was curious if you can confirm that or not
With those two, it still comes down to balance. LM is not a bass prominent set, SM4 is much better on balance. LM does some things really well, but bass, not the reason to get LM.
I have the EA500LM and I love them Paul, did you think that the SuperMix4 is a real and tangible upgrade? or is it preferible to look forward to the SimgotEM10? Thanks :)
Yeah wait for EM10 or EQ your 500LM. Kinda what I said about Dusk, there is an improvement, but a couple hundred dollars for a slight return is probably not worth it. Most people are going to notice the tuning changes and not the mix of drivers when they upgrade to SM4 which is why I say EQ will hold you over for a while on 500LM.
Not really as I use Foobar. It is simplistic graphic EQ, just -1db in the down parts, up 2db in the up. And then A/B. Your source will make a difference. You can autoeq to dark magician and then reduce the gain values so it sits between the two.
That is the issue, there isn't really a $200 king. One that stuck with me, Cadenza 4 because it has less pinna, 6-7dc at 2k so it doesn't really need more midbass, but it sounded better with a bit more. The DD is nice, the BAs are nice. Just because it doesn't grab you with hyped treble doesn't mean its not good. I actually thought DaVinci was going to take the spot but seems like reviews are mixed. Kinda what I said about SM4, the DD/bass range is critical to pulling off a hybrid and if that is off, it throws it all off. We'll see as more reviews come out. I haven't heard the Ziigaats either, maybe one has the right bass curve.
It isn't hard to drive and dongles aren't my thing. I prefer ESS DAC based dongles though like the Celest CD-20 I reviewed. If it is your first one, don't spend a ton of money on it.
Not easily as I use foobar. I also hesitate to do that as EQ is something you should experiment. You can see the frequencies that Foobar EQ uses and I rarely move more than 3db. The foobar values are: -2 -1 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 -1 -1 -1 -1 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2
I have it, but in the box. My in the box thought, I am not convinced as the graph is similar and good chance I would end up EQ'ing it also. That usually doesn't make sense at $400 and at $400, I want the same attention to male and female vocals. We'll see, maybe it is better out of the box without EQ.
Hey paul, thanks much for the review.. do you think that this is an upgrade to EW200?? And how does supermix 4 compare with EW200 in terms of resolution and technicalities???
@@skustaclee8899 hey brother, thanks for the clarification.. in some review pages they said because of its low impedance the output impedance of the source should be this much and that and it alters the sound blah blah blah.. to me it's a bit confusing as am not much into these kind of in depth stuff.. but I do have Kiwi ears allegro, EPZ TP50 dongle DACs as my daily sources. Will these be enough to drive this IEM to its full potential?? Or will these impact anything in the sound signature?? I am a bit afraid that it may sound worse after reading all these source nd impedance stuff 😕 can you please share your thoughts, if you can help like what do you think nd what do you suggest?? Thanks in advance brother, have a great day..
@@razz_v95 The EPZ TP50 will surely more than enough to drive the Supermix 4 since it has 121mW of power in 3.5mm single ended output and 240mW of power in 4.4mm balanced mode and it has independent 2 Amplifier chips (which is one of the powerful Dongle DAC nowadays along with Hiby FC6, Ibasso DC04 Pro, Fiio KA 13, Shanling UA4 etc.) but i tried to search for both of their output impedance rate and unfortunately i cannot see it. The thing is the rule of 8, you need atleast lower than 0.7 output impedance to make the overall tonality of the Supermix 4 to shine as it is, if not, it will sound bassy, recessed mids and treble. And as far as i know the only capable DAC that's powerful and also analogue sounding which like the same performance as that EPZ TP50 is the Ibasso DC04 Pro, which is 0.2 output impedance rate only in 3.5mm single ended and 0.4 output impedance rate in 4.4 balanced which scales well to any IEM with atleast stupid impedance rates.
Not sure if you'd the chance to test out the Chopin, but wondering how these 2 might compare. Coming from a Sonus, I feel like this would be right up my alley. But you think it's worth the "upgrade" to get this? But your comment about the lower mids and mid bass being lacking in this type of tuning, makes me think you'd enjoy the Da Vinci. Hope you get a set soon!
