Introduction

Shanling was founded in 1988, which makes it one of the most established audio brands worldwide, let alone just in China where it is based out of. The company has made a strong name for itself when it comes to digital audio players (DAP), DACs, Hi-fi amplifiers, and earphones too in both the wired and wireless realm. Indeed, our first Shanling product review was of a TWS set which was followed by a Bluetooth receiver, so it's only apt that we take a look at one of Shanling's wired IEMs today.


Named the Sono, this is Shanling aiming for a more budget-friendly market compared to most of its IEMs that are more expensive. The sub-$100 market is more competitive now than ever before with several sets that can easily be all that one person would need, and certainly many are content enough to not purchase something more expensive later. As such, Shanling had to do something different to get people to consider the Sono. Perhaps a 2 DD/1 BA driver configuration is interesting enough? There are also two tuning nozzles to change the frequency response easily. Oh, let me also mention right now that these IEMs are small enough to fit pretty much anyone reading this review in a refreshing change from all the huge IEMs that have come out recently! Thanks to Shanling for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp, as we begin our coverage with a look at the product specifications in the table below.

Packaging and Accessories

The product box for the Shanling Sono is smaller than average and yet does the job functionally. It adopts an outer sleeve that has a black base and the brand logo on the front along with the product name. The name itself is also printed on the sides and back with product specs and marketing features also seen here. Sliding off the cover reveals an inner cardboard box with a gold-lettered Shanling logo. It opens from the side to show a foam inlay that, along with the thick foam sheet they are in, protects the IEMs. The accessories are placed separately below and include a user guide going over the setup and maintenance of IEMs, the carry/storage case, and ear tips that come neatly placed in a tip holder for each identification.


The IEMs come with a set of ear tips pre-installed—size M—to go with the three other sets of the same style of single flange, slightly stiff silicone ear tips in sizes XS/S/L. I appreciate the fourth set here to cater for those with smaller ear canals too since the ability to fit the Shanling Sono in smaller ears is already a selling point. In addition, we also get one set of double-flange softer silicone tips for those wanting a deeper seal, although there are no size options here. The carry/storage case is another example of function over form with a standard hard case that comes unbranded, has a decent zipper tag mechanism keeping it closed, is easy enough to take with you in a pocket or bag, and opens up to reveal plenty of room for the IEMs and cable. In fact, the IEM cable is found here already and the compartment in the top contains one more set of accessories we will discuss shortly.

Closer Look

The cable that ships with the Shanling Sono is quite decent and fits the IEMs well aesthetically too with the silver color scheme ongoing. This is courtesy the use of silver-plated copper conductor placed in four strands of 32 wires each that come braided neatly, and the Shanling-branded cable tie helps with cable management as I did find it slightly resistant and retaining some cable memory upon unfurling. It begins with a 3.5 mm TRS single-ended connector headed to your source on an aluminium housing that has Shanling engraved on it. The metal hardware continues throughout to maintain this silver aesthetic and the white strain relief is a nice touch too even if it does feel far too long. The splitter and cable cinch both work quite well and the other end has pre-formed ear hooks that terminate in two 0.78 mm 2-pin connectors that have translucent plastic housings with a very subtle L/R marking to indicate the left and right channels, respectively. This is the only place where I thought more metal housings with an easier-to-identify marking would have raised the accessories bar further. The various metal plugs are gold-plated for oxidation resistance.


Anyone wanting a change of pace from resin shell IEMs might find the Shanling Sono interesting and this is even before we see how small the shells actually are. In fact, the cast zinc alloy shells are almost guaranteed to fit in all ears thanks to their size and shape, with Shanling going for a rounded triangular design. The two pieces of the shell are glued together on the side and the face plate has the Shanling logo engraved. The hand polish applied throughout makes for highly reflective shells which I had to carefully photograph and edit accordingly! On the side is the cable connector placed in a recess and there is a vent on the inside along with L/R markings to help indicate the two channels. The nozzle is relatively long and angled for a deep fit and can be screwed off to gain access to the Sono's nozzle tuning system. That other set of accessories I mentioned before is a replacement nozzle with a red O-ring compared to the default black one and both have different dampening foam filters inside. The nozzles also have a separate metal mesh filter on the end to help prevent contaminants from entering the acoustic chamber.


Seen above are the two size M ear tips installed on the Shanling Sono, including the default single-flange ones that come pre-installed. The long nozzle also has a retaining lip to help secure the tips in place. Try out the different options and see what works best for you. Installing the cable is simple enough with the pre-molded ear hooks that go over the ears and L/R indicators helping identify what goes where. Push the 2-pin connectors into the IEM connectors as seen above until they fit in place via a friction fit. The other end then goes to the source of your choice—I had a Shanling M0 Pro DAP here which makes for a highly portable music experience and the entire set fits in the carry case too.

