LETSHUOER EJ09: Extremely Delineated and Resolving One
“Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend.”
~~Ludwig Van Beethoven, German composer and pianist during the Classical period.
Euphonic means to have a pleasant and sweet voice quality. Juncture is a contact, joint or connection between two or more things. That's how I interpret the EJ09's letter initials, Euphonic Juncture as it gives a very pleasant sound produced by the connection of well-implemented high quality drivers from its transducers.
This is actually my second product review of a TOTL (Top of the Line), over a grand dosh flagship IEM from LETSHUOER. I know that this one is considered as an old model but this set is one of the hidden gems that is quite still very relevant up to this day that needs a further reintroduction to the portable audio enthusiasm sphere.
Since I already reviewed many LETSHUOER products so no need for me to do another introduction about this audio company. Due to the successful introduction of their first "tribrid" model, The LETSHUOER EJ07, they decided to release another hybrid driver IEM with more additional balanced armature drivers. What I have here in my hand right now is their LETSHUOER EJ09, This was actually LETSHUOER's first foray on a TOTL flagship range in 2021 and like all TOTL sets, it has hybrid driver configuration but this one, like the EJ07 has also three types of drivers that were implemented inside.
The drivers that were implemented on EJ09 are dynamic driver, balanced armature driver and electret/"electrostatic" driver. On each side of its shell transducers, there is a single 10mm kevlar dome, liquid silicone dynamic driver which I'm quite familiar with this kind of driver due its fast, tactile and clean bass response, a combination of three (3) Knowles balanced armature drivers and one (1) Sonion balanced armature driver for mid bass up to high frequencies to deliver a natural, crisp and detailed sound, and a Sonion EST65QB02 electret/"electrostatic" which has quadruple microdrivers based on a electret technology with a transformer or energiser for better air and sparkle on ultra high frequencies that apparently can reach up to 70kHz. These drivers were connected into a penta-way crossover through four(4) acoustic tubes for better separation, seamless flow of signal output and less chance of having abnormal phasing issues. It also noted that it has a micro electronic frequency divider PCB acting as passband circuit regulator for handling capacitance and induction for each type of driver.
These drivers and other components were encapsulated in a rather large UIEM-style, imported (probably from Austria or Germany) high quality, medical grade resin shell chassis. These shell chassis are light, durable and will offer a better passive noise isolation. It has black coloured resin shell from its cavity base and faceplate, then on its faceplate there is a glinting gradient of colours that reminds me of some semi-precious gemstones. Every shell chassis was serialised with production batches and it has an unusually large vent hole for escaping excess air pressure generated from its high performance drivers. Like all LETSHUOER products, it uses a proven and well-tested 2-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism for its cable.
The cable that was included in LETSHUOER EJ09 is a decently thick, 2-core monocrystalline copper and silver plated copper wirings that are insulated with a L-shaped termination plug where you can choose two types of termination upon purchase either 3.5mm S.E. or 4.4mm balanced.
Of all LETSHUOER products, despite its flagship status, LETSHUOER EJ09 is quite modest and straightforward when it comes to product packaging and presentation. But at least it has a sufficient amount of inclusions inside of its grey-coloured square cube box.
Here are the following inclusions that were included inside the box:
■ Pair of LETSHUOER EJ09.
■ Stock cable with a 3.5mm termination plug.
■ Circular solid aluminium IEM case.
■ Velvet storage bag.
■ 3 pairs of opaque balanced bore ear tips in different standard sizes.
■ 3 pairs of white-coloured wide bore ear tips in different standard sizes.
■ 2 pairs of memory foam ear tips.
■ Cleaning brush
■ Some paperwork like warranty card, quality control card and instruction manual.
With an array of drivers that this set might be harder to drive but no, it wasn't this case. The fact that EJ09 is actually easy to amplify means that I only put it in a low gain mode in my DAPs. Even in my LG phones, This set is quite already a vivid and full-range sounding at medium volume level in a normal impedance mode at around 40-45/75 volume steps.
To determine its tonality, The LETSHUOER EJ09 has that neutral sound profile which I can classify as a "reference-neutral" in my own subjective sound signature vocabulary. It has more emphasis on midrange and high frequencies with a right amount elevation on low frequencies that can also also be categorised as neutralish-bright.
LOWS/BASS:
My initial impression of this set is that it has a good presence on bass response for a neutral-tuned IEM. It is quite well-balanced that it has proper sub bass while having an ample mid bass presence to give a decent texture on some instruments and vocals. To expound clearly the details, the overall bass quality of EJ09 is between tight to punchy with sufficient volume, depth and texture while having tidy and well-segregated from other frequency ranges that will work most likely for monitoring and mixing.