I don't have Chopin, they don't trust me enough to send that one. Yeah DaVinci on paper looks better, but I am also kinda crazy with sets that add too much subbass and don't have a quality driver. Two reviews already mentioned the bass in a way that makes me think I won't be a fan.
@PaulWasabii that is an absolute joke about them not sending you a Chopin for review. But hope Dunu sends you a Da Vinci. Obviously twice the price of the Supermix, but still an important comparison.
Possible I guess. I had sent my set out to a few reviewers, I'll see if Michael Bruce can check when he gets it. The bigger issue is sensitivity to impedance imo.
With Supermix4, it is the tuning, that Harman target has a particular sound which is different that Hydro and S12. If you are into genres like Kpop which align well to the Harman target, SM4 is a great choice. Other genres of music don't work as well with Harman targets and you will be better off with Hydro or S12 Pro
The issue is two are like ice cream flavors. Supermix 4 is Harman 2019 flavored, that has a distinct sound, leaner and more energetic. Hydro isn't as lean, different bass style, and more resolving as it has a lot of BAs. I am not a strict Harman fan and I think Hydro is a great value at its price. If you like Harman styles, energetic female vocals, less midbass, SM4 is right on it.
Doesn't require it but as I said, it is sensitive to impedance so some phones or laptops might have higher impedance and you will end up with more bass. Dongles tend to be lower impedance so just happens to be useful in this case if you phone sounds very bassy
I'd still go with Dusk. I know that isn't the popular choice, but it is up there. I haven't heard Mega5EST, kinda right there as well. Those are the two that came to mind. Hype 4 maybe. I don't know how you would choose among them as they are all a bit different.
In the first few minutes, Hydro will sound more resolving. That isn't SM4's specialty. Some of what I said about Dusk applies to Hydro, 2DD and lots of drivers has an advantage. Some people will hate Hydro's bass curve, will prefer SM4. Hydro is a bigger shell. I can make the case for either set and would be happy with either.
Yes, this is why I mentioned most sets are modified Harman like EW200, it is slightly bass boosted. SM4 is effectively brighter. From EW200, if you want less bright, more subbass, that is more like Kefine Delci.
@@PaulWasabii yeah thanks, asking because most reviewers say the sm4 is smooth and rumbles nicely which is confusing because from the graph looks like boosted upper mids and treble just like the ew200.
Simgot really tends to push the treble pretty hard, so it is nice to see them pull it back a bit. I own three Simgot sets, and they all a bit bright. Dusk without the DSP is pretty meh.
You can buy an impedance adapter, that will make it warmer. The Zero:Red included a 10ohm which would be ideal to get you a different sound. You can try a tuning filter or micropore tape on the nozzle too, basically drop the treble a bit and hope it sounds warmer.
Depends. If you like EA500LM keep it. If you found it too bright, SM4 is better. Where most people have an issue is that brightness of EA500LM. It really needs the Simgot DIY kit to dial it into your ears.
Yeah, my preference is more neutral tuning like Cadenza4. Strict Harman just drags male vocals up a bit that will eventually annoy me. Not a Supermix specific thing, but generally modified Harman works better.
Seeing harman after harman makes me felt very fatigue about this hobby. Maybe newbies like those agressive uppers mids to lower treble alot. thanks for the good objective review paul.
Without proper pinna gain you don't have natural instruments timbre and energy. You have no idea what you are talking about. Ive tried to live with items that have reduced pinna, like Mest 2, u12t, ie900, Meteor, Xelento 2 etc. They all suck. I actually sent back the ie900 after comparing them to the Variations. People who say that lowered pinna is better are deaf or have no idea how neutral/natural/realistic sound should be like. U are noob
@@leonardofernandez6488 luckily several more relaxed tuned iems at different price points are being released. And yes, can't see the point of releasing more harman tuned iems, unless somehow they are a true gamechanger (new features, ridiculous princing, etc.)
