Review - EPZ G10

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TLDR version on YouTube: TDLR - EPZ G10

The EPZ G10 have been sent to me by EPZ for me to try them out and to share my impressions in this review. There have been no requests or comments by EPZ and I will do my usual best of being as unbiased as possible in my review.

You can find the G10 on the EPZ official store on AliExpress here: https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005005610200917.html

As always, this is a non-affiliate link.

To avoid being repetetive in my reviews, you can find all the info about how I create the reviews, equipment used, how I receive the products and how to interpret my reviews by visiting: About my reviews

Intro…

Recently I reviewed the EPZ Q5, another set of IEMs by the brand that were sent to me together with the ones I will be discussing today. While the Q5 comes in at just over 50€, the G10 is a cheaper option, costing around 32€ (at the time of this review) and placing itself firmly inside the sub 50€ ultra budget category.

This model also features a 10mm dynamic driver and has quite some similarities to the other model I reviewed in terms of sound, but we will get to that soon.

Presentation…

The packaging is simpler than on the sister model, with flip top black box that shows a diagram of the IEMs, along with the make model and a couple of features in a reflective green. On the sides of the box, the model is shown as Symphony Dragon, at least I think that they are referring to the model, with more specs and the graph shown on the back.

Opening the box reveals the IEMs in a sponge surrounding, with the cables attached, and below this we get an accessories box. The included accessories are 3 sizes of regular silicone tips with bright green cores, along with 3 sizes of double flanged tips and a small drawstring bag for storage. A cable with an inline microphone, buttons and adapter (from 3.5 TRRS to 2x 3.5 TRS) is also included, something that you don’t see very often with IEMs lately.

One other thing included is a small UV flashlight, which will make more sense in a moment.

Build and aesthetics…

My complaint with the Q5 was that they looked great and were built great but had copied the aesthetics of a different brand almost 100%. I said that is was a shame as they seemed capable of building good quality IEMs and I think that the G10 proves that point.

Although we get a much more universal shape with the G10, it is a very dark and opaque shell that features a dark faceplate with a gold G and EPZ on it. Under the dark translucent top layer of the faceplate, it seems to have what looks like greyish fibers making a pattern. This is where things get interesting.

I couldn’t really understand why they would include a small UV flashlight with the IEMs until I shined it on the faceplate. The fibers below then started to glow a very fluorescent green which suddenly made all the green hints around the box and tips make much more sense. The glow doesn’t last for too long, especially if you are not in a very dark area, but it is something that I find original and a cool little touch. I am not sure if this has been done before on IEMs, at least it hasn’t on the ones I have reviewed, and while it is a bit of a gimmick, it gives them their own aesthetic which is nice to see.

The included cable is a little strange as it is a thin silver cable, with the inline mic and controls, that ends in a 3.5mm TRRS. The strange thins is that they include an adapter cable in black, which, although very much on the cheap end of things (to be expected), actually matches the IEMs more than the IEM cable does.

The included flashlight is also a very cheap one (again, to be expected) but at least it does have a replaceable battery, so you can continue to recharge your IEMs for longer.

Sound…

Ok, if we go back to the the Q5 review once more for just a moment, I said that the issue I had with them was that peak at 5k and the rather present upper ranges in general. This gave them a rather harsh sounding response to my ears (I am delicate with 5kHz) and I hoped that the other model, the G10 I am reviewing today, would be a different story.

Well, I am sorry to say that the sound signature of the G10 is basically the same. It is a little more subdued in the upper ranges, so I will explain a little more in detail, but here is the graph of the G10 in comparison to my usual personal preference and the Q5 for reference.

You can see that there really isn’t much difference between them on paper and when they are in the ear, my ears at least, there isn’t a huge difference either.

The subbass is still adequate for my tastes and there is enough midbass to give acoustic instruments some body. In fact, I would say that the only difference between the 2 models from 20Hz to 2kHz is that this cheaper model doesn’t seem to be quite as detailed, but that could be my subconscious telling me that because of the price difference.

Truthfully, I think it would be difficult to pick them apart in the lower and mid ranges, especially because of the upper mids and treble areas.

Once more the upper mids are just a little too hot, taking the focus away from those lower mids and bass frequencies, moving the focus on to these upper ranges. And once more we have that dreaded peak at 5kHz that I just find so uncomfortable.

In the case of these IEMs, that 5k peak is actually less pronounced than on the Q5 but it is still too much for my ears and makes things very uncomfortable for me.

I know that not everyone is fragile to the 5k range, some people hate 3k, other hate 6k, we are all different. In my case the specific 5k frequencies can feel like someone is stabbing me with a knife in the ears and I really struggle to listen to anything with a peak there for any length of time.

If you look at my preference target, you will see that I have a dip there, which is my preference, but I can actually do without the dip, as long as the adjacent frequencies (4k and 6k) are not dipped, leaving just a peak. In this case, while the peak is less than on the other model, it is still a peak and it is still painful for me.

I will say that the upper ranges on the G10 seem to be less present than on the Q5. This, together with the slightly less pronounced peak at 5k, doesn’t make thing sound quite as harsh as I felt they did on the Q5.

As the treble is boosted and peaky, on both models, this does lead to a false sensation of detail also. Not that the details are bad but they are pushed at you in such a way that it does make them seem “synthetic”, for lack of a better word.

Conclusion…

I am sorry that the sound signature of the G10 is so similar to the Q5, because I really wanted them to have a tuning that I enjoy. Not just so I could review them more positively (which I always prefer to review positives than negatives) but so that I could actually enjoy them during the time I listened to them. In these cases, where I find a tuning uncomfortable, it turns enjoyment into work, and I do this for fun!

Again, it is a great shame that I can’t get on with them as I think that EPZ is putting a lot of effort into their IEMs and think that they deserve more attention that they are getting. Unfortunately, I can only relay what I experience and sound wise, the experience has not been enjoyable for me. That doesn’t mean it won’t be for you, if you don’t have an issue with 5k, then you may love these IEMs and they are very well priced!

I am sure EPZ will read this review, as this is my first time reviewing their products and they will want to know whether to avoid me in the future ;) In which case, EPZ, if you have any models in your line up that avoid the 5kHz peak, please let me know because I would love to enjoy a set of yours!