Search Results for “smabat m2” – Audio Reviews

Photography

Jürgen Kraus (Calgary, Canada) — Sat, 12 Mar 2022 05:46:48 +0000

This list contains links to our photography, which serves the purpose of introducing the physical and aesthetical characteristics of an audio product. For example the shape of an iem’s earpieces, nozzle angle/length/lips, features that predict comfort and fit for many…and that are therefore important dealmakers/-breakers for some even prior to sonic testing. Of course we give a the tech specs and frequency responses, too.

Instead of first impressions, we offer completely flavour-neutral optical treatments before following up with our exhaustive reviews of the products’ performances.

Current Photography

Vintage Photography (prior to March 2022)

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Smabat Proto 1.0 – Work In Progress?

Alberto Pittaluga (Bologna, Italy) — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 04:00:00 +0000

As a kid I certainly was fond of Lego blocks. Now as an old grumpy bear I’m much less into spending time building my own stuff, I prefer to pay for a professionally refined, ready to enjoy product or service. Yet, quite some time has passed from the former phase to the current one (more than 50 years, indeed). Why shouldn’t I give a chance to modern modular tech?

With this spirit I’m assessing a pair of Smabat Proto 1.0 modular IEMs which I got from the manufacturer for this purpose. Their street price is currently $79,00 – so not one of those excessively cheap chifi thingies – and you can find them on their website, besides multiple distributors on AE as always.

At-a-glance Card

PROs	CONs
Brilliant fully-modular concept, in a more than decent implementation	Stock Titanium driver: sub-bass totally rolled off, sounds like an earbud
Appealing, fun product for the modding lovers	Stock Titanium driver: awfully sloppy midbass
Stock Titanium driver: very good stage projection	Stock dampeners impact too dramatically on presentation. Softer-impact dampeners reportedly “in the works” but not available yet.
Stock Titanium driver: above average imaging	Spare driver modules market availability “dalayed”.
Nice cable	Horrible stock eartips + lip-less, small diameter nozzle design
	Sound quality off stock elements not up to package price

Modularity for everyone

Extensive modularity on a finished product like IEMs is commercially a very interesting idea, clinging to all those who feel enticed by DYI but (right or wrong) look at themselves as impaired or more simply too lazy to take that route. With them in mind, Smabat Proto 1.0 is the closest thing to a Lego project box.

With Proto 1.0 you can:

Swap the main dynamic driver transducer.

You can take the transducer coming with the main package, and replace with a different version, sold separately, supposed to deliver a different sound presentation.

The housings can easily be opened and closed by bare hands, revealing that the driver’s cabling features a small plug/unplug fixing.

Sadly I only got the basic package, in particular I got none of the alternative drivers to check.

Add a filter onto the main sound output nozzle, to tune trebles behaviour.

The default being “no filter”, inside the box a blue little item is available which is supposed to be optionally plugged onto the nozzle to smash highmids and treble frequencies flat down by a whopping -7dB (!!). Not a small nudge at all, rather a dramatic intervention on the entire upper part of the presentation.

Roll another filter, installed directly on the housing, to tune bass behaviour.

By default a gold-colored little cap is installed, which is part of the house-tuning so to say.

Inside the box 2 alternative cap pairs are provided, carriying different mesh filters, and distinct by their colours: silver ones are supposed to smash mid and low frequencies (from 1KHz down) down by -6dB, while red ones are supposed to kick them way up by the same, opposite sign amount: +6dB. Again: a major intervention, not at all a fine tuning thingie.

Comments

Before getting to the sound analysis, I feel a few comments are in order here about Proto 1.0’s modular design.

Housing dampeners are very difficult to take out, the more so with the bundled tweezers, which I suspect are more aimed at facilitating plugging/unpligging the main driver’s connector. My wife’s “professional” eyebrow tweezers helped better with those colored dampeners. I suggested Smabat to finetune their design.

Proto 1.0 come equipped with a 10mm Titanium Diaphragm, 16 ohm impedance driver. According to Smabat, such driver is supposed to offer a warm, mid-centric presentation, good but not overly powerful bass, and rich and clear high frequencies. As you will read further down, this is not entirely true – but that’s not the point here.

As previously mentioned, both treble (nozzle) and bass (housing) dampening filters apply a nothing short of brutal variation to the “default” tuning. It’s quite evident that a lower-impact version of such filters would be very interesting to test. Questioned about this, the manufacturer commented “Regarding the silver damper, we will add some bass in subsequent adjustments”.

