Earsonics Corsa IEMs - Natural To The Maximum

Earsonics Corsa IEMs – Natural To The Maximum

Earsonics Corsa is what you could call a natural, refined and tastefully french IEM, priced at 400 EUR / 450 USD, and it will be compared to other well performing competitors, like FiiO FH7 (450 USD), Unique Melody 3DT (400 USD), and Campfire Mammoth (650 USD).

Introduction

Earsonics is the kind of French company that you’d imagine serving their headphones to be tasted, in the same manner one tastes rare cheese and fine wine, with passion and fine taste. Thus, the company is known to provide some great support to their customers, and they name their IEMs helmets, plus they are entirely made in France, so if you’re curious to hear the sound of purely french-made BA IEMs, this is the best shot you got. High-end Hifi products from France are generally really well regarded, so I have fairly high expectations from the Corsa IEMs.

It should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with Earsonics, I am not receiving any incentive for this review or to sweeten things out. I’d like to thank Earsonics for providing the sample for this review. Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it. The purpose of this review is to help those interested in Earsonics Corsa Earphones find their next music companion.

Product Link

Official Website: https://www.earsonics.com/in-ear-monitors/en/corsa/

You can grab one from www.amazon.com here: https://amzn.to/3rtCgZz

If you’re in the UK, you can grab one from www.amazon.co.uk here: https://amzn.to/3lvrwWG

And if you’re from Europe, you can grab one from www.amazon.de here: https://amzn.to/3xSjAnf

Packaging

First things first, let’s get the packaging out of the way:

The package of Corsa is actually more interesting than that of most competitors, and they come with a nice high-quality carrying case, plus the way the IEMs are package really shows that the company wants to present their IEMs as more than just mere Earphones.

The full package includes the IEMs, the high-quality cable, a cleaning brush, two pairs of foam tips, two pairs of silicone tips, and two pairs of silicone double flanged tips. The best comfort can be found with either the foamies or the single flanged tips, where the double flanged ones tend to offer the best overall passive noise isolation.

Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort

While this is my first review focused on an Earsonics product, I surely want it to be the first of many, because I simply love the way they package and present their IEMs. The design of Corsa is centered around their fully metallic shell, for the best phase control, along with their special crossover based on the EVS and fision technologies. The inner parts are made of Acrylic, to offer a more complex sonic room, and the drivers are made as 1 X Low, 1 X Mid, and 1 X High, in a very classic way.

The company takes great pride in the way the IEMs are made for the most natural timbre possible, and their offer includes multiple products, but Corsa is special even among them, having their 4C Hi-Res cable, which comes as single ended, but which you could easily replace with a balanced cable. In fact, I spent quite a lot of time testing the Corsa with a high-end Plussound Copper+ Cable, as I really wanted to get a better idea of their maximum resolution and detail. The cable is detachable and based on the popular 2-Pin connector. You could cut the 3.5mm ending and make it balanced, as far as the wires are concerned, but you’d void the warranty by doing this.

We’re looking at an especially sensitive IEM at 119dB/mW, with an average impedance of 31 OHMs, so driving Corsa should not be too complicated, but I would recommend a high-end source to fully hear their ability. You could start with fairly low-power sources like Shanling M3X, but also use high-end dedicated sources like Lotoo PAW 6000, Astell & Kern SE180, iBasso DX240, and pretty much everything in between.

Corsa has a very solid cable of a very high quality, and the cable is not prone to tangles. The IEM shells use screws, and it is one of the very few IEMs that use screws, but the IEM bodies end up being a bit heavy and large. There’s plenty of ventilation, even though the design is all-BA, but you should keep in mind that even with an all-BA design, venting is important for the best sonics possible, and to avoid void and the IEMs sucking your eardrums out. I have excellent overall comfort with Corsa, they’re not too big for my ears, and the cable feels really nice as well.

Sound Quality

When I first approached Earsonics, I knew I would most probably be looking forward to a really open and natural sound, but I was impressed that this is exactly how they sound like. The sound is exactly what you’d expect when talking about how natural and open the midrange can be. Sadly, this means that you have some loss in the bass quantity, and the treble is also fairly smooth, so the whole signature is mid-centric, but with a certain magical quality to those mids. Corsa is really different from other IEMs in terms of transparency and soundstage width, as they are incredibly wide and transparent for their price point. Quality Bass, Clarity and Control are strong points for corsa, as they have a sound you’re likely to appreciate more, the more you listen to them, rather than be surprised by them right away.

The bass of Corsa is clean, fairly quick and adds a good amount of substance to the midrange, as well as warmth. It has good extension, as low as 20 Hz, but the actual quantity is natural, with the sub-bass being a few dBs lower in quantity than the upper bass. This being said, it never rolls off entirely, and we get to see Corsa having a signature tuned for open and airy signature lovers. Because of this way of present the bass, Corsa has better focus on nuance and where some IEMs have an uplift in the bass, but all songs kind of have the same buzzy bass notes, Corsa is able to render difference between bass notes really easily, so their sound comes through as really nuanced and transparent. Songs with heavy basslines are presented as such, but you get to hear how the bassist’s fingers slide across the strings, each bass note having their respective sound. Most basshead IEMs and Headphones tend to mash up the bass sounds as one “buzz” sound without actually differentiating between different bass notes so well. Corsa is tuned especially for acoustic music, rock, metal, pop. Rap may come through as too light on Corsa.