It definitely has a good rumble and reverberations as I visibly hear and feel it from sub bass-focus instruments like synthesisers, low tuned guitars, drum machines and octabasses. Mid bass has an adequate texture and density on its note weight to give a rather natural tone though don't expect a much darker tone from it. Bass guitars have a resonant and rasping sound as I discerningly hear it from every stroke and strumming on its string notations either slapping, fretless, tapping or any fingering techniques that bass guitarist's employ. Bass kick drums have a sustaining, sonorous and resonant sound that is able to keep up some double bass drum speed from jazz or some extreme metal tracks. Bass trumpets have a fuller yet tense with enough dark timbre from them as a fundamental note for lower octaves and registers on brass instrument section on an orchestral track. Bass-baritone vocals seem to have a decent depth and heft to give a decent low resonant voice with its dense and espresso-like texture on its tone.
Tracks tested for bass register:
SUB-BASS
● New Order - True Faith
● New Order - Blue Monday
● Erasure - Love To Hate You
● Camouflage - Great Commandment
● Kraftwerk - Das Model
MID-BASS
Bass Guitars
● Les Claypool (Primus) - My Name is Mud
● Patricia Morrison (Sister of Mercy) - Lucretia, My Reflection
● Cliff Burton (Metallica) - Motorbreath
● Steve Di Giorgio (Sadus) - Desolator
● Kathy Valentine (The Go-Go's) - Fading Fast
● John Deacon (Queen) - Another One's Bite A Dust
Bass Kick Drums
● John Bonham (Led Zeppelin) - When The Levee Breaks
● Fredrik Widigs (Marduk) - The Blond Beast
● Gene Hoglan (Dark Angel) - Death is Certain (Life is Not)
● Dave Lombardo (Slayer) - Raining Blood
● Jimmy Marinos (The Romantics) - Talking In Your Sleep
Bass Trumpets
● Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra - Richard Wagner - Walkürenritt (Ride of the Valkyries)
● New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Antonin Dvorak - Symphony 9, From The New World
● Put3ska - Manila Girl
Bass-Baritones
● Andrew Eldritch (Sister of Mercy) - Lucretia My Reflection
● Peter Steele (Type O Negative) - Black No.1
● Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful World
● Barry White - Never, Never Gonna Give You Up
● Bryn Terfel with The Royal Opera House - Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov
MIDRANGE:
This is one of the strongest assets of the EJ09, the quality of its midrange frequency. It has a neutral, clear, immaculate and forward presentation that gives a quite vivid, precise and detail on vocals (primarily on female vocals) and most instruments' note weight.
On vocals, It seems that almost all female voice types will be more beneficial on how this set was tuned. It will give more expressive, emotional and articulation on vocals with higher octave and pitch. I'll do on male vocals first as this is my usual pattern in audio reviewing on determining the qualities of vocals. Baritone vocals have a milder tone that both light and lyric baritones will be more benefited as they have a sweet, enough warmth and smooth, but on kavalier baritone, dramatic and verdi baritone vocals, due to the vocal texture that EJ09, they sound more milder as they have a tad mellow, velvety and plush in contrast the kavalier baritone has that steely voice while dramatic has robust and fuller tone and verdi has a darker timbre on which this set is somewhat lacking of. Tenors have a sufficient weight and volume on vocals, a rich, clear and bright tone to give that spiciness, brassy and ringing sound that we want on tenor singers. Leggiero tenors have light and full chesty vocals and lyric tenors are bright and graceful which sound quite natural on EJ09. The other tenor voice types like Spinto, Dramatic and Heldentenors have a rather rich, brassy and sufficiently energetic sound on its ample vocal weight and volume despite the transparent nature of this set. Countertenors will sound remarkable on this IEM on how it portrays their distinctive agile, smooth and tenderness on their voices on hitting their falsetto range. On female vocals, Contraltos have a good deep and rich timbre on EJ09 as they sound smoky and husky as I'm enjoying the lusciousness of their vocal quality. The remaining two female vocal types are where the LETSHUOER EJ09 is truly excellent as it gives a vivid, well-articulate, energetic and lively tone, and these are the mezzo-sopranos and sopranos vocals. Mezzo-sopranos have a velvety, fiery and lustrous sound from them to give me a feathery feeling. Sopranos seems to have bright and sparkling vocal characteristics as they have a shimmering, silvery and crystalline sound from how the EJ09 projects it. From dramatic to coloratura sopranos, This set will deliver that energetic and spacious vocals effortlessly without any hindrance.
