Introduction
“Spring up like mushrooms” is the perfect idiom that I can think of when describing Chi-Fi IEM market at the moment. Today we bring you a brand-new IEM from a brand-new company called Sonic Memory SM2. A brief history, Sonic Memory is a young company formed by the former co-founder and product writer of the well-known “Fun Listening Headset Evaluation” platform in China. After years of reviewing IEMs and earbuds, he set his next adventure to make his own audio brand, and hence the Sonic Memory was born early this year. After the unpopular and experimental SM1 IEM, this time they have collaborated with Widing, NF Audio, and Our studio in order to make this mid-fi level single dynamic driver IEM into its realization. With that being said, I am very much excited to test the SM2 since it is currently being well regarded in their local market, but still almost zero exposure here internationally.
Packaging & Accessories
Bizarre and unique. These are the two words that should describe the packaging of this IEM. As far as I’m concerned, the packaging is handled by NF Audio in which you’ll be greeted with a fairly big cube shaped box. Inside, there is a CD album called “From Now To Future” which I didn’t have the opportunity to listen to it yet since I don’t have a CD player with me at the time this review is written. Under it, there are two bento boxes with one of them containing a pair of chopsticks and a spoon as well as wooden made cover. Inside those “meal” boxes, there are plenty accessories and extras included for example, greeting cards from Widing, NF Audio, and Our studio; filter replacement manual; warranty and documentations; a cloth pouch containing cable; a hard case containing some eartips; replacement lock and filters; and finally, the IEM itself. The word plenty is an understatement when describing the packaging and accessories of this IEM, perhaps a bit too much even. Pretty wild.
Design & Build Quality
Albeit the chunky shell, the workmanship of the SM2 body and shell is excellent. Just look at the pictures, it is beautifully made plus that mirror finish as the faceplate. The nozzle has a lock screw for filter replacement which is very much welcomed in case the stock filter is required to be cleaned or replaced. I also bought myself the HR21 new filter. Sonic Memory insists that the new filter is not an upgrade filter but rather different tuning filter to suit some people preference. Based on my ears, the HR21 filter increases the mid-bass and turn down the upper-mids and treble. This will allow you to further customize the tuning towards your preference even more. In terms of fit and comfort, due to its fairly big shell, the fit is slightly awkward for my ears however, the comfort is very good, I could wear it for hours without feeling any pain sensation. Meanwhile the eartips that are included in the box are fully custom-made for the SM2 only. There are two types of eartips namely Cup eartips (blue wide bore) and Fungus eartips (red narrow bore). Both eartips are treated with antibacterial properties which means your ear will never get itchy with them. In terms of sound quality, I prefer the Cup eartips when I want that surreal treble extension without sounding too peaky in the upper-mids meanwhile I prefer to use the Fungus eartips when I want a more balanced signature. Both are outstanding eartips and they are definitely some of my best eartips I have in my collection for now. All in all, the SM2 really works well with their stock eartips and cable. I don’t recommend you use other third-party eartips and cables because the intended tuning might get disrupted.
Specifications
- Cavity material: 7000 series aluminum alloy
- Panel material: 316 stainless steels
- Weight: ≈18g (excluding wire)
- Speaker: 10mm dynamic
- Speaker model: WDCN-100GS
- Frequency response range: 10Hz-30kHz
- Effective frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz
- Impedance: 16Ω at 1kHz
- Sensitivity: 103dB/mW
- THD: <0.1 at 1kHz
- Rated power: 20mW
- Maximum input power: 50mW
- Pin interface: sinking 0.78mm
- Wire: 5+6N OCC
Retail Price & Where to Get
This unit a self-purchased unit through XLTRADE MY with a slight discount in exchange for an honest written review. The Sonic Memory SM2 can be bought at RM819 through their official Shopee Malaysia as well as Shopee Singapore, Thailand, and Philippines for other SEA customers.