@@PaulWasabii Yes, I remember that you were not very enthusiastic about this IEM. I should follow your and Akros' recommendations more closely. You never let me down. The Hydro is pretty good value for money.
Tuning like this that elevates heavily 20-30hz is kinda ridiculous. No instrument can consistently play below 30hz, so a boost in this area is artificially boosting parts of the recording that shouldn't at all be highlighted like feet on a floor, or a foot hitting a pedal, etc.
I 100% agree with that, there is an unnatural boost in parts that weren't meant to be heard. It is why I keep showing EQ models with lowered subbass. The marketing guys keep wanting to show a steeper ramp, more subbass. And also reviewers keep saying the subbass is rolled off if it is not 10db.
Enough with the harman already. The market is already flooded with iems with this kind of tuning. I have several iems and will only buy another harman one if i sell one before. Until i do, i'm only looking for something different from what i have. (mainly in tuning but also in some different feature that i'm interested in)
@@PaulWasabii yes i was not talking specifically about simgot. They have been on a role and i'm sure this is a good product. I have some of their iems and i think one of their strenghts was exactly staying away from harman and having a house sound/ tuning. The market is oversaturated with this tuning and has been for quite some time.
One of the best reviews on an iem I have seen. Very informative and i actually learned a lot from the "aftershow". Great work!
Thanks, this was a refinement on what I didn't like about my review on Dusk.
@@PaulWasabii Tried ur tips about the Eq on this. Especially a little more midbass was nice and EQ at about 15k took away the little "shine" or "shoutyness" at higher volume on this for me. It went from a little underwhelming to my favorite iem that I can use for everything now. Selling everything else. Amazing allrounder. Thank you!
@@fakedcastle5950which eq app did u use ? May I ask as I just ordered the S4 yesterday
Thx a million 🎉🎉🎉
Liked the after show segment. Also like how much I learn from this channel.
Nice review as usual! The Aftershow is very welcome!
I have these. They are tuned like the EA1000, but with more spread out sound. The bass is very good, textured, detailed, well controlled, and the weight is quite balanced with the top end. The treble is very detailed, and never harsh. It’s slightly on the bright side. Driver integration is great, it doesn’t sound like 4 driver types inside. But the treble coherency with the other parts of the spectrum is a little bit affected by the slightly bright nature of the trebles. Technically easily matches other 300-400 dollar sets. My only issue with it is, well, typical mid-bass tuck of Harmon tuning, which gives more separation at the expense of sense of fullness. All in all, a very good Harmon set, but i prefer the ea1000 more intimate soundstage which gives more sense of fullness.
Yeah, you hit a few key points. The EA1000 is a tough one to beat as I said. Not everyone agrees with that but when it pairs well with your ears, can be better than SM4. And yes to everything else you said, the Harman parts of it, the tuck, the slightly over treble, pretty much what I did in EQ. Just small changes make a big difference on a set of very nice drivers.
@@PaulWasabii
Yes I agree the technicalities of the SM4 is extremely high for the price. And the integration of the drivers are pretty well done. If one manages to get the tone to his liking, it could be an end game set.
Thank you for the great review Paul, I am saving my shortlist for the aful explorer and the SB set currently in prototype.
Yeah Explorer is interesting, hope to get a listen later on.
@@PaulWasabii If the supermix4 had a bit more mid bass and a little less pinna gain I would be all over this set. As it is now too much of the Simgot “house sound”. I have been purposely steering away from “Harman” sets for over a year now as well.
@@fiddlix same here. also tired of harman and only looking for something different. Luckily some more "relaxed harman" tuned iems are coming out. I'm betting more will come.
Great job as usual Paul...👍thanks 🙏
Ah yes. Been anticipating this one from you! Was thinking about getting this for my birthday. Your review will determine my decision
Happy Birthday brother
Great review as always! Simgot keeps pumping out some pretty nice and consistant IEMs. EQ is a mighty powerful tool! I just haven't been using it much for listening.
EQ is cheaper than chasing the perfect set
I like when you touch upon eq in ur reviews.
