LetShuoer DZ4 IEM Review
LetShuoer DZ4 IEM Review
Introduction:
LetShuoer (former Shuoer) is a Chinese company located in Dongguan, Guangdong, China and is specialized in design and development of portable audio equipment’s such like Universal & Custom In-Ear Monitors and USB DAC/Amplifiers.
The DZ4 is LetShuoer’s brand new Hybrid Driver earphone that is equipped with a quite interesting driver setup, which is a combination of 3x 6mm dia. Titanium Dome Dynamic Drivers + 1x 6mm dia. Passive Radiator Driver. The drivers are connected to a dual-pin receptacle via a Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) crossover board. The DZ4 features a Four-way Acoustic Tube design, which is part of the Two-way Crossover Circuit. All these components are located inside a resin shell with a CNC milled faceplate on the top. The DZ4 comes with a 4-core Silver Plated Monocrystalline Copper Cable that sports 2-Pin connectors and a 3.5mm SE headphone jack.
Disclaimer:
I would like to thank LetShuoer for providing me the DZ4 earphone as review sample. I am not affiliated with LetShuoer or any third person beyond this review and all these words reflect my true, unaltered opinions about the product.
Price & Availability:
The actual price for the new LetShuoer DZ4 In-Ear Monitor is 89,00 US$. More information’s can be found under the link below;
Package & Accessories:
The LetShuoer DZ4 comes inside a rectangular cardboard box in white color that is wrapped with a white cardboard with some brandings and a drawing on the top.
Inside the box are the following items/accessories;
- 1 x LetShuoer DZ4 In-Ear Monitors
- 1 x 2-Pin Detachable Cable with 3.5mm Headphone Plug
- 3 x pairs of Balanced Silicone Ear Tips (S, M, L)
- 3 x pairs of Vocal Silicone Ear Tips (S, M, L)
- 1 x Storage Case
- 1 x Some Print Materials
Design & Build Quality:
The LetShuoer DZ4 is a fancy looking In-Ear Monitor with a Universal shape that was designed in collaboration with HeyGears. The monitor shell is a combination of a high quality 3D printed resin material in a nice pastel white color (main body) and a CNC machined aluminum material (faceplate).
The DZ4 is equipped with a quite interesting driver setup, a combination of 3x 6mm dia. Titanium Dome Dynamic Drivers + 1x 6mm dia. Passive Radiator Driver. The drivers are connected to a dual-pin receptacle via a flexible printed circuit (FPC) crossover board. The DZ4 features a Four-way Acoustic Tube design, which is part of the Two-way Crossover Circuit.
The faceplate that is made from CNC machined Anodized Aluminum material has a futuristic look, which looks like dots that are connected with straight lines together.
This area has an orange finish that looks like as it would glow like a neon light. This area has a mesh behind it, which is part of the semi-open back design of the LetShuoer DZ4.
The inner surface of each monitor features a low profile sound nozzle with some relative small damping filters on the top.
Each earpiece is equipped with a 0.78mm diameter 2-Pin female connector interface that offers a tight connection.
At the rear surface of each monitors is a LetShuoer brandings and the L (Left) or R (Right) indicators.
Detachable Cable:
The DZ4 comes with a 4-core 216-strand (0.05mm diameter) Silver Plated Monocrystalline Copper wire cable that has a length of approx 120cm.
The cable has a braided design and the wires are protected by a soft and flexible PVC insulation in Gold and Silver colors.
The 2-Pin connectors do have a metal housing that sport left (transparent) and right (red) color indicators.
Near the connectors are heat shrink ear guides for extra comfort on the go.
There cable comes with a metal Y-splitter and a transparent plastic chin slider.
The cable sports a 3.5mm Single Ended headphone plug termination with a straight profiled metal housing that has the LetShuoer branding on the top. The plug sports a semi-transparent plastic strain relief for extra durability.
Comfort & Isolation:
The LetShuoer DZ4 is a comfortable In-Ear Monitor, thanks to its ergonomic shape and the use of lightweight materials like resin and aluminum. The IEM fits pretty well in to my ears with an average sized ear concha. The passive noise of the monitors is on an average level, due to its semi-open back design. However, it offers a sufficient isolation for the use in relative noise environments such like a bus or a train.