When I got this sample unit a few weeks ago on their Ali Express shop Smabat advertised 3 alternative drivers: a Beryllium Plated Diaphragm (32 ohm) supposed to offer a “levelled presentation accross the entire frequency spectrum”, a Fiber Membrane (16 ohm) driver supposed to offer a more V shaped alternative, and a Dome LCP (22 ohm) supposed to offer a bright-enhanced alternative.

I obviously asked for those to be sent to me for a direct comparison, particularly the Beryllium Plated one (why that? simply because the default Titanium one is too warm, missing sub-bass and dominated by awfully bloating midbass – so I’d like to check how one which tuning is defined “levelled” in Smabat’s language would sound).

Sadly, the manufacturer’s answer was: “Other drives will be delayed, we are still testing to confirm. You can publish your assessment first.”

It’s worth noting that after a couple of weeks I checked again on Smabat website and there was no mention for a Beryllium Plated Diaphragm spare driver anymore, whilst a Titanium Plated Diaphragm (20 ohm) spawned in its place. Who knows if at least the range is to be considered final now, and when will those, or at least a few of them, be actually ready for shipping ?

Lastly, in addition to the two “user side” main vent openings (the main nozzle, and the other hole near the nozzle supposed to be equipped with bass-tuning dampeners), there is a third small vent opening on the housings’ back plates. Being a backside vent that is of course impacting on bass behaviour. Looking on the inside part of the removable backplate I can see a small white filter is installed. Oddly enough, Smabat does not offer spare / alternative filters to be rolled on that position. Why ?

All’n’all, everything seems to suggest that “Proto 1.0” is a quite meant naming for this product: it’s a prototype, and the first version thereof too!

Enough intro, let’s listen.

Full Device Card

Test setup

Sources: Apogee Groove / Apogee Groove + Burson FUN + IEMatch / Questyle QP1R / Cowon Plenue 2 – final E clear tips – Stock cable – lossless 16-24/44.1-192 FLAC tracks.

Signature analysis

Tonality	Proto 1.0’s presentation and tonality vary depending on the hardware configuration of course. On the default Titanium Diaphragm driver we go from very laidback and soft to more aggressive, with a definite midrange prevalence and a distinct warm tonality being common to all variations.
Sub-Bass	Sub bass is totally rolled off. Proto 1.0 sound like an earbud, and not one of those paying too much attention to bass extention either.
Mid Bass	Midbass is slow, awfully sloppy or totally unhearable – depending on the bass filter choice. I had to use the silver nozzle dampener (the one supposed to attenuate bass most of all) to make it at least “just slow”, but as such it still remained quite invasive onto the mids, and definitely not organic. Paired directly to Groove, Proto 1.0 benefits of the Apogee device’s spectacular bass control and midbass + silver dampener gets into “somewhat decent” territory, but that’s as much ahead I could get. Considering the silver dampener is the sole one that makes midbass somewhat beareable to me, I conducted all audition with that mounted on – so keep this in mind when reading the rest of my notes here below.
Mids	Mids are not bad at all – clearly the best part of the presentation. Unrecessed although not particularly forward, and well textured. Especially guitars and female vocals are very pleasing. Male vocals are also good on solo situations, but their life is made very difficult by the unruly midbass most of the times.
Highs	High mids and trebles are just ok-ish on stock situation (i.e.: without a filter mounted onto the nozzle). Vivid and somewhat airy on one end, they would be much better if they weren’t perceivably grainy, and quite frequently splashy, too. Splashyness and most of the grainness do go away by installing the blue nozzle dampener (you remember? the one supposed to slam highmids and trebles down by 7dB!), but when you do it you (of course!!) also lose air and most if not all of the vividness: highmids and trebles are so much “laid back down” by the blue dampener as to make the presentation definitely dull – for my tastes at least.

Technicalities

Soundstage	Stage projection is really good on Proto 1.0. Height, in particular, is superb. Depth is very good, width above average.
Imaging	Imaging is ok, even above average for IEMs in this price class.
Details	Microdetail retrieval is no more than average when factoring Proto 1.0’s asking price.
Instrument separation	Instrument separation on Proto 1.0 stock condition is jammed by the midbass and limited by trebles’ splashinessy. Applying filters the situation improves, but at the cost of serious dullness.
Driveability	Power wise the stock Titanium Diaphragm driver is very easy to bias. Its midbass unruly nature does greatly benefit from higher-tier sources featuring particular bass control.