You’re becoming one my favorite iem reviewers. With 16 iems, and now using the Doscincos and Meteors 99% of the time and quite content, I don’t seek out new iems as much as the past. You do a great job covering budget sets and it’s nice seeing you branch out a bit. As your channel grows, companies will be sending you more expensive sets. Your concise and straight delivery is so welcome. Was intrigued with the Supermix but I need more than harman bass and hate the mid bass tuck. Hoping you can review the Dunu DaVinci, one of the few these days I’m interested in. And btw what ever happened to the Timeless 2? Was hyped late last year and still nothing..any insight? It’s supposed to be a bass beast.
The Doscinco is f’in fantastic, I use them more than my hype 4 becausw they don’t make me as nervous about sweating into them lol. They sound so close though
@@Hijynx87 yeah the Hype 4 looks too close to consider for me. The Doscincos should be the iem of 2024 but it’s already a solid year with a lot of competition. Just hope more impressive basshead sets come out, but seriously - the Doscincos will make your other iems sound bland, while still being a chill all day listen. I don’t know how they did it and under $300. I’m hoping Ziigaat makes an EST version of them. Same 2 DD, 2 mid BA's, but instead of the ultra high BA, use 2 ESTs. Charge $400. Insta buy. Would dominate at that level.
@@Hijynx87 I'd love to pick up a set during the current sale but now there are lots of rumors of a silent retune 🤬
Timeless 2 is still in the oven. The midbass tuck is hard to avoid, also why I keep EQ'ing sets. The 2DD sets are changing that as you don't need to tuck as hard. Some brand will figure that out. Davinci is possible, I am hoping HifGo will tour it, but getting Pilgrim Noir first which might have some midbass, Thank you
man, I got the Doscinco 3 months ago... its so good. Bass is just completely absurd. I EQ more subbass (ifi XBass) and it just delivers.
Good review Paul, I got the EM10 first and if the SM4 is Harmon on rails the EM10 is Harmon on LSD. Nozzle filter helped huge but getting tired of throwing a 500 filter on every Simgot! I hope the SM4 is better for me.
Yeah 500 probably works on SM4 too but I didn't try. The pair of sets are interesting in that I do wonder if people will like one more than the other. At first glance, I probably like EM10 more than you so now I am super curious on your SM4. The EQ I used on SM4 isn't a good fit on EM10. I have no idea actually, SM4 sounded more like the graph, EM10 not as much.
Thanks for this
Waited for this. Pulling the trigger. Love you bro
Great video Paul! Very informative
I might grab these for my first simgot set ever, either that or EM10, leaning on Supermix tho since I just grabbed a Pilgrim. Dusk is next VIP target
Supermix does bass control, Pilgrim does more bass, more impactful, Part of Simgot's style is less impact, smoother into the mids.
What EQ are you using Paul?
As I wanna try your EQ set up on aftershow..
As I just ordered the S4 yesterday 😅
My sm4 has a bloaty bass or recessed upper mids and trebles when plugged directly to my phone and laptop. It works properly when I use a dac/amp dongle. I thought this was an easy to drive set with 7.25 ohm impedance
Edit: I just learned it actually needs a lower output impedance source than the iem's impedance to sound what it should be
I talked about this on EM10. SM4 and EM10 really need low impedance sources otherwise you have a ton of bass.
@@PaulWasabiiWhat does this mean? Im new to iems, what type of dac would work with the sm4 to make it work? I want to connect to the sm4 to a dac and then the dac to p.c.
@@DevilDaRebel Just use an apple dongle dac it's like 9$ US and then just plug it into your usb c port on your pc. Should work just fine.
@@mxnarch349 For that, I would also need an adapter right? I have an apple dongle dac, but obviously the end piece to connect is not a usb but a plug.
@@DevilDaRebel Which Apple dongle dac do you have there's two the one with apple lightning and the one with the usb c. Use the usb c one to plug into the usb c port in your pc. You can google what it looks like. Then just plug the iem into the dongle 3.5 jack.
Thank you for your well put out review. I hope you don't mind sharing your 10 band EQ for SM4. Thanks in advance Paul.