Source Pairing
- Windows 10 Laptop > Realtek HD Audio 3.5mm output > Sonic Memory SM2
- Sony NW-ZX300 (Walkman One Neutral) / Fiio Q5 (AM3D) > Sonic Memory SM2
Test Tracks
Tone and Presentation
Sonic Memory SM2 has a diffuse field neutral (DF-neutral) frequency response. Realistically, I would say that the SM2 is one of the rare analytical single dynamic driver IEM, the tone and timbre is neutral and tiny bit dry, respectively. Those who prefer an IEM that sound musical and engaging should look elsewhere because the SM2 has a presentation of laying out all the details rather than coloring the music for an emotional listening experience. With a stellar technical performance and neutral tonality, the SM2 is perfect for monitoring purpose and critical audiophile listening, in my opinion. Nevertheless, the dynamic driver produced by Widing in the SM2 is exceptionally good especially in terms of transient and dynamic in order to balance the analytical tuning by adding some naturality and energy to the overall sound.
Bass
If you’re looking for that deep and fun bass in your music, look elsewhere because the SM2 bass response is too far from that. In fact, although it extends quite low, the quantity is fairly lacking or perhaps very neutral. However, one thing that surprised me was the bass technical impact and attack coming out from the driver and through the damping filter. It’s unique because you can really feel that hard solid impact but somehow feel lacking in quantity. The speed and texture are also excellent considering its a single dynamic driver IEM, although with the caveat of slightly dry-ish bass timbre and decay. This actually leads to a point where I found that heavy metal genres suit quite well with the SM2 which I will explain more later on.
Midrange
Starting from the lower mids, one thing I notice right off the bat is the bass to mids transition is squeaky clean, there wasn’t any indication mid-bass bleed at all. And due to almost flat lower-mids, male vocal particularly feels almost emotionless and lack that vibrato sensation. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound that thin because perhaps the resolution is still able to provide ample note weight to the vocal. Moving on to the upper-mids, the pinnae gain follows the DF curve towards the 3kHz. The pinnae gain is quite intense and sharp especially at higher volume and this indirectly colors the high pitch vocal to be brighter than it should be. Interestingly, the peak I mentioned is different than most peaks I heard in most IEMs because it landed more towards the 3kHz rather than 2kHz. This is a good thing for me because I am more sensitive towards the 2kHz more than 3kHz. That being said, the pinnae gain really helps instrument such as electric guitar to shine superbly well, meanwhile grand piano timbre might sound slightly too bright. Technically speaking, the SM2 has excellent midrange resolution, be it the micro detail of subtle human voice’s decay or be it the macro texture of synthesizer’s digital notes. Therefore, in short, the SM2 midrange is all about transparency and clarity.
Treble
This is my favorite part because the SM2 has probably the most natural and satisfying treble response I’ve ever heard in an IEM. The highs are just slightly bright but remain entirely smooth along with a phenomenal upper treble extension. The SM2 simply has a class leading treble timbre in which woodwind, string, and percussion instruments resolve extremely well and decay superbly natural. Apart from that, the strong airiness helps the SM2 to sound very open and lively especially in the soundstage and detail-retrieval. Without a doubt, orchestras, classical, soundtracks, acoustics, jazz, and many others are the genres that are able to show the true potential of the SM2.
Soundstage & Imaging
The soundstage isn’t particularly wide as say Fiio FD5, it is decent but not narrow neither. The depth on the other hand is really good as well as the height. Usually, soundstage depth is influenced by the bass response of the IEM where most IEMs with lot of bass will also have the sense of depth in their soundstage. The SM2 staging however is not influenced by the tonality because of the fact that the bass is not really prominent, so it is really and mostly because of the competent driver which able to portray that deep soundstage. Also, listening to some live recorded performances with the SM2 again show that deep soundstage, I could feel as if I was at the audience seat watching the performance in front of me. On top of that, imaging accuracy is amazing as well considering that this is a single dynamic driver IEM although not as good as something like the hybrid driver Moondrop Blessing 2.
Separation & Timbre
Separation on the SM2 has a first-class level performance for a DD IEM. The combination of tuning, transients, dynamic, and coherency of the SM2 is definitely good enough to handle some of the blazing fast bass drums and complex guitar distortions in heavy metal tracks. Furthermore, dynamic changes in classical record such as the Beethoven’s 9th symphony are also staggering as well throughout the whole duration of the movement. The only thing that was lacking are the feel and detail retrieval in the brass section due to the neutral bass response. In terms of timbre, the SM2 has the most natural timbre in an IEM that I’ve come across especially in the midrange and treble. Bass timbre is just a touch too fast in the decay, I would love it more if there are some more natural rebound and reverb in the bass.