Physicals

Build	Housings are made of metal, and designed around a classical A-B dual-deflation chamber tech. In practical terms this means that air vibrations can vent both from the user side (A), where the main output nozzle and a further opening exist on the main housing, and from the backplate side (B) where a small vent hole is present. Housings can be open by popping the backplate off, revealing a removable, easy user-replaceable transducer unit. While the backplate popping process requires a small flathead screwdriver (or iron fingernails) to act as a lever, repositioning and sealing it back is quite easy and feels convincingly safe. On the housings’ front side, next to the nozzle, there’s a round hole on which a meshed cylindrical “plug” is supposed to be installed at all times. Its purpose is modulating bass frequencies depending on the specific mesh/filter being plugged in there. Such cylindrical plugs can and should be fully pushed-in when installed, which makes it quite difficult to pull them out. A small pair of tweezers is supplied with the package, but those are unfit for the task. The main nozzle may also (this time optionally) be equipped with a meshed “plug-in” element. In this case the purpose is impacting on high mids and treble frequencies tuning. Installing and removing such plug-in element on the nozzle is quite easy.
Fit	Main nozzles have a quite small diameter, and a too regular external surface: no “lip” ring is present to facilitate eartips grip on them, and in facts pretty much all eartips I tried on Proto 1.0, including first of all the stock ones (!), have an infuriating tendency to slip off while you pull the drivers off your ears. In addition to the above, stock silicon eartips are nothing short of horrible quality: too soft, flimsy even – and, as just mentioned, their stem is simply too wide to firmly adapt onto the housings nozzles. The vast majority of the tips in my collections also couldnt properly fit onto Proto 1.0’s nozzle for the very same reasons. In the end a “decent” compromise is represented by final E series, the clear version which do contribute a further bit to tame Proto 1.0’s unruly midbass transients.
Comfort	Once fitted, Proto 1.0 feel quite comfy to my ears. Their shape is such that cable-up is the sole realistically viable installation position, there’s this to note too.
Isolation	Due to their shape, and the vents, Proto 1.0 offer a not more than average isolation
Cable	Proto 1.0 MMCX cable is a nice positive surprise. No information is provided about its internals, but its build is of absolutely apparent high quality (compared to the crap that often gets bundled with other chifi IEMs on this price level). MMCX connectors in particular are very solid, their click is perfect.

Specifications (declared)

Housing	Metal, user-openable housings. Classic A/B cavity acoustic structure.
Driver(s)	Stock: 10mm Titanium Diaphragm drive
Connector	MMCX
Cable	4 core 1.2m cable with single ended 3.5mm termination
Sensitivity	110dB/mW
Impedance	16 Ω
Frequency Range	10-22000Hz
Package and accessories	One set (S/M/L) of silicon eartips, 3 pairs of bass-tuning plug-in filter modules, 1 pair of treble-tuning plug-in nozzle filter modules, 1 tweezer
MSRP at this post time	$88,00 ($78,00 special deal on manufacturer’s website)

Considerations and conclusions

Smabat Proto 1.0 is first of all a nice idea. Not a totally new one for Smabat, which indeed applied the same concept to their M-series earbuds before (a full review of Smabat M2s Pro will drop ReallySoonNow(tm)…), but at least to my knowledge this is the first time I see this applied to IEMs.

As I very quickly mentioned at the top, Smabat 1.0 is the closest thing to a Lego-project-box applied to IEMs. Let me add: it is so both in the pros and the cons. As for the pros, those are totally obvious: you really can “build your own IEM”, and you can even separately order “alternative” pieces to develop variations of your project to experiment with.

There are cons too, though. First of all, such alternative items are still somewhat work in progress at Smabat. I’m a positive thinker, and I want to believe this is just a temporary situation. What’s more serious, instead, is that the output sound quality – at least that coming out of the stock elements I got with the package – is not competitive with the best (non-modular) alternatives on the same price range. Without getting too far, a pair of final E3000 cost sensibly less, and run circles around Proto 1.0’s stock titanium drivers, for how hard you may try and combine filters on that.

Proto. Like “Prototype”, I guess. And even the first version of it (1.0). A first attempt. Good, as an appetizer. Now let’s wait for the main course.

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Smabat M0 Review – Modding for the Tool Free

Durwood (Chicago, USA) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 17:59:44 +0000

INTRO

Smabat has released a second generation of earbuds designed for the tinkerers and modders but with a closed ecosystem of driver swaps and vent swaps for the Smabat M0 and M2s Pro model.

Smabat sent me the entry level moddable version the Smabat M0. The Smabat M2S Pro offers a thicker cable and a 40 ohm driver with just the dome reinforced with a titanium coating.

