Наушники — Shanling SONO S

The SONO S is a cabled in-ear monitor made by Shanling, a Chinese brand of portable players, DACs and earphones that presents it under the heading Affordable Hi-Fi Sound. It is a triple-driver hybrid with two dynamic drivers and one balanced armature per side, certified Hi-Res Audio by the Japan Audio Society.

Key specs that matter

Each earpiece contains two coaxially mounted dynamic drivers, a 9.2 mm unit for the bass and a 6.8 mm unit for the midrange, both with titanium-plated diaphragms. A custom Shanling balanced armature handles the treble. The dynamic drivers use HCCAW voice coils and a triple-magnet design. Impedance is 16 ohm, sensitivity is 103 dB ±3 dB, and frequency response covers 20 Hz to 40 kHz. The shells are zinc alloy with an ergonomic shape, and each earpiece weighs 8.3 g. Two pairs of tuning nozzles are supplied, black for the standard tuning and red for a bass-boosted tuning. The detachable cable uses 0.78 mm two-pin connectors and is a handmade four-core silver-plated copper design, 1.3 m long, with a gold-plated 3.5 mm plug. A carrying case is included.

Engineering and use context

Mounting the two dynamic drivers coaxially places them on one axis, so the bass and midrange units radiate from the same point in the nozzle path rather than side by side. Each driver works over a narrower range than a single full-range unit would have to cover. Titanium plating stiffens a thin diaphragm without adding much mass. HCCAW stands for high-purity copper-clad aluminium wire, which is lighter than pure copper, lowering the moving mass of the voice coil, and the triple-magnet motor raises the magnetic force on the coil. Swapping the nozzles changes the acoustic path between the drivers and the ear canal, with the red nozzles adding bass emphasis. The zinc alloy shells are denser than plastic, yet the earpieces remain light enough for daily wear. Because the two-pin socket is a common standard, a balanced aftermarket lead with a 2.5 mm or 4.4 mm plug can replace the supplied one.

Pairing

With its low impedance and high sensitivity, the SONO S is easy to drive from phones with a USB-C dongle, portable players and desktop headphone amplifiers. The supplied plug fits most portable players directly, including Shanling's own models.

Alternatives

The Shanling SONO is the sibling in-ear monitor with the same two dynamic and one balanced armature layout.