Drivability & Synergy
Even though rated with quite low sensitivity and impedance, the SM2 surely love a little bit more volume gain than some other 1DD IEMs. This is probably due to the custom-made dynamic unit made by Widing. Scalability is standard for dynamic driver, the better the source, the better it sounds. Synergy wise, SM2 match well with warmer source such as Sony DAP and iFi Micro Black Label as well as possibly the neutral smooth TRI TK-2 in order control that intense upper-midrange.
Comparison
Tanchjim Oxygen:
Being one of the best single dynamic driver IEM in today’s market, both O2 and SM2 are priced at similar price tag. If SM2 has a DF-neutral tonality, the O2 on the other hand has the Harman-neutral tonality. The main difference between these two IEMs is the bass quantity in which the O2 will surely cater towards most people as it sounds a lot more balanced and musical. This resulted in the O2 to suits more genre of music including vocal, so O2 is an all-rounder performer for sure. In terms of technicalities, the SM2 is without a doubt more resolving and has better accuracy in the imaging and layering. The transient response is also substantially faster than O2 in which the SM2 is able to handle demanding symphony and heavy metal genres even better. Soundstage width is just slightly wider on the SM2, but the depth and height are apparently deeper and taller on the SM2. Also, not to forget that the SM2 is a lot airier and more natural in the instrument timbre. Despite the SM2 having the upper hand in terms of technicalities, the best IEM will depend entirely on the person preference since they are both different in relation to their tuning.
HZSound Heart Mirror:
Heart Mirror, one of the most technical budget single dynamic driver IEM shares a similar tuning with the SM2. If you’ve ever tried the HM, you have basically heard some reminiscent of the SM2 tonality. But there are differences of course between the two, with HM being more V-shaped, the HM has more presence in the mid-bass and treble. Coming from HM, the SM2 sounds a lot cleaner in the bass-mid transition and smoother in the treble. HM highs are grainier and more prone towards sibilance meanwhile SM2 treble is just better tuned without diminishing the brightness and extension. Midrange is much safer on the HM and it provides a bit more body towards the timbre. SM2 vocal is more euphonic and brighter but a lot more detailed and textured. Bass has slightly more quantity on the HM but the impact and speed are clearly better on the SM2. In my opinion, the SM2 is a more neutral Heart Mirror but with a clear upgrade in resolution and technicalities bar none.
Tin Hifi T3 Plus:
Equipped with LCP dynamic driver, T3+ is the latest budget single dynamic driver IEM from Tin Hifi. T3+ is a slight V-shaped IEM which is completely opposite to the SM2 neutral tuning. The bass is a lot more boosted and the mids are slightly recessed especially in the upper midrange. However, the vocal performance is much weightier and more emotional on the T3+ due to their uplifted lower mids. Anyhow, the treble of the SM2 is just superior in terms of tuning and extension. Technical performance of SM2 is also miles ahead of the T3+, no doubt about that.
For Who?
SM2 has a niche tonality for some hardcore audiophiles who love dynamic driver-based IEM with specific taste in their music. Those who wants to experience the opposite side of the usual warm, fun, V-shape, and Harman-ish tuning might want to try the SM2’s unexpressive tone, breathtaking highs, and high-resolution reproduction. To be specific, SM2 performs really well with instrumental songs rather than with vocal oriented songs. In terms of genre of music, the SM2 stellar technical performance and neutral tuning really suit orchestras and classical; soundtracks and scores; acoustics and folks; jazz and soul; heavy metal and rock fusion; some electronics; and live performances. Mainstream pop, dance, EDM, R&B, certain rock and funk genres are not so suitable unless they’re recorded and mixed incredibly well.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Sonic Memory SM2 is an interesting IEM for sure. It’s made from a brand-new company, it’s one of those rare technical single DD IEM, it has top class design and build quality, and comes with tons of useful sound customization as well as packaging and accessories. Considering all of these, I found that the value of this IEM is fairly acceptable despite the high pricing. Currently, the SM2 is my favorite IEM at the moment not only because of the technical performance but also due to its tuning which easily resonate with my taste and preference.