The Smabat M0 uses a fully coated titanium diaphragm. I thought the concept of selling tuning mesh and easily swappable drivers was interesting enough to see what it was all about. I love the idea of standardized parts.

SMABAT M2 Pro Review I – Mercurial Chameleon

GOOD TRAITS

Cable
Easy modding
Soundstaging and openness

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

Tonality improvements, slight bass lift

PACKAGE CONTENTS

The shell is metal and the driver actually just pops off via a rubber o-ring, it is not threaded so twisting is not the way to remove except when inserting back together to fit the wires back inside. The wires unplug via a connector, the original version of the M2S actually required soldering.

Smabat M0

Most users will not have access to a soldering iron so the connector makes this concept more user friendly for sure. Inside the shell there is a replaceable vent but no extra vent mesh is included with the package.

The kit of mesh vents are sold from Smabat here or you can experiment with third party or DIY vents, and the different dynamic drivers can be purchased here.

The mccx cable is perfectly suitable for this Smabat M0, I actually used the same type of cable when I modded my Sony MH755. It is flexible enough that it doesn’t retain memory from coiling, it is fairly non-microphonic, and nimble which is important for earbuds that can easily fall out from excess weight.

There are also two sets of foam to cover the earbud for added comfort. One set has a hole in the center to allow minimal changes to the sound while the other set fully covers the driver. The storage pouch is made like an old style coin purse made of suede like leather.

SOUND

While I usually prefer in-ears over earbuds, I am no stranger to the differences between the styles. The Smabat M0 are bass light and thin sounding, lacking both in lower registers and midbass. Very similar to an in-ear that doesn’t seal properly. If I push them in closer, the bass comes alive but at the expense of clarity in the vocals and treble.

Male vocals, guitars, pianos and percussion instruments are missing note weight and fullness required to make them sound like-life. Female vocals sound dainty as result as well.

The Smabat M0 are clearly destined to accentuate the treble region and provide a light and engaging upper mid treble focus. Horns and stringed instruments are very present, however missing some of the lower grunt making them sound a bit hollow.

The stock Smabat M0 is clearly destined for treble lovers who want the bass to remain in the background and not muddy up the presentation. The good thing about the treble is that it is nicely presented and doesn’t reach piercing levels of pain just some minor sharpness. The upper octave is subdued a bit so it stops short of presenting too much airiness.

TECHNICALITIES

Since the Smabat M0 is so treble focused, everything feels light and airy with a good height lift, and soundstage feels wide as well. The missing bass however causes timbre issues making it hard for things to sound natural due to missing harmonics. Reminds me a lot of those small portable bluetooth boombox speakers but with better clarity.

Smabat M2 Pro Review II – Do It Yourself!

COMPARISON

Senfer PT15 ($15) vs Smabat M0 ($35)

The Smabat M0 bass is very thin sounding compared to the Senfer PT15, the Senfer PT15 has better note weight as a result but sounds a little boxy and closed in. The upper midrange and treble on the Smabat M0 excel in clarity over the Senfer PT15 allowing the Smabat M0 to sound more spacious with a wider soundstage. The diameter of the driver insert is slightly larger on the Smabat M0. I don’t have much else in my stash to compare unfortunately.

FINAL REMARKS

Smabat has a good concept with the interchangeable parts, however the sound of the Smabat M0 model is missing vital information that could make it a general crowd pleaser. Instead it caters to those allergic to bass such as my wife, or someone who prioritizes wide open soundstaging instead of tonal accuracy.

One final surprise- even with the missing bass information I found it gives EDM music a large wide open music venue feeling. Since electronic music doesn’t rely so much on tonal accuracy, the large venue sound can be enticing.

SPECIFICATIONS

Drive unit: 15.4mm titanium-plated diaphragm
Impedance: 20Ω
Frequency: 10Hz-22kHz
Sensitivity: 110±3dB
Plug type: 3.5mm

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DISCLAIMER

Smabat sent these to me for a charge that would feed a hungry child for a day. They can be purchased direct from Smabat on their website or Aliexpress.

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SMABAT X1 Review II – Bat Out Of Hell

Jürgen Kraus (Calgary, Canada) — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 05:10:42 +0000

Pros — Beautiful design, quality metal build, small & light earpieces; the idea of tuning switches; great channel balance; excellent cable.

Cons — Tuning switches effectively redundant for most as the “high” setting creates another “saw”; sound lacks cohesion; no manual instructions for the switches provided; sharp edges may cut some ears off.

