Review : Simgot EK3 – Pimp my vibe

Bundle and Comfort

Inside the box

The Simgot EK3 packaging is the same as before, which is not a bad thing. The box is simple but the metallic insert at the bottom makes it classy.

Inside, you find :

  • the Simgot EK3
  • six pairs of standard silicon tips + six pairs of balanced silicon tips
  • a 0.78mm 2-pin – 6N OCC +  2 SPC braided cable
  • a leatherette case to carry your IEMs

The bundle is simple and the cleaning tip can also be used as a stem for the sound settings. What’s lacking is a balanced cable, you should get an after-market one.

Additional accessories

Simgot doesn’t offer aftermarket cables. If you want to get a specific one you should check another brand like Forza or Effect Audio. That’s a bit sad since the brand offers various types of cable, depending of which model you chose :

  • EN700 : 6N / 8 cores single-crystal copper and silver plated braided wires
  • EM1/MT3 : 6N / 4 cores high purity OFC braided wires
  • EM2 : 4 Cores silver plated copper braided wires
  • EM3/EM5 : 6N / 4 cores OCC+SPC braided wires
  • EM5 : same but without the adapter
  • EK3 : same as the EM3

In addition to all those cables, Simgot also provides a wireless adapter : the APT0. This could come handy if you want to bring your IEM for sports activity and want to carry the less.

Comfort

The fit is perfect. Once you find the right tips, the EK3 gives you that perfect seal only CIEM and modern semi-CIEM can offer. All in all, this matches the BGVP DM6/DM7 comfort and the acrylic thickness really gives this premium sensation.

The cable is light and doesn’t tangle, which is cool if you like to put your IEM directly in your pocket. If you use the carry case, this is irrelevant.

Isolation

Hurray ! The Simgot EK3 is much more potent in this field than the EM3. It effectively blocks unwanted noises, even when there is no music playing. Once you crank the volume, you’re completely sealed off from the world, which is exactly what we expect from an IEM.

simgot EK3

Specifications

For the nit-pickers and nerdy ones here, I’m giving the specs and technical sheets. For all the others, you can just go to the next page to see how the Simgot EK3 performs.

Triple Knowles balanced armatures

The Simgot EK3 uses a classic set of Knowles armatures. The bass driver is a CI-22955, a fairly big driver capable of getting pretty low without (much) distortion. It’s supposed to offer fast/rich bass and every time we heard an IEM with this driver, it never disappointed.

The mids and highs are taken care of by a TWFK-30017, still from Knowles. This dual body, balanced armature, can be found in many IEM and can be a hit or miss, depending of the tuning. On paper, Simgot advertises them as “excessively raised, transparent and natural.

All in all, if the specs match the design, this could be pretty interesting. We’ll have to confirm that later, but now it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room : the toggle switch system.

Toggle switch and tunable sound

Yes, like the Earsonics Purple or the Sennheiser IE80S, the Simgot EK3 offer a tunable sound system. Two switches, located at the rear of the IEM gives you different sound signature, depending on the one toggled.

You have four different settings available :

– 1 on / 2 off – Strong bass
– 1 off / 2 off – Bright Vocal
– 1 on / 2 on – Exquisite tone
– 1 off / 2 on – Balanced tuning

You have to use the brush, even with long nails it’s nearly impossible to toggle them without the tool. The integration is neat and unless you use the brush, the switches will never toggle up or down on their own.

A triple driver / dual crossover system + tunable design is not so mainstream, so I’d be pretty curious to see how that’s gonna end. RHA or Sleek audio used a removable nozzle with different kinds of filters, so a direct switch may be even better, or worse.

Full specs

  • Type : IEM
  • Style : 3x Balanced driver
  • Drivers : 1x CI-22955 + 1x TWFK-30017
  • Socket : 2-pins 0.78mm
  • Cable : 6N 2x OCC + 2x SPC braided cable
  • Shell : DLP 3D printed acrylic
  • Two colors available : clear and grey translucent
  • Frequency response Range : 20Hz – 40kHz
  • Sensitivity : 115dB
  • Impedance : 14-18 ohms
  • Rated Power : 10mW
  • THD : <0,75% @1kHz / 1mW
  • Channel imbalance : < 1.5dB
  • Price : 349$

It goes on on the next page, right HERE

4.2/5 - (8 votes)
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A nerdy guy with a passion for audio and gadgets, he likes to combine his DAC and his swiss knife. Even after more than 10 years of experience, Nanotechnos still collects all gear he gets, even his first MPMAN MP3 player. He likes spreadsheets, technical specs and all this amazing(ly boring) numbers. But most of all, he loves music: electro, classical, dubstep, Debussy : the daily playlist.

1 Comment

  • Reply October 4, 2019

    Manish D.

    I have the Simgot EK3 ($360), the BGVP DM6 ($199), and the Monoprice MP80 ($80)… they’re all amazing for the price point… and yes, you do notice a difference.

    The MP80 were a good intro into the IEM market, solid build, 3 tuning nozzles for different audiophonic preferences, work with multitude MMCX accessories… great sound and get pretty loud before you start hearing distortion.

    And then I got to hear the BGVP DM6… better sound for sure than the MP80… more balanced, distortion free at a very loud setting, definitely better sound stage than the MP80. You cannot go wrong with these if your budget is <$200.

    Then I got the Simgot EK3… Oh wow! With the tuning settings built-in, you have a combo of the above with the tuning preference, and the amazing soundstage. Each type of sound comes through in the music I listen to… stuff I didn't notice before as much even with the two above (but especially with something like airpods or mid-end Sony or something comparable). But like I said, it's a budget issue… I was lucky to get the right ones at the right price points to be able to tell the differences in each.

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