I used foobar so the only thing it exports is a text file that looks like below. Basically offset values on the sliders for the frequencies you see in the pic.
-2
-1
0
1
2
2
2
0
0
-1
-1
-1
-1
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
Thanks Paul, new to your channel and really enjoying your reviews, also find your responses to the comments insightful.
I'm reasonably new to the iem space, isn't almost everything Harman of some flavour? Wondering if you could give me a couple of examples of good modified Harman or non-Harman iems at around the $150-200 price point.
Yes, you can't win either way. If you just call everything Harman, then people get annoyed when it doesn't strictly follow the target. Essentially you are looking for sets with more of a bass glide, both subbass and midbass and sub10db pinna area. I think AFUL Explorer might have both of those, but I don't have it or looked closely. Elysian Pilgrim was half, bass was right on, treble lower. Tangzu Fudu, more bass, less treble. Cadenza 4, similar but not Harman. Simgot and sometimes KZ tend to point out when they try to hit H2019.
Harman, Harman, go away.. Come again, another day..
😂
Harmon is fine unless you're into boring ass audiophile music
@@Error8x8 I listen to 70s prog on DSD, Harman is not alive enough.
Lol never ending Harman
@@skustaclee8899 It's just so boring
Love the review! Was debating if I splurge on the SuperMix 4 but the tuning ultimately killed it for me; not a fan of anything Harman honestly. Curious though on what would be your 150$ kings regarding other tuning preferences?
If you aren't a fan of Harman, most of Simgot are out. $100 kings might be CCA Hydro. AFUL Explorer is just coming out. There was never really a $150 king, there were some ok sets, and lots with problems. I am hoping SM4, Explorer, Hydro, and others to come are re-vamping that bracket as it really wasn't good.
I'm still looking for a good midbass. Most of the iems I've seen don't have midbass. I have the Ikko OH10s, the bass is very good, but the treble is very sharp. I think I will wait for a sale and try Dunu Davinci or BGVP NS9. Maybe the best option is use EQ and don't waste money haha
Honestly learning basic eq is probably your best bet. We hear and perceive sound differently, listen to different music and have different preferences.
Yeah, good midbass is hard to find. Sets like Dusk or Cadenza4 ship without much, but they have nice drivers that handle it well in EQ.
Hi paul, i think you should review Aful Explorer ASAP. This one set is on everyone watchlist now including me, lot of thanks!❤
I think the Explorer is on tour, just hasn't made it to me
As someone who enjoys warm iems like qkz x hbb and owns the EW200 and did not enjoy the brightness and bit lack of bass, would the EM6L be a better purchase than the MX4? Is the brightness from the MX4 very noticeable or does it have some warm to it?
Yeah EM6L is closer to that. Simgot doesn't really do warm, they do Harman targets which are leaner, brighter. EM6L is more of a modified Harman, more midbass, lower upper mid.
If it's tuned like the Quintet, then the right tips can make a difference. I wasn't impressed with the tips that shipped with the Quintet, but after trying a few other 3rd party tips, it really came into focus (auditorily).
Yes, tips move around the peaks, same as pushing the iems in your ear a bit deeper.
If you were to try this eq out
Preamp: -3.0 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 120 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 0.700
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 3200 Hz Gain -2.0 dB Q 1.000
Does it end up slamming comparable to the CKLVX or the Dusk ?
Eh, my CKLVX was not good. DD was really not good. Dusk is still better if you nitpick it as the treble resolution all the way out is really good. Some people are willing to pay the extra for that and the 2DD, others will be fine EQ'ing SM4. As I said, if you are EQ'ing both, they are better than most reviews will describe them, especially Dusk. Dusk is really good but 2-3X more money.
@@PaulWasabii Ive seen other reviews mention that even with EQ the Supermix 4 bass still ends up being quite pillowy , thats the only reason im holding back on going with it and was curious if you can confirm that or not
If I value bass response the most, how does the supermix 4 fair against the 500LM?
With those two, it still comes down to balance. LM is not a bass prominent set, SM4 is much better on balance. LM does some things really well, but bass, not the reason to get LM.