Executive Summary

The Smabat X1 is dual dynamic-driver earphone with tuning switches allowing the user to select between an anemic/shouty earbud-type tonality or a strong V-shape. The preferred V-shape shows another tonal imbalance between a boomy, muffling mid-bass and a shouty midrange. While cohesion is lacking, timbre, staging, and other technical virtues are acceptable.

Introduction

We know Smabat from their innovative earphones such as the Smabat ST-10 or the highly customizable Smabat M2. The company always incorporates quality ingredients into their appealing designs. The Smabat X1 as the company’s first in-ear comes somewhat as a pleasant surprise – and even more so as it contains tuning switches for selecting a “voice mode” and a “balanced mode”. Co-blogger Baskingshark has already analyzed in all detail so that I give you my second opinion here.

SMABAT X1 Review – Right Off The Bat

Specifications

Driver configuration: Dual Dynamic Driver (6 mm titanium plated diaphragm + 10 mm composite diaphragm)
Frequency response: 10 Hz – 24000Hz
Impedance: 32 Ohms
Sensitivity: 110 dB/mW
Cable: 0.78 mm 2 pin
Purchase links: https://www.smabat.com/products/smabat-x1; https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001945966511.html
Tested at $49 USD

Physical Things And Usability

In The Box:

2 earpieces
High-quality SPC Cable
Set of silicone eartips

Appearance, Haptic, Build Quality: The earpieces are metal and beautifully shaped: light and compact Absolutely gorgeous design. Look good, feel good. The tightly braided cable is superb.

Ergonomics, Comfort, Fit: The frontal/inner edges of the earpieces are sharp and may be sitting uncomfortably on your ears. The nozzle is long enough and does not have a lip. Comfort and fit are poor for my ears as I continuously feel the sharp corners.

Isolation: Good with the Azla SednaEarfit Light earpieces. The included tips were too “flabby” so that I did not achieve a seal.

Tonality And Technicalities

Testing Details

My tonal preference and testing practice

My test tracks explained

About my measurements

[collapse]

Equipment used: MacBook Air, AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt, Azla SednaEarfit Light.

The tuning switched allow the listener to select two tonality modes: the “high definition voice mode” and the “dual driver balanced mode” are distinguished by a drastically different frequency response below 1 kHz – they are identical above. Switches are moved with a toothpick or similar. The “high definition voice mode” setting turns the earphone into an earbud with a complete loss of low end below 200 kHz…which creates an anemic, piercing, fatiguing sound. There is effectively no sub-bass. Nobody at home down there. The graphs do not point to a technical defect as both channels deliver identical results. In summary, this setting may appeal to earbud users but is cruel to my ears.

The more appealing “dual driver balanced mode” creates a strongly V-shaped sonic experience with both ends competing against each other, resulting in an unbalanced, incohesive listening experience. The low end is well extended – and way too much boosted for my taste, creating a muffle in the vocals department that is counteracted and stirred up by a shoutiness coming down from the 2-4 kHz segment. The result is a nasal, congested, and harsh midrange, a weird sonic mixture. And the early treble rolloff does not come quite to the rescue either. The tuning is simply off imo.

Technicalities such as staging, separation, spatial cues are actually ok, but they don’t save the day. Dynamics is lacking. The listening experience is uninspiring.

Concluding Remarks

The Smabat X1 is sadly just another promising, well-built, attractive looking and feeling Chi-Fi earphone that is in strong need of R&D. Good ideas poorly implemented. What else can I say?

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

I would like to thank the Aliexpress SMABAT store for providing this review set. The SMABAT X1 can be gotten here: https://www.smabat.com/products/smabat-x1; https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001945966511.html

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Smabat M2 Pro Review (2) – Do It Yourself!

Jürgen Kraus (Calgary, Canada) — Sun, 27 Dec 2020 07:01:00 +0000

Pros — Great haptic and build; good technicalities; great cable; highly customizable; value.

Cons — Needs TLC for some to meet their sonic preference.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Smabat M2 Pro is a very well built, highly customizable earbud that lets you choose your sonic preference signature. It comes with two different tuning modules. Upgrade drivers are available at extra cost.

INTRODUCTION

Smabat is a Chinese company that specializes in quality earbuds – but not only. Whatever they do, they put a lot of extra thought in it. For example, their new $50 Smabat X1 earphone has tuning switches. I have already reviewed the Smabat ST-10, an earbud with a very special fit. Earbuds are great for people who want to listen to music while not being completely detached from their surrounding environment, for example when awaiting a phone call. Earbuds may be comfortable as they are not pushed into the ear canal, however they typically lack on their low end. I would the Smabat ST-10 amazingly bassy – and the Smabat M2 Pro is reasaonbly good in this aspect, too.