On instruments, almost all instruments that I've heard sound very detailed and somewhat life-like particularly on strings, woodwinds and some percussives. Strings like guitars have a lingering, crisp and bright tone that acoustic guitars should sound like in my opinion and it is also applicable to the electric guitars too, and then on violins, they have a vibrant, brilliant and metallic sound that will a tonal diversity and compactness when played along with instruments in string sections in typical orchestral arrangement. Woodwinds like concert flutes, piccolos, clarinets and saxophones, concert flutes have an airy, ethereal and silvery sound while piccolos have a penetrating and brilliant tone. Both clarinets and saxophones have a reedy and lively sound from them. On percussion instruments, snare drums have clear, bright, popping and sometimes metallic sound from them, kettledrums have dry and resonant sound on every hitting of their mallet, Field drums have a hard and menacing sound while tom drums have a resonant sound with good incisive thudding. Pianos appears to have a brighter and crisper tone. On brasses like trumpets, horns and trombones, trumpets have full, brilliant and intense sound while horns also have a bright and intense sound, and then trombones have dramatic and penetrating sound to give that particular brassy tone.
Tracks tested on this category:
VOCALS
Baritones
● Robert Merrill - Largo al Factotum
● Dmitri Hvorostovsky - Handel - Ombra Mai Fu
● Scott Weidland (Stone Temple Pilots) - Still Remains
● Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) - Daughter
● David Bowie - A Man Who Sold The World
Tenors
● Luciano Pavarotti (The Three Tenors)- O Paradiso
● Placido Domingo (The Three Tenors) - Nessun Dorma
● Jose Carreras (The Three Tenors) - Granada
● Freddie Mercury (Queen) - Killer Queen
● Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) - The Rover
Countertenors
● Andreas Scholl - Handel - Ombra Mai Fu
● Philippe Jaroussky - Vivaldi -Tecum Principium
● Prince - When The Doves Cry
● Robert Gift (Fine Young Cannibals) - She Drives Me Crazy
● King Diamond (Mercyful Fate) - Melissa
Contraltos
● Nina Simone - Love Me Or Leave Me
● Tracy Chapman - Fast Car
● Toni Braxton - Unbreak My Heart
● Sade - Smooth Operator
● Annie Lennox - No More I Love You's
● Anggun - Snow On The Sahara
Mezzo-sopranos
● Cecilia Bartoli - Handel - Ombra Mai Fu
● Nadja Michael - Bizet - Carmen
● Dolores O'Riordan (The Cranberries) - You and Me
● Sharon Den Adel (Within Temptation) - The Cross
● Andrea Corr (The Corrs) - What I Can Do
● Edie Brickell - Good Times
● Ella Fitzgerald - Christmas Island
Sopranos
● Diana Damrau - Mozart - Queen of the Night Aria - Die Zauberflöte
● Olga Pereyatko - Mozart - Or Sai Chi L'onore
● Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold
● Tarja Turunen (Nightwish) - Sleeping Sun
● Mariah Carey - Always Be My Baby
● Alison Krauss and Union Station - A Living Prayer
INSTRUMENTS
Strings
● Felix Ayo (Violin) - Vivaldi- Summer III. Presto: Tempo impetuoso d'Estate
● The Eagles - Hotel California (Hell Freezes Over)
● Malice Mizer - Au Revoir
● Yngwie Malmsteen - Arpeggio From Hell
● John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) - Snow (Hey Oh)
● Kirk Hammett (Metallica) - Motorbreath
Woodwind
● Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) - Living In The Past
● Icelandic Philharmonic Orchestra - Mozart - Flute Concerto No.1 in G-Major, K. 313.
● L'Opera de Paris - Mozart - Die Zauberflöte - Act I : Overture
● Ensemble Matheus - Vivaldi - La Tempesta di mare
● Men At Work - Down Under
Percussion
● Les Percussions de Strasbourg - Kazimierz Serocki - Continuum
● Ottoman Mehter - Hücum Marsi
● Neil Peart (Rush) - Tom Sawyer
● Peter Bitelli (Riot) - Warrior
● Jonathan Moffett (Michael Jackson) - Billy Jean
● Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy) - Slit Your Guts
Brass
● Bundeswehr Staff Band (Trumpets, Trombones and Tubas) - Preußischer Präsentiermarsch
● Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra - Richard Wagner - Walkürenritt (Ride of the Valkyries)
● Ottoman Mehter - Plevne Marsi
● The Specials (Trombone)- A Message To You Rudy
● Bad Manners (Trumpet and Trombone) - Lip Up Fatty
HIGHS/TREBLE:
EJ09's treble response is definitely on a brighter side as it has crisp, excellent clarity and extreme detail capabilities as it also has a superb presence that executes a well-rendered attack on instruments and a well-articulate vocal presentation. It also has an outstanding quality of its brilliance treble region as it possesses a good amount of harmonics for more sparkling and well-extended airy treble. If you want that ambient and atmospheric effect in your listening, this set will fit and will perfectly execute it.
