Letshuoer recently introduced the Ember, a limited-edition flagship single-driver planar magnetic IEM. While it closely resembles the S15 in design and features a driver of the same size, Letshuoer states that the driver is entirely new. The Ember is limited to 999 units and is typically priced at 499 USD.
The Kiwi Ears x HBB Punch is a tribrid IEM with five drivers in total. It uses one dynamic driver for the bass, two balanced armatures for the midrange, and two electrostatic drivers for the treble. It is tuned in a quite special way: neutral overall, but with a gradual bass boost that increases the lower in frequency you go. The Punch is typically priced at 449 USD.
You can read my full review here: Kiwi Punch Review
LETSHUOER EMBER SPECIFICATIONS
- Driver: 14.8mm custom planar magnetic driver
- Impedance: 30 Ohms
- Sensitivity: 103dB
- Frequency response: 20Hz~40kHz
- Housing: titanium alloy shell + aluminum alloy faceplate
- Cable: 26AWG, 4 core, UP-OCC monocrystalline copper
- Cable connectors: 0.78mm universal dual pin connector
- Cable termination: 4.4mm balanced gold-plated jack
- Included: ear tips and puck shaped storage box
Current price and availability:
KIWI EARS x HBB Punch SPECIFICATIONS
- Drivers: 1 x 10mm Dynamic Driver, 2 x Knowles 32257 BA, 2 x Sonion EST
- Impedance: 12 Ohms
- Sensitivity: 98 dB (±1 dB) @ 1 kHz
- Frequency Response: 5 Hz – 44 kHz
- Configuration: 3-way crossover with 3 sound tubes
- Cable: 1.2 m single crystal copper AWG 20 wire, braided, PVC coating
- Connector: 0.78mm 2-pin
- Cable termination: 3.5mm or 4.4mm fixed
Current price and availability:
- Linsoul: Kiwi Ears xHBB Punch
- AliExpress: Kiwi Ears x HBB Punch
LISTENING COMPARISONS
Associated equipment:
- Amplifier: Topping A90
- DAC: RME ADI-2 DAC FS
- Ear tips: AZLA SednaEarFit Xelastec on the Ember, SpinFit CP145 on the Punch
Blessed Feet by Tord Gustavsen Trio
The Ember is warm, thick, and smooth, with excellent detail and imaging. The Punch is less dark in tonality and slightly crisper, but with similar detail and imaging performance.
Golden Horn by Joe Lovano
The Ember is delightfully dark and smooth – the bass is rich but not overpowering. The Punch is not too far off, but not as creamy, and with a similar yet slightly more polite bass presence.
Alt e bra by Building Instrument
Both IEMs are highly resolved and spacious sounding, with the Ember being a tad darker, lusher, and smoother.
Cloud Wars by Medeski, Martin, and Wood
They are pretty similar here, with both having strong bass presence and a good level of detail.
Take On Me MTV Unplugged by a-ha
Both render this excellent track and Morten Harket’s wonderful vocals very nicely. The Ember is perhaps slightly smoother, but they are pretty similar. There is no bass on this track, so that is not a differentiator here.
Fuglefangeren by Maridalen
The Ember is darker in tone and has a tad more mid-bass presence, but they are very similar. Both are essentially laid-back, warm, and lush.
Dancing in the Dark by Jørgen Dahl Moe
The Ember is slightly smoother, lusher, and warmer. The Punch is great too, but has a slightly brighter touch in comparison, though by absolute standards it is still rather lush as well.
Yours by Bill Laurence
The bass intensity is very similar, as is the general tonality. The Ember is a slight tad more lush, dark, and laid-back, but still very refined. The Punch though is very close.
Mango Drive by Rhythm and Sound
This track has a very deep and challenging bass. I think they handle it equally well. Maybe the Ember is a tad better, but that is splitting hairs.
Limit to Your Love by James Blake
I love this song – the contrast between the gentle vocals and the insane bass line is fascinating.
Again they are pretty similar. Both have excellent bass, the vocals are smooth, and the general presentation is a bit lush.
WRAPPING IT UP
Sound Signature
The Ember and Punch are both bass-heavy IEMs, rather lush, smooth, and laid-back, the Ember more so than the Punch.
However, there is a rather significant difference in the way their bass is tuned. The Ember has a more traditional bass shelf starting in the mid-bass, while the Punch has bass that gradually increases the lower it goes. This results in a somewhat different presentation, depending a lot on the bass frequencies of the specific track you are listening to.
Treble
Both have great treble quality and neither are especially bright or overly crisp. However, the Ember is a tad darker, and I tend to find it even a bit cleaner.
Midrange
The midrange is tuned a bit differently. While the Punch is not an especially crisp or brightly tuned IEM, the Ember is darker and smoother still. The difference is not large, though.
Bass
As mentioned, even though both are bassy, this is where the largest difference lies. The Ember has a very present bass shelf which includes the mid-bass, with all bass being pretty much boosted. The Punch is tuned differently – the bass level increases the deeper it goes, gradually rising the lower you go in frequency.
In essence, tracks with mid-bass are bassier with the Ember, but the lower the frequency, the less of a difference there is.
In practical use, with my music, I find the Ember to be the more bassy of the two. Whether you prefer this or not is a matter of personal taste, but the Ember is far from neutral. That said, pulling down the bass with EQ works very well.
Soundstage and Imaging
Both are generally laid-back in sound signature, the Ember more so than the Punch, but they still have a large soundstage and great imaging. However, as with every laid-back earphone, the imaging is more subtle than with more treble-intensive gear.
Detail, Dynamics, and Timbre
Both earphones deliver a high level of detail, but I am most impressed with the Ember. The difference is not very large, but the Ember feels a bit more refined and subtle.
When it comes to dynamics they , pretty similar.
Also with regards to general timbre, they are quite similar, even though the Ember is even smoother, lusher, and slightly warmer.
CONCLUSION
The Kiwi Ears x HBB Punch and the Letshuoer Ember are both great sounding, bass-heavy IEMs that sit close in overall quality.
Both are somewhat dark, lush, and warm, but the Ember is even a bit darker, warmer, and lusher, with a traditional bass shelf that makes it noticeably bassier on some tracks. The Punch is a bit more neutral in general, with bass that gradually increases in quantity the lower it goes.
Both offer excellent resolution, but the Ember feels slightly more refined overall and may have even better bass control. Neither are neutral, but the Ember is the somewhat more coloured option.
I like both the Punch and the Ember a lot, and my preference varies from track to track. They are very similar, but if pressed, my favourite of the two would be the Ember.
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- Linsoul: Kiwi Ears xHBB Punch
- AliExpress: Kiwi Ears x HBB Punch
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