50 years ago or so, there was the modular synthesizer: modules could be added to the core unit to make it a bigger, more versatile instrument. The Smabat M2 Pro is, strictly speaking, not a modular earbud as claimed – as nothing is added – but parts can be exchanged. In the case of the Smabat M2, the user has the choice of two included tuning modules. Co-blogger Baskingshark has examined and described the tuning possibilities in great detail. Please have a look at his review. I am focussing on the sound of the Smabat M2 Pro in this note. You find additional photos appended below.

SMABAT M2 Pro Review – Mercurial Chameleon

SPECIFICATIONS

Driver Unit: 15.4mm titanium plated diaphragm material
Frequency Response: 10 Hz – 22kHz
Impedance: 40 ohms
Sensitivity: 110 dB/mW
Cable type: MMCX
Tested at $45.50 USD
Product Page: Smabat M2 Pro
Company Page: https://www.smabat.com
Purchase Link: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001267044768.html

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

You can read about the box’s content, build and comfort, as well as the tuning modules and process in Baskingshark’s review. Included are two different tuning modules, which are small disks that are easily inserted into the earpieces. You can alsoswap the whole driver out for higher-quality ones – but these are not included. Quick comments: great metal shells and cable. Top notch for a budget earbud.

TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

Follow these links for some background information:

My tonal preference and testing practice

My test tracks explained

Equipment used: iPhone 5S

First a warning: perceived tonality of earbuds may depend more on ear canal shape than of earphones or headphones. I pin this to the generally questionable orientation of earbuds in the ear, which is close to 90 degrees off relative to the ear canal. During my listening test for the Smabat ST-10 review, I perceived strong shoutiness (elevated upper midrange) whereas the graph did not show a substantial “pinna gain”. This misfit of graphing and sonic perception may stem from reverberations inside my ear. Therefore, please take my sonic description of the Smabat M2 Pro with a grain of salt. And I say it right away, I perceived the sound with both tuning modules, albeit different, as shouty and overly aggressive. A thicker third-party textile cover solved the problem. Listening with the included rubber covers emphasized the shoutiness, and without any cover, the sound was nasal, tinny, and unbearably bright. Here my description for both tuning modules using the included but rather thin textile covers. These covers also improved the hold in my ears.

T1 module (“mid and high pitches clearer”): bass and bass extension are rather good for an earbud, bass is tight and articulate, actually really good, however vocals are lean and overly nasal, sharp, harsh, and aggressive, way too shouty for my enjoyment. There is some sibilance. Treble has good extension and resolution. Stage is expansive with good spatial cues, wider than deep. Timbre would be great when subtracting the sharpness. The other technicalities such as separation and layering are also good.

Replacing the stock covers with thicker third-party textile covers, thickens the bass to thumpy, syrupy, and slow while the lean nature of the vocals remains intact to the most extent, unfortunately. This throws the low end and lower midrange out of balance: too thick and slow below vs. too thin and aggressive above. Treble remains unaffected. In summary, the ticker textile cover appears to mainly thicken my low-end perception whereas midrange remains too energetic.

T0 module (“high, medium, and bass frequencies are uniform”): this module essentially evens out the kinks of the upper midrange to some extent, but vocals remain too sharp, and too shouty for my ears. Adding the thicker third-party foams appear to finally work for me. Bass and vocals are thickened at the expensive of midrange clarity and spatial cues. Bass extension is perceived as improved and mid bass is borderline boomy, but it is not as thick as with the other module, and quite acceptable. Excess energy is being removed from the vocals which improves the note weight and makes the image darker. Depth is added to the stage but also some congestion. Vocals are richer and fuller bodied and the shoutiness has essentially been reduced to “borderline”. As with the other module, the thicker foams do not appear to affect the treble, which remains crisp and well resolving. In summary, there is a tradeoff: tonality improved at the expense of technicalities. I like the volume and body with this module/cover combination. It show who finicky these things are and how a small variation in cover thickness can make a big difference. And it may work differently for you.

In summary it may take a bit of fine-tuning to find the tonality that fits one’s preference.