Despite its excellent treble response, there are some probable concerns that might be a drawback to some listeners particularly on treble-sensitive folk out there. There's a hint of sibilance whenever I played some tracks which were known to be sibilant-laden ones but I still consider it tolerable and fairly controlled. As I really don't think that EJ09 has a harsh and strident sound but that peak on upper mids to presence treble region might be to boosted and too energetic to some treble-sensitives but for most treble-heads, its a bliss for them.
Regarding some instruments, it gives a more shimmering, glistening and sizzling sound on cymbals while the hi-hats have that distinguishing sound that has shortened buzzing tone. Glockenspiels have that bright, shimmering and sometimes, piercing sound while celestas have bright and silvery sound on hitting its highest octave.
Tracks tested on category:
● Lars Ulrich (Metallica) (Cymbals and Hi-hats) - Motorbreath
● Kami (Malice Mizer) (Cymbals and Hi-hats) - Au Revoir
● Yoshiki (X-Japan) (Cymbals and Hi-hats) - Blue Blood
● Various artists (Celestas) - Bach - Suite No.3, BWV 1068
● Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Glockenspiels) - Shostakovich - Symphony No.15 in A major, Op 141
SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:
LETSHUOER EJ09 definitely takes an excellent and perfect mark on this category.
Sound/speaker stage on this one is indeed impeccable as it has a pretty expansive lateral sound field with excellent height ceiling and depth that gives me an incredibly spacious and broad headroom which is beyond my aural sphere.
Projecting its imaging presentation, EJ09 has three-dimensional and atmospheric sound field dimensions. I can absolutely perceive and pinpoint the precise placements of vocals and instruments within the premises of my head shadow. Separation of instruments and vocals as it has a good gaps and spacing on each other while it has a very competent layering capability as tonal and frequency layers of instruments and vocal are well-defined and delineated that were arranged in a sonic canvas. Playing a very complex multi-instrumental tracks will be an easy-peasy for this set as I've tried it from jazz ensembles to orchestral tracks and EJ09 is able to play it effortlessly.
As for driver cohesion, LETSHUOER EJ09 performs fantastic as its dynamic drivers have faster transient speed with good gradual decay, balanced armature drivers doesn't have that unwanted resonance effect while delivering a clarity and detailed sound while the electret drivers seems to deliver an accurate yet energetic due to its high sensitivity nature.
On defining its resolution capabilities, EJ09 has excellent micro-dynamics and fairly good macro-dynamics. It has good notation attacks, better transients on handling sustain and decay and sufficiently textured note weight. Detail retrieval is quite sharp on extracting a substantial amount of details and nuances of information from an audio track.
PEER COMPARISONS:
LETSHUOER EJ07M
● Like its older predecessors, EJ07M is also a tribrid driver configuration but difference between them that it has lesser number of balanced armature drivers and it shells are made of aluminium alloy and less chunky compared to humongous, resin shell chassis of EJ09 albeit it has stubby nozzle. EJ07M is way more cheaper compared to the EJ09 but it has way more better product presentation.
● Tonality-wise, both sets are neutral sounding. Bass response of EJ07M is quite punchy with good reverberation from its sub-basa but it has a less dense midbass texture. Midrange have similar qualities but compare to EJ09 it is less brighter and less crisper. As for its treble quality, EJ07M has smoother and balanced response that makes it more acceptable to treble sensitives.
● As for technical performance, Both are comparable but the difference were that EJ07M sound/speaker stage is less spacious and micro-dynamics is a bit less remarkable compare to EJ09.
ELYSIAN X EFFECT AUDIO GAEA (DEMO)
● It is on the same price range with EJ09 and also has similar build in which GAEA also has shell chassis made of high quality resin. But the difference are that it has proprietary connector as its detachable mechanism but it has an high quality stock cable which is Effect Audio known to make premium upgraded cables.
● The sound signature of GAEA is your typical Harmanish type of tuning which is a lean U-shaped. It focuses more on sub-bass than mid-bass as it gives a less note weight on bass instruments. It has a recessed and leaner texture on its midrange presentation compare to the EJ09. It is also quite capable on rendering some female vocals just like the EJ09. Treble quality is quite similar but it is quite less airy and it has more instances on having a jarring sound and sibilance on its playback.