Fit and Audio Performance

Seen above is the right side of the Shanling Sono installed in an anthropomorphic pinna that does well in showing my own experience with these. I have average-sized ears and typically use size M silicone tips, as was the case here with the default tips which come pre-installed. The long nozzle already gave me a deep fit with these so the double-flange ones felt overkill and slightly uncomfortable over time. The petite size shells and nozzle also help in fitting them easily in the ears, as does the rounded nature of these shells comfortably sitting in the concha. The cable also fits nicely in the recessed connectors and is naturally angled out and behind the ears for further support, although these shells aren't really heavy at ~8.5 g each side. I can see some people tip-rolling if the stock tips are a bit too stiff for them though! Either way, the smaller size of the shells might make you think there is a single driver inside but in fact Shanling has gone for a 2 DD + 1 BA setup inside. There's a 9.2 mm "bio diaphragm" dynamic driver for the bass and a 6.8 mm liquid crystal polymer diaphragm driver for the mids placed coaxially taking advantage of a shared magnet and a high tension copper-clad aluminium wire (HCCAW) voice coil setup. The highs are catered to by a custom balanced armature driver and makes for a triple-driver configuration which is quite easy to drive with a rated impedance of 16 Ω and sensitivity of 103 dB/mW—you will be fine with a decent dongle itself, let alone a more powerful portable DAC/amp.


Testing was done similar to all other IEMs, such as the recently reviewed 64 Audio Volür. Seen above is the measured frequency response for both channels of the Shanling Sono plotted against my preference target and can be inspected further here. Note that the tuning of IEMs doesn't have to actually match my target as much as that being there to indicate what I personally like. As long as the tonality makes sense and is well-executed, I can certainly appreciate something trying different from the norm. First up, we see an excellent channel balance between the two sides of this set. Keeping in mind that Shanling directly sent this unit, I can't tell you if this is a randomly picked review sample but can only hope all retail units are this good. The second graph plots the average frequency response of the Sono with both tuning nozzles used and here we see clearly Shanling is going for a V/U-shaped sound with elevated bass, recessed mids, and a generally elevated treble response. The red nozzles increase the bass even further by ~4 dB for the bassheads in the crowd.

In fact, bass is the defining feature here as you get plenty of it, while not being distorted or feeling it disrupts the tonal balance. The red nozzle was too much for me personally even if it helps tame the upper mids/lower treble excess energy here. It's gone too far down the boomy bass road which also affects the lower mids. The black nozzle keeps things cleaner and arguably more detailed too. Bass extension is excellent in either case and the set works well for rock music too given there is a punchy sound in the mid-bass, with bass guitars and snares hitting hard. The Shanling Sono is not a neutral set by any means though so the recessed mids may not be for someone prioritizing instrument separation and imaging. Male vocals take precedence and string instruments less so. Female vocals are not a strong point here for me since some feel like they are playing in the background whereas higher pitched vocals—think Asian pop music—can be sibilant and fatiguing. In fact, the very first thing I did was EQ down that 4-6 kHz region which was taking away so much from my enjoyment of the set; I am not sure if this is where the BA driver takes over but Shanling could have dampened the upper mids and lower treble further. As it stands, timbre is affected heavily and piano keys and brass instrument harmonics come off unnatural. With EQ things are significantly better though as the higher frequencies are presented smoothly thereafter. The 8 kHz peak is a measurement artifact and doesn't come off as such in the ears, thus leading to decent treble extension and adding to a sense of wider soundstage as well as increased detail retrieval. No need to worry for anyone sensitive to treble either. As such, I see plenty of potential in the Sono but I can't help but fault the upper mids/lower treble issue which takes away from the user experience.


The price range the Shanling Sono belongs to has so many top contenders these days. A lot of them have been quite similar in terms of how they are tuned and sound, with MOONDROP being the biggest culprit. I do have the new Aria 2 here so let's see if that changes things for the better. The Truthear Hexa costs the same as the Sono and goes for a warm-neutral tonality. I think it's more balanced out of the box and certainly less fatiguing, but is not as physically comfortable and might come off bass-shy if you are a fan of the V-shaped tonality that the Sono does provide. My personal favorite is the Tripowin Olina SE which goes on sale for the same price as the Sono these days and is an all-rounder with the least compromises. It has a narrow shell and agreeable nozzle while having one of the better dynamic drivers in this market making for a highly natural timbre. Depending on your music library and preferences, the Olina SE and Sono might be a decent pairing but I'd likely recommend the Tripowin offering if I had to pick one. Kiwi Ears has also come out with a new planar set in the same price range and going for a V-shaped sound too. The Melody doesn't hit as hard as the Sono in the lower frequencies and still has some annoyance in the lower treble but nowhere as much as the Sono does. With EQ, the two are quite close technically except there is a good possibility the Kiwi Ears Melody with its upper treble presence can cause cymbal clashes to ring in your ears like it's a wind chime playing inside your head. I am not convinced the Melody does enough to really make a name for itself, but then again the Sono doesn't have it completely easy either. I do see what Shanling was going for and the nozzles can be a nice way to provide more bass and a warmer, more fun sound too. But the stock tonality isn't ideal for a lot of music genres and thus the Shanling Sono is best treated as a set of interest for certain music genres as-is, and a nice offering for those with smaller ears in general if they are amenable to EQ. It costs $79 from the Shanling store as well as authorized Shanling distributors listed here, as of the date of this article.