Smabat ST-10 Review – The Earphone Earbud

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The Smabat M2 Pro is a very well built earbud that is sonically a good step up from the $10-30 fare. It has a natural (to slightly metallic) timbre and is highly customizable. They are a good option for people who want quality sound but don’t like using eartips or who need to be aware of their surroundings while listening to music.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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DISCLAIMER

I would like to thank SMABAT for providing this review sample Get the M2 Pro from the SMABAT Store.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

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IMAGES…

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SMABAT M2 Pro Review (1) – Mercurial Chameleon

Baskingshark (Singapore) — Sun, 16 Aug 2020 01:56:17 +0000

Pros

Good build, light, comfortable.
Detachable cables.
Can be worn cable down or over ear.
Multiple permutations in sound signature – depending on foam cover type, driver type and tuning module type.
Good timbre.
Good subbass extension for a earbud.

Cons

Would require soldering skills to change driver (changing of tuning module doesn’t require soldering thankfully).
Above average technicalities for a midfi earbud, but not classleading, with occasional hazy imaging/congested instrument separation during complex tracks.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The SMABAT M2 Pro is midfi earbud in terms of sound quality with good timbre, but the real selling point is that the SMABAT M2 Pro is a mercurial chameleon, giving one many options in tuning the sound signature of your choice via a modular design. There are different permutations in driver type, tuning module type and foam cover type. DIYers will have a field day with this set, but those not so hands on will still find plenty to like about this earbud.

SPECIFICATIONS

Driver Type: stock driver in box is a 15.4 mm titanium plated diaphragm. There’s options to buy an aftermarket full sized titanium unit or even the ST10S black gold driver (these are not included and you might need soldering skills).
Frequency Response: 10 Hz – 22kHz
Impedance: 40 ohms
Sensitivity: 110 dB/mW
Cable type: MMCX
Tested at $65 USD
Purchase Link: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001267044768.html

ACCESSORIES

Other than the earbud, it comes with:

1 set of 4 strand single crystal copper mixed wire – very well braided and of high quality, no microphonics.
1 pair of silicone covers.
1 pair of full foam covers.
2 pairs of tuning modules – this will be discussed further below under “Sound & Technicalities”.
Card pin (for removal of tuning modules).

I find the full foams gives a warmer sound (though with slight loss of details) whereas the silicone covers makes the sound clearer and brighter with better microdetails. The upper mids/lower treble can get a bit hot with the silicone covers with the stock tuning module, but I’m treble sensitive, so YMMV, and the basshead in me prefers the full foams for the warmth.

BUILD/COMFORT

The SMABAT M2 Pro has a very high quality metal shell, and I’ve used it for hours at a stretch and fallen asleep with it in my ears without discomfort. Additionally, it can be worn cable down or over the ears and is smaller than the SMABAT ST10 predecessors, which some had a problem with fit wise.

The SMABAT M2 Pro comes with MMCX detchable cables, which is very good to see in earbuds, as even some TOTL earbuds costing a hundred dollars or more have non detachable cables, which may be a potential area of failure down the line. In addition, some folks may be keen to use balanced cables or wireless adapters with it, so I really like the non detachable option in this set. The MMCX are of good quality, neither too loose or too tight, and they lock satisfactorily without spinning.

DRIVABILITY

The stock driver (40 ohm) in the SMABAT M2 Pro is drivable from lower powered sources such as a smartphone, but it scales better in dynamics, details and soundstage with amping. There’s an option to put an aftermarket 150 ohm ST10S Black Gold driver unit inside, and that will probably need more juice than the stock driver.

SOUND & TECHNICALITIES

The SMABAT M2 Pro has authentic vocal and instrumental timbre and above average technicalities as befits a midfi earbud, with nice soundstage. Instrument separation and details and imaging are not classleading compared to the predecessor, the SMABAT ST10, and imaging is occasionally hazy. In fact imaging and instrument separation are one level behind on the SMABAT M2 Pro compared to the SMABAT ST10, especially when it comes to complex tracks.

With regard to customizing the M2 Pro’s sound signature, other than the full foams vs silicone covers influencing the sound, the sound can also have multiple permutations:

The SMABAT M2 Pro comes with 2 pairs of tuning modules in the box (the white circular thing in the 2nd column in this picture), which is easy to install. There’s an option to get other aftermarket dome units/drivers as per the 3rd column in this picture, but putting the aftermarket drivers in may require soldering skills (these are not included in the box and the drivers and soldering kit can be purchased separately from the SMABAT Store on Aliexpress).

This pic is taken from SMABAT’s store page. This is the default tuning module (differentiated by a dot on the reverse side of the module). This tuning module is preinstalled and it gives a neutralish bright sound signature. Upper mids/lower treble are within my tolerances with full foams, but can be hot with the silicone covers with this module on. Bass is quite neutral with this on, typical of most mainstream buds, with some lack of subbass extension and quantity.