● The technical capabilities of GAEA is rather average to above average which makes it quite inferior compared to the EJ09. It has a narrower sound/speaker stage width span, above average height reach and good depth which gives me a bit congested feel on it. It also noted that I remember its layering capability is not remarkable but rather good enough for midrange set but there are some midrange sets has also good layering capabilities which makes the GAEA's shortcomings "unreasonable" for its asking price as I expect better technical capabilities on a over a grand set.
UNIQUE MELODY MEST MK. III
● Another TOTL-set and a bit more pricey compare to EJ09. A quad-brid monster as it has a bone conduction driver on its internals for added more ambient effect and its shell chassis are mostly made of carbon fiber which is more solid and denser compared to a resin material. It also has a better quality cable as it has thicker profile and made of rare materials albeit it is quite unwieldy and less supple.
● MEST MK.III has a balanced-neutral which make it more versatile almost type of music genre with exception of hip-hop and other bass boost genres. It has a more solid bass response as it has more noticeable mid-bass texture. On midrange, it has a tad more texture on its lower midrange part compared to EJ09 as brasses and baritones have a richer and fuller tone from it. It also has a bright treble response but to my surprise, it doesn't have a hint of either sibilance or harshness from it.
● Overall, it has a very similar technical performance but here are some differences that I will pointing out. MEST Mk.III has a more depth on its sound/speaker stage and a more solid macro-dynamics. The rest of their technical aspects are on par and equal in my opinion.
Here are some summaries that should be highlighted on the LETSHUOER EJ09. It is quite an old model but still capable to deliver its tonal prowess. Like most current existing flagship products, EJ09 has "tri-brid" driver set-up and it was tuned neutrally specifically for audio enthusiasts and audio professionals alike.
As I concluded this product assessment, LETSHUOER EJ09 is still a very capable set that can deliver a well-tuned sounding set with extremely capable on its technical performance that makes it even more valuable that should be paid attention from portable audio connoisseurs and aficionados, at least they should try to test or add it on their collection for reference sound. With a superb clarity, very competent on detail capability and a remarkable high resolution aspect, LETSHUOER EJ09 is truly a veteran and an old guard flagship of TOTL sets out there.
LETSHUOER EJ09 is still available on online stores of your favourite and preferred audio vendors. All links down below are unaffiliated ones.
★★LETSHUOER EJ09 - OFFICIAL STORE★★
And also, If you are in the Philippines, LETSHUOER EJ09 is now available in Egghead Hi-Fi Gallery at Shangri-la Plaza.
★★EGGHEAD HI-FI GALLERY - FACEBOOK★★
Here are my previous reviews on other LETSHUOER products:
◆ LETSHUOER GALILEO (First impressions)
◆ LETSHUOER CONDUCTOR (First impressions)
SPECIFICATION:
MODEL: LETSHUOER EJ09
IMPEDANCE: 20Ω
SENSITIVITY: 110dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 30KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.25m
PIN TYPE: 0.78MM 2-PIN CCONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm. 4.4mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER + (4) BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVERS + (4) ELECTRET/ "ELECTROSTATIC" DRIVERS
PROS:
△ Solid build construction on its high quality resin shell chassis, quite light too.
△ Substantial amount of ear tips to choose from.
△ Rigid metal alloy shell chassis and even a storage bag for it
△ Good quality stock cable.
△ Capable neutrally-tuned set.
△ Precise and well-balanced bass response.
△ Good sub-bass presence.
△ Excellent midrange quality
△ Adequately textured, clean. transparent and evenly neutral midrange
△ Well-articulated and expressive vocal and rendition of instruments proper tonal colour especially on strings, percussives and woodwinds.
△ Shimmering and crisp treble response
△ Extremely detail sounding with great clarity.
△ Airy and copious amount of sparkle on its brilliance part on its frequency range spectrum.
△ Spacious and atmospheric sound/speaker stage dimension.
△ Impressive separation and layering capability.
△ Astonishing flair on detail retrieval.
CONS:
▽ Wishing for better cable, ideally a modular one.
▽ Sorry bassheads, The tuning on this one is absolutely not for you if you want a more authoritative and boomy bass response.
▽ Vocal note weight on some male voice types are quite lacking of warmth, volume and depth.
▽ A cautious reminder to some listeners who are quite treble-sensitive, peaky upper-mids and presence part of the treble frequency might be too instense on their high frequency threshold.
▽ Some minor occurrences of an overemphasised hiss on sibilant-laden tracks.
Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)
Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
P.S.
I am not affiliated to LETSHUOER nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.
Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to IVY GAO for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.
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