I have the EA500LM and I love them Paul, did you think that the SuperMix4 is a real and tangible upgrade? or is it preferible to look forward to the SimgotEM10? Thanks :)
Yeah wait for EM10 or EQ your 500LM. Kinda what I said about Dusk, there is an improvement, but a couple hundred dollars for a slight return is probably not worth it. Most people are going to notice the tuning changes and not the mix of drivers when they upgrade to SM4 which is why I say EQ will hold you over for a while on 500LM.
How do these compare vs the mp145
Thank you Paul!!! First here ❤
Awesome review! Is there a chance that you can load the EQ mod to the Squiglink page? I would like to give it a try. :)
Not really as I use Foobar. It is simplistic graphic EQ, just -1db in the down parts, up 2db in the up. And then A/B. Your source will make a difference. You can autoeq to dark magician and then reduce the gain values so it sits between the two.
so what is your subr $150 iem pick that has more mid bass than this typical harman tuning ?
That is the issue, there isn't really a $200 king. One that stuck with me, Cadenza 4 because it has less pinna, 6-7dc at 2k so it doesn't really need more midbass, but it sounded better with a bit more. The DD is nice, the BAs are nice. Just because it doesn't grab you with hyped treble doesn't mean its not good. I actually thought DaVinci was going to take the spot but seems like reviews are mixed. Kinda what I said about SM4, the DD/bass range is critical to pulling off a hybrid and if that is off, it throws it all off. We'll see as more reviews come out. I haven't heard the Ziigaats either, maybe one has the right bass curve.
Hi what dac dongle you recommend for this sm4? Thanks
It isn't hard to drive and dongles aren't my thing. I prefer ESS DAC based dongles though like the Celest CD-20 I reviewed. If it is your first one, don't spend a ton of money on it.
Thank you for the informative review. Can you provide us with the EQ profile that you used for the SM4?
Not easily as I use foobar. I also hesitate to do that as EQ is something you should experiment. You can see the frequencies that Foobar EQ uses and I rarely move more than 3db. The foobar values are:
-2
-1
0
1
2
2
2
0
0
-1
-1
-1
-1
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
@@PaulWasabii thank you. I'll try it once i get my hands on them. Should be here in a few days.
Have you received the em10 yet? Looking forward to the comparison, and if it’s worth the price difference
I have it, but in the box. My in the box thought, I am not convinced as the graph is similar and good chance I would end up EQ'ing it also. That usually doesn't make sense at $400 and at $400, I want the same attention to male and female vocals. We'll see, maybe it is better out of the box without EQ.
Hey paul, thanks much for the review.. do you think that this is an upgrade to EW200?? And how does supermix 4 compare with EW200 in terms of resolution and technicalities???
Of course that's literally an upgrade, that's a budget set compared to mid tier set that competes within 150-300$ range.
@@skustaclee8899 hey brother, thanks for the clarification.. in some review pages they said because of its low impedance the output impedance of the source should be this much and that and it alters the sound blah blah blah.. to me it's a bit confusing as am not much into these kind of in depth stuff.. but I do have Kiwi ears allegro, EPZ TP50 dongle DACs as my daily sources. Will these be enough to drive this IEM to its full potential?? Or will these impact anything in the sound signature?? I am a bit afraid that it may sound worse after reading all these source nd impedance stuff 😕 can you please share your thoughts, if you can help like what do you think nd what do you suggest?? Thanks in advance brother, have a great day..
@@razz_v95 The EPZ TP50 will surely more than enough to drive the Supermix 4 since it has 121mW of power in 3.5mm single ended output and 240mW of power in 4.4mm balanced mode and it has independent 2 Amplifier chips (which is one of the powerful Dongle DAC nowadays along with Hiby FC6, Ibasso DC04 Pro, Fiio KA 13, Shanling UA4 etc.) but i tried to search for both of their output impedance rate and unfortunately i cannot see it. The thing is the rule of 8, you need atleast lower than 0.7 output impedance to make the overall tonality of the Supermix 4 to shine as it is, if not, it will sound bassy, recessed mids and treble.