Pairing & Drivability:
The LetShuoer DZ4 is a quite easy to power earphone thanks to its low impedance of just 12Ω and a sensitivity of approx 104dB/mW @1 kHz. This makes it highly compatible with Smartphone’s & Tablet’s that do have a 3.5mm output and USB Dongles with relative weak amplification capabilities.
Technical Specifications:
- Driver Configuration : 3x 6mm Dynamic Driver + 1x 6mm Passive Radiator
- Diaphragm Material : Titanium Dome Diaphragm
- Frequency Response : 20-40 kHz
- Sensitivity : 104dB/mW @1kHz
- Impedance : 12Ω
- Distortion : ≤3% @ 1kHz
- Connector Interface : 0.78mm dia. 2-Pin
- Plug : 3.5mm Single Ended
Equipment’s used for this review:
- IEM’s : LetShuoer DZ4, ThieAudio Legacy2
- Sources : HiBy R6 GEN III, FiiO M11 PLUS ESS Sabre, FiiO KA5
Albums & Tracks used for this review:
- Adele – My Little Love (Spotify)
- Randy Crawford – On Day I Will Fly Away (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Hayley Westenra – Odyssey Album (Dezzer HiFi)
- Dionne Warwick – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Sarah McLachlan – Angel (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Sertap Erener – Aşk (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Edith Piaf – Non Je Ne Regrette Rien (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
- Aretha Franklin – I Say A Little Payer (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Sonya Yoncheva – (Giuseppe Verdi) II Trovatore, ActI (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- George Michael – Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- David Bowie – Heroes (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Elton John – Rocket Man ((Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Barry White – Just The Way You Are (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Isaac Hayes – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Sting – Englishman in New York – (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- B.B. King – Riding With The King (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Bro Safari, UFO! – Drama (Deezer HiFi)
- Armin Van Buuren – Vini Vici (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Daft Punk – Doin’ it Right (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Jo Blankenburg – Meraki (Spotify)
- Lorde – Royals (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Massive Attack – Angel (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Toutant – Rebirth (Deezer HiFi)
- Gogo Penguin – Raven (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Gogo Penguin – Murmuration (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Portishead – It Could Be Sweet (Spotify)
- Max Richter – On the Nature of Daylight (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Charly Antolini – Duwadjuwandadu (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Ferit Odman – Look, Stop & Listen (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Chopin – Nocturn No. 20 In C-Sharp Minor (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Fazıl Say – Nazım Oratoryosu (Live) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Deezer HiFi)
- Otto Liebert& Luna Negra – The River (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Lunatic Soul – The Passage (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Deftones – My Own Summer (Shove it) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Opeth – Windowpane (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- Rush’s – Leave That Thing Alone (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Slayer – Angel of Death (Spotify)
- Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Spotify)
- Yosi Horikawa – Bubbles (Spotify)
The Sound:
The LetShuoer DZ4 offers an easy going listening experience with its balanced, highly transparent, spacious and lively overall sound presentation. It shows a linear bass response with good level of speed and resolution. It has a midrange with decent sense of clarity, texture and presence, while the treble tuning is ideal for a wide variety of genres.
This review has been written after a burn-in period of 60 Hours. I have used the stock balanced silicone ears tips and the cable included to the package. My main source was the HiBy R6 GEN III (DAP) and FiiO M11 Plus ESS Sabre Edition (DAP)and the FiiO KA5 (USB DAC Dongle).
Bass / Midrange / Treble / Soundstage & Imaging:
The LetShuoer DZ4 has a pretty balanced, natural and relative linear bass response that stands out with its sense clarity and authority. The bass is textured, fast and shows a good grade of decay, especially after a burn-in period of 50 hours. The subbass region is produced with an efficient grade of depth and rumble when I do listen to songs like Daft Punk’s “Doin’ it Right”, Massive Attack’s “Angle” or Lorde’s “Royals. The midbass region on the other hand sounds in general pretty tight and impactful when called upon, while it is not too dominant. What I really like about the tuning of this area is that won’t hear any negative conditions such as a midbass hump or muddiness. Instruments such like drums, trumpets or bass guitars are reproduced with an adequate grade of depth and body.
