Shuoer Tape Pro Review




The Shuoer Tape Pro is the follow-up to the popular Shuoer Tape released a year ago. I have not heard the original model, so this quick review/impressions will be based solely on listening to the newest model from this brand.

The Stuff



The Tape Pro comes with a carrying case, a fancy-looking cable, and a series of tips. In addition, there is a cleaning brush, and a tool to unscrew filters placed flushed within the shell. Let's talk about teach quickly.

The carrying case. 
It's small and the same case I've seen on other Shuoer products I've tried. It came in very smelly, and the chemical smell hasn't worn off yet, though I do admit, I put it right back in the box and don't want to take it out due to the smell. It's otherwise a nice case that is simple and functional.

The cable. 
It's nice looking from afar, but I do not like how thick it is, and how easily it tangles and how hard it is to handle. It's just too heavy and janky to use on a daily basis, and I'd opt for something else. In addition, this cable comes with a 2.5mm connector, but it comes with a 3.5mm adapter, which isn't too bad. I mainly use 4.4mm for my desktop amp and digital audio player though, but I have several adapters.

The Filter Screws.
Ok this is just a weird design. I just took a look at the VE Erlkonig recently and it had a flat head screw that could be turned to change settings. In the Tape Pro's case, you physically unscrew two of these and then swap them to change filters and alleged tuning. I say that, because in my measurements, nothing changes! Not to mention that the tool is quickly lost (I lost it already), and the screws are small and easily dropped (I did that three times while trying to swap them), and this just seems like a lot of work for nothing. (really, nothing... apparently)

In addition, you can also remove the front nozzle filters too. They unscrew and come off. The filters themselves are very open so I doubt any sonic changes occur, but because you have a different unobstructed insertion depth now, it may increase treble slightly. I measured about 1dB difference.

The Sound

I am not a fan of the Shuoer Tape Pro. That's the quick version.


The slightly longer version is that I feel that both the tuning, timbre, and technical performance of the Tape Pro is very lacking. While tuning can be subjective, I do think that there is quite a bit of bass bloat, and there's a severe lack of treble. The large drop-off in sound after 4KHz is evident of this, and this really creates a dark, grainy and super veiled sound. It makes it sound very low-resolution.

The shouty region is quite shouty. And the lack of the treble mentioned above, pushes this way forward, and this totally reduces any dynamics. The mid-range is very recessed in my opinion, with mid-range instruments and vocals sounding very thin and missing and a lot of that has to do with the elevated bass.

That said, I can deal with the bass, and I can somewhat deal with a darker tonality, but the dynamics of this IEM are severely poor, even at $120, and even at half the cost, and perhaps even less, as I've listened to a few $50-range IEMs that easily top this one. The IEM sounds flat. I tried several songs across different genres, and outside of the tonality, the flatness of how dynamics came across was totally clear and distinct to me.

I tried the most dynamic songs, and nothing. Everything sounded dull, dead, and just there. Everything was presented in a way that makes music lifeless, and forward, and the energy and soul sucked out of even the most expressive and angelic of voices.

The Tape Pro taped everything shut. Sorry. Move on.


Fc-Construct will follow-up with a more in-depth review of the Tape Pro on Audio Discourse. Stay tuned!

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View the product ratings on Antdroid's IEM Ranking List and/or Antdroid's Headphone Ranking List

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