This pic is taken from SMABAT’s store page. There’s another pair of tuning modules in the box (without a dot on the reverse side), it gives the sound a mild V shaped tuning. Upper mids are not harsh with this module on. The sub and midbass is definitely more prominent though. I like this module for most of my music cause I like my bass, but with this on, there’s a slight midbass bleed present. Though I like the added warmth in the lower mids with the midbass bleed, but I think some wouldn’t appreciate this. The subbass with this tuning module on can extend to around 30 – 40ish Hz, which is not that common in most mainstream earbuds, and I didn’t miss my IEMs too much with the subbass quantities provided.

The dot to differentiate the different tuning modules is on the reverse side of the modules (see 4 o clock position of left module). The dot is very tiny and easy to miss, but the sound signature is quite different on listening, so the tuning modules ain’t a gimmick.

You can watch this video below to see how the tuning modules can be swapped. It is quite easy to do with the provided card pin in the box, just be careful to protect the wire to the driver when screwing on and off the driver:

Now to complicate matters, there is an option to install different driver units for the SMABAT M2 Pro. The M2 Pro’s stock driver is a 15.4 mm dome titanium driver, but one can buy an aftermarket full sized titanium unit or the ST10S black gold driver (these are not included in the box and you might need soldering skills to install these; soldering kit and aftermarket drivers are sold separately in the SMABAT Store on Aliexpress).

The various driver types and their purported tuning signatures are described below (pics taken from the SMABAT store page), and also below is a video on how to solder the drivers.

This is video on how to solder the different drivers on. Personally I haven’t tried buying the other aftermarket drivers as I’m not the best at soldering, so do it at your own risk!

DIYers will have a field day with this, but I’m not very good at soldering, hence I just stuck to the stock drivers for this review. Even with the stock drivers only, I already found quite a lot of variation in the sound signature with just the silicone covers vs full foams and the 2 provided sets of tuning modules, so I’m rather satisfied. But I would be happy to hear from the adventurous ones who have tried their hand at soldering and exploring the other driver types!

COMPARISONS

I don’t have the recently released SMABAT ST10S Black Gold or Black Silver earbuds, but I did some A/B testing with the original SMABAT ST10. I read that in the forums, after the first batch of ST10s were fixed for the MMCX issues, there were retuned versions of the ST10, so possibly there are 3 versions of the ST10 on the market. I’m not sure which version I have as I bought my ST10 second hand.

As the mercurial SMABAT M2 Pro has multiple sound profiles as above, I decided to put full foams plus use the more V shaped (and bassier) tuning module (ie tuning module 0) which is in the box (not preinstalled), so as to give the bassiest config to compare with the SMABAT ST10 (which is known to have great subbass extension for a bud). These are my findings:

The ST10 has better bass extension and quantity even with the SMABAT M2 Pro on the most bassy config as above.
The ST10 note weight is slightly thinner with a slightly cooler tonality and less authentic timbre than the SMABAT M2 Pro.
SMABAT M2 Pro has slightly more recessed lower mids.
Technicalities wise, the ST10 is ahead, with better soundstage, better imaging, instrument separation, clarity and details on the ST10. The SMABAT M2 Pro gets congested with complex tracks, whereas the ST10 handles these with more ease.
Fit wise, the ST10 is larger and slightly less comfortable.

Hence, I think the original SMABAT ST10 is still better in technicalities and bass quantity/extension, but SMABAT M2 Pro may have better timbre/note weight and fit. Though the SMABAT M2 Pro has the edge in having multiple sound signatures.

Smabat M2 Pro Review II – Do It Yourself!

CONCLUSIONS

The SMABAT M2 Pro is one of the pioneers in earbuds that incorporates an innovative modular concept for different tuning modules and driver units. It would make DIYers very happy and give a wealth of tuning options, in addition to using the silicone covers/full foams to modify the sound.

Sound quality is very good for a midfi earbud and it has a good fit and build and detachable cables to boot. While technicalities on the SMABAT M2 Pro are not classleading, the timbre on the SMABAT M2 Pro is great like other midfi buds and and coupled with the tunable sound signatures, it brings a lot of things to the table. For DIYers, the SMABAT M2 Pro will be a major dream come true, but even for the lay consumers without soldering skills, this is one set that earbud lovers should consider.

MY VERDICT

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DISCLAIMER

I would like to thank SMABAT for providing this review sample in exchange for an honest opinion. My views are my own. It can be gotten here at: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001267044768.html

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