Shuoer Tape Review – A Magnetostatic For These Troubled Times

The Editor: Crinacle informed us that the Shuoer Tape is not an electrostatic but a magnetostatic earphone. A marketing error that snowballed…

Many have posited that the Shuoer Tape was named as an homage to the recordings of the infamous “Golden Shower” incident alleged in the Steele Dossier. However, we at audioreviews.org have been unable to verify this rumor, and as responsible journalists must report that the American premier, Donald Trump Jr., has vociferously denied these lurid allegations, as well as any and all other accusations of groping, raping, fraud, and nepotism. Yet  we must also express our outrage that Mr. Trump Jr. was unfairly deprived of reelection merely because a majority of the ill-informed, mongrelized American public voted for his opponent, the demented pedophile Joseph Biden, Jr. We appeal to our leaders to revamp our electoral system to prevent such injustice from ever recurring.

The $129 Shuoer Tape arrives in a round bright orange box, which looks better suited to a jack-in-the-box; accessories include generic silicon tips, and, atypically, a 2.5mm MMCX cable with 3.5mm and phone jack adapters. The round metal carrying case is aesthetically pleasing but undersized and nearly impossible to unscrew (better suited to weed?). Blocky metal headshells look much better in person than in pictures and are very solidly built. Despite its odd, ovoid shape, the Shuoer Tape fit me well and and provides for good seal and fairly good isolation, despite intrusion of some wind noise. Long-term comfort is only fair, however, as their considerable heft becomes noticeable. The Shuoer Tape were easily driven with just my mobile, and I actually preferred them unamped

The Shuoer Tape distinguishes itself from the morass of price peers with its novel electret/dynamic array, which  is ostensibly intended to recreate the quick transients and extended HF of true “electrostatics” [magnetostatics in reality]]. From my experience with big electrostatic speakers like Martin Logan and Acoustat, the Shuoer Tape does quite a credible job in eliminating the inherent phasing and audible discontinuity problems of conventional designs.

The Shuoer Tape presents a neutral-to very slightly bright tonality and a surprisingly conventional V-shaped signature (I’d expected to these to be more balanced).  Soundstage is wide, but low-ceilinged and instrument placement is accurate and there’s adequate air between the performers. Low end is presented mainly as tight, sculpted subbass, and some midbass impact is missing—these will not appeal to EDM or rap fans, though I found its quantity to be sufficient. 

Mids are very clear but quite recessed, with a conspicuous dip in the lower mids and boost in the 3-4k region, which gives male vocalists a sense of being a bit behind the mike.  High end stars here, deftly pulling off the trick of being well-extended without sounding analytical. The Tape lacks the hyper-detail of hybrids like the NiceHCK NX7, but are also wholly free of the latter’s artificial sharpness and/or tizziness and are wholly non-fatiguing.  Note texture is leaner than comparably-priced single dynamics like the BQEYZ Spring and Moondrop Kanas Pro, though the Tape is more coherent and has better overall clarity than either, perhaps due to its tighter, more attenuated bass. 

The Shuoer Tape is very uncolored and refined sounding overall—horns, synths and electric keyboards in particular are recreated very accurately. They are also quite laid-back, without the artificially-juiced tonality of, say, KZ hybrids. However, they do lack a bit of sizzle at the high end, which makes them better-suited for acoustic jazz or small-scale classical than for denser, more uptempo genres.

Overall, I rate the Shuoer Tape a notch under some recent faves like the Shozy Rouge, which are a more exciting listen and better balanced through the spectrum, though the Tape nails the technicalities and is certainly worthy foray into new driver technology. Recommended, if not worshipped.

Non-disclaimer—I bought these on Drop.

SPECIFICATIONS

Drivers: Low-voltage electrostatic dynamic driver
Impedance: 18 Ω
Sensitivity: 104 dB/mW
Frequency Range: 20 – 30,000 Hz
Cable/Connector: MMCX
Tested at: $129

MY VERDICT

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