And as far as i know the only capable DAC that's powerful and also analogue sounding which like the same performance as that EPZ TP50 is the Ibasso DC04 Pro, which is 0.2 output impedance rate only in 3.5mm single ended and 0.4 output impedance rate in 4.4 balanced which scales well to any IEM with atleast stupid impedance rates.
Not sure if you'd the chance to test out the Chopin, but wondering how these 2 might compare. Coming from a Sonus, I feel like this would be right up my alley. But you think it's worth the "upgrade" to get this? But your comment about the lower mids and mid bass being lacking in this type of tuning, makes me think you'd enjoy the Da Vinci. Hope you get a set soon!
I don't have Chopin, they don't trust me enough to send that one. Yeah DaVinci on paper looks better, but I am also kinda crazy with sets that add too much subbass and don't have a quality driver. Two reviews already mentioned the bass in a way that makes me think I won't be a fan.
@PaulWasabii that is an absolute joke about them not sending you a Chopin for review. But hope Dunu sends you a Da Vinci. Obviously twice the price of the Supermix, but still an important comparison.
What’s the go to tuning for low volume listening?
Hi Paul. Do you find the SM4 has inverted polarity issue? Saw another video mentioning this.
Possible I guess. I had sent my set out to a few reviewers, I'll see if Michael Bruce can check when he gets it. The bigger issue is sensitivity to impedance imo.
@@PaulWasabii is the inverted polarity thingy audible to normal ears? Also can you explain more on the low impedance thingy? Am totally noob in this
Please review aune ar5000
How do you like these against the Hydro or the Letshouer S12?
With Supermix4, it is the tuning, that Harman target has a particular sound which is different that Hydro and S12. If you are into genres like Kpop which align well to the Harman target, SM4 is a great choice. Other genres of music don't work as well with Harman targets and you will be better off with Hydro or S12 Pro
Compare to cca hydro? Is it wort it to get cca brand right now?
The issue is two are like ice cream flavors. Supermix 4 is Harman 2019 flavored, that has a distinct sound, leaner and more energetic. Hydro isn't as lean, different bass style, and more resolving as it has a lot of BAs. I am not a strict Harman fan and I think Hydro is a great value at its price. If you like Harman styles, energetic female vocals, less midbass, SM4 is right on it.
Greeting Paul , does it require a dac or dongle is just fine ?
Thanks
Doesn't require it but as I said, it is sensitive to impedance so some phones or laptops might have higher impedance and you will end up with more bass. Dongles tend to be lower impedance so just happens to be useful in this case if you phone sounds very bassy
Is supermix 4 and onix alpha xi1 good combo?
I don't have Onix alpha, but it is a low impedance device so that is a good start. Slightly warm should be good for SM4 tuning.
Most complete iem (tonality + techs) under 450?
I'd still go with Dusk. I know that isn't the popular choice, but it is up there. I haven't heard Mega5EST, kinda right there as well. Those are the two that came to mind. Hype 4 maybe. I don't know how you would choose among them as they are all a bit different.
vs the hydro?
In the first few minutes, Hydro will sound more resolving. That isn't SM4's specialty. Some of what I said about Dusk applies to Hydro, 2DD and lots of drivers has an advantage. Some people will hate Hydro's bass curve, will prefer SM4. Hydro is a bigger shell. I can make the case for either set and would be happy with either.
how does it compare to the ew200? is it as bright? also does it have better sub rumble?
Yes, this is why I mentioned most sets are modified Harman like EW200, it is slightly bass boosted. SM4 is effectively brighter. From EW200, if you want less bright, more subbass, that is more like Kefine Delci.
@@PaulWasabii yeah thanks, asking because most reviewers say the sm4 is smooth and rumbles nicely which is confusing because from the graph looks like boosted upper mids and treble just like the ew200.
Simgot really tends to push the treble pretty hard, so it is nice to see them pull it back a bit. I own three Simgot sets, and they all a bit bright. Dusk without the DSP is pretty meh.