The midrange of the LetShuoer DZ4 shows a mildly warm tonality and has a relative neutral tuning, which shows a slightly boost in the upper midrange area. The general midrange presentation is highly transparent, airy and offers an above average detailed retrieval. The lower midrange shows a moderate level depth and intensity while listen to vocals such like Dave Gahan Isaac Hayes or Elton John, while instruments on the other hand such like strings, pianos or percussions are reproduced in a pretty clean and detailed manner, while I would wish a tad more body/fullness. The upper midrange is where the LetShuoer DZ4 really shines with its upper midrange tuning that offers plenty of detail and presence, without to show any remarkable sibilance and harshness. Female voices and instruments from pianos to cellos, from violins to side flutes are created in a very transparent, lively and detailed manner.
The LetShuoer DZ4 has a mildly bright, pretty textured and controlled treble tuning, which is able to produce a decent sense of presence and brilliance. The focal point of the treble range is the lower treble register, which shows controlled roll-off towards the upper treble register. The lower treble area is shows a decent level of clarity and definition, while listen to percussions, violins or to soprano voices. The upper treble area is less pronounced compared to the lower treble while here is a mildly peak around the 8 kHz region that adds some airiness and sparkle to the overall presentation. The extension in this area is a bit short, while the general presentation is free of sharpness, which makes it ideal for longer listening periods
The semi-open back design of the LetShuoer DZ4 helps to create a very open / spacious soundstage atmosphere, where instruments and vocals do have decent conditions for a fairly precise separation and good levels of air. The soundstage has a decent sense of depth and wideness, especially for a product below the 100 US$ price range.
Comparison:
LetShuoer DZ4 versus ThieAudio Legacy2:
The LetShuoer DZ4 has a more natural and balanced presentation from the lows up to the highs compared to the ThieAudio Legacy2 that shows more coloration in each area. The Legacy2 has a slightly warmer tonality and a fuller overall presentation, while it is missing the clarity, resolution and air that the DZ4 offers. The lower frequency area of the Legacy2 shows more depth, impact and extension. The LetShuoer DZ4 on the other hand is superior when it comes to the clarity, resolution and authority of this area, especially when I to listen to complex bass passages.
The midrange of the ThieAudio Legacy2 sounds a tad fuller and has also a slightly warmer tonality. The midrange of the LetShuoer DZ4 on the other hand shows less coloration and offers a better sense of clarity and naturalness. The lower midrange of the Legacy2 has slightly more depth and fullness while listen to instrument male voices and strings and percussions, while the DZ4 shows a better sense of transparency. The upper midrange and treble region of the LetShuoer DZ4 is more highlighted and detailed compared to the ThieAudio Legacy2 that sounds a bit compressed in this area. The upper treble region of the DZ4 is able to produce a higher grade of air and sparkle, while both IEM’s are relative similar in terms of control.
Both IEM’s do offers a quite successful soundstage performance for products below the 100.00 US$ price tag. The LetShuoer DZ4 sounds more spacious and airy thanks to its semi- open-back design. The DZ4 has the upper hand when it comes to the depth of the stage, while the wideness is relative similar.
Conclusion:
The LetShuoer DZ4 is an affordable earphone with a pretty unique design and interesting driver configuration that will be sold below the 100.00 US$ price tag. The DZ4 stands out with its pretty balanced, highly transparent and detailed sonic presentation. The use of lightweight materials and the comfortable shape makes the DZ4 ideal for longer listening, while the Silver Plated Monocrystalline Copper Cable with a decent build quality is a nice addition.
Pros and Cons:
- + Balanced Sound Profile
- + Clarity & Resolution from the Highs to the Lows
- + Highly Transparent and Airy Atmosphere
- + Built Quality
- + Comfortable Monitor Shape
- + Detachable Cable with Good Build Quality
- – Not the most ideal IEM for Bass Lovers
- – Average Passive Isolation
- – Small Storage Case
Thank you for the Read!