Got to EQ Dusk without DSP. The tuning is what is important, not so much that DSP cable.
I just recieved the sm4 can i change the sound for the better with the cable construction i mean warmer or colder sounding or do i have eq it?
You can buy an impedance adapter, that will make it warmer. The Zero:Red included a 10ohm which would be ideal to get you a different sound. You can try a tuning filter or micropore tape on the nozzle too, basically drop the treble a bit and hope it sounds warmer.
@@PaulWasabii thank you😊
Is simgot dew4x a good dac for sm4?
Yeah Dew4x is a nice dongle, its really small. Moondrop Dawn Pro would be another I saw mentioned with SM4.
Is it better than the EA500 LM?
Depends. If you like EA500LM keep it. If you found it too bright, SM4 is better. Where most people have an issue is that brightness of EA500LM. It really needs the Simgot DIY kit to dial it into your ears.
So compared to Cadenza 4? 4 better for male vocals?
Yeah, my preference is more neutral tuning like Cadenza4. Strict Harman just drags male vocals up a bit that will eventually annoy me. Not a Supermix specific thing, but generally modified Harman works better.
Cheers Paul
Seeing harman after harman makes me felt very fatigue about this hobby. Maybe newbies like those agressive uppers mids to lower treble alot. thanks for the good objective review paul.
I have to admit I had some Harman fatigue here. The drivers are solid, it can handle a richer tuning without losing resolution.
New good IEMs basically lack pinna gain and are much more flat. Like the Mega5est.
Harman IE is a disgrace. Harman OE is a treasure.
Without proper pinna gain you don't have natural instruments timbre and energy. You have no idea what you are talking about. Ive tried to live with items that have reduced pinna, like Mest 2, u12t, ie900, Meteor, Xelento 2 etc. They all suck. I actually sent back the ie900 after comparing them to the Variations. People who say that lowered pinna is better are deaf or have no idea how neutral/natural/realistic sound should be like. U are noob
@@leonardofernandez6488 luckily several more relaxed tuned iems at different price points are being released. And yes, can't see the point of releasing more harman tuned iems, unless somehow they are a true gamechanger (new features, ridiculous princing, etc.)
Is this set easy to drive?
yes, its not like a full size planar
@@PaulWasabii Many thanks.
Mp145 or that?
I am a planar fan so MP145 is a nice set, but the shell is quite large
so harman again...anyway, thanks for the review sir :)
Better than Davinci?
Haven't heard DaVinci. I'd probably EQ it as well. Kinda like Dusk, you are going to pay quite a bit for a small improvement.
Quintet was terrible.
Maybe the only IEM I regret buying.
I remember being one of the early people to say it was harsh. Others liked it. Maybe music or volume matters more.
@@PaulWasabii Yes, I remember that you were not very enthusiastic about this IEM. I should follow your and Akros' recommendations more closely. You never let me down. The Hydro is pretty good value for money.
Tired of Harman tuned IEMs.
+1
Tuning like this that elevates heavily 20-30hz is kinda ridiculous. No instrument can consistently play below 30hz, so a boost in this area is artificially boosting parts of the recording that shouldn't at all be highlighted like feet on a floor, or a foot hitting a pedal, etc.
I 100% agree with that, there is an unnatural boost in parts that weren't meant to be heard. It is why I keep showing EQ models with lowered subbass. The marketing guys keep wanting to show a steeper ramp, more subbass. And also reviewers keep saying the subbass is rolled off if it is not 10db.
Enough with the harman already. The market is already flooded with iems with this kind of tuning. I have several iems and will only buy another harman one if i sell one before. Until i do, i'm only looking for something different from what i have. (mainly in tuning but also in some different feature that i'm interested in)
Its true. In the past Simgot has used Harman as a reference but altered for their own signature. I agree though, I have heard enough of them
@@PaulWasabii yes i was not talking specifically about simgot. They have been on a role and i'm sure this is a good product. I have some of their iems and i think one of their strenghts was exactly staying away from harman and having a house sound/ tuning. The market is oversaturated with this tuning and has been for quite some time.