The midrange of Corsa is where the magic of those IEMs happens, as Coprsa presents music in a really open, wide and airy way. The lower midrange has a similar amount to the upper midrange, and the entire midrange is uplifted above the bass and the treble. The detail of the midrange is incredible, but Corsa presents music with a good amount of substance too, and instruments never sound shallow or hollow. In fact, I took the time to appreciate the atmosphere of many songs, and to appreciate classical music much more with Corsa, and the way they blend everything in a huge space, but with a smooth texture. Even your typical emo-pop music like All Time Low – A Love Like War sounds sweet, and the voices are pushed with a sweet undertone to them. The guitar riffs are juicy but not over textured, while drums have their intended impact, keeping a good rhythm for the song. There’s a special detail and clarity to Corsa’s midrange, to the point where in songs like Alesana – Ambrosia, a song I’ve known for years, I hear the clearest separation between the two voices during the chorus, Corsa being able to hold such control and detail that it can play to screaming voices at the same time, both clearly, and so well separated from each other, a feat not seen in most IEMs below 1000 USD.

The treble of Corsa is on the smoother side, and the strongest part is around 10kHz, Corsa avoiding having a metallic treble, or a strong headed treble. Even on songs like Black Sheep from Scott Pilgrim Vs The World movie, you can hear a strong focus on the guitars and the sweet voice of Envy Adams, rather than the drums, although the cymbals do not disappear completely from the scene. Dynamics are excellent on Corsa, while the instrument separation is good, but instruments are blended naturally rather than being separated and cut apart. The overall headroom of Corsa is high, and you can EQ them to give them more bass, and more treble, without distortion, and I’ve been able to achieve more than 7dB in either direction, just for the fun of it, but I strongly suggest giving the default sound of Corsa a go, because you’ll be surprised by how good they can sound, and what clarity they can bring. Songs with a brighter tuning like Bullet For My Valentine – Tears Don’t Fall have the cymbals projected in the back, but having a clear and crisp resonance, and a strong presence.

One word of caution I want to have is that Corsa is really transparent, so they will reveal source quality. This means that using better DAPs, better DACs and better AMPs, along with better music is essential to enjoy them. I am not talking about thrashing your taste in music here, but about using redbook flac files, as well as well recorded music. I personally listen to some of the worst music when it comes to recording quality, and even enjoy some youtube because I like music videos, so don’t’ be shy, enjoy what you enjoy.

Comparisons

Earsonics Corsa vs Unique Melody 3DT (450 USD vs 400 USD) – UM 3DT goes for a really similar signature compared to Corsa. Both have a big body, but Corsa is heavier, while 3DT has a marginally larger / more voluminous body, the comfort being slightly better on Coirsa. The overall cable is better on 3DT, and the package is as well. The sound is more mid centric on Corsa, which is much more focused on a natural mid, 3DT being much brighter, with a stronger treble, and a stronger bass presentation. There’s more weight to the sound of 3DT, with more sub-low impact, and more treble sparkle, but less midrange focus. Both have similar levels of detail, dynamics and overall refinement. If you fancy a really well done V-Shaped or U-Shaped sound, then 3DT will be it, while if you appreciate classical music and a clean, natural midrange, Earsonics Corsa will be your best bet.

Earsonics Corsa vs Campfire Mammoth (450 USD vs 650 USD) – Mammoth is clearly a polar opposite from Corsa. Corsa has a bigger body, with a heavier IEM shell, so Mammoth is more comfortable. The default cable is similar between them and it is impossible to say that either is better in any way. The overall sonic presentation is thick, heavy and impactful on the Mammoth, where it is light, airy, snappy and quick on Corsa. The two focus on vastly different elements, and if you’re looking for the cleanest presentation possible, Corsa will be it, while if you desire more weight, impact and a stronger bottom end, Mammoth will be there to decimate all competitors.

Earsonics Corsa vs FiiO FH7 (450 USD vs 450 USD) – The comfort is actually equal between the two, slightly better on Corsa thanks to slightly longer bore tubes, but FH7 has a better package, with a better default cable. The overall sound is cleaner on Corsa, with more focus on the midrange, less focus on the treble, and with much better detail in the midrange, and a wider soundstage. FH7 sounds brighter, more analytic, and with more texture, and more instrument separation. This being said, Corsa has more soundstage width, less depth, and more overall nuance and better transparency. The way Corsa is mid centric without crushing the treble and the bass means that music is closer to you, and you hear differences between voices, and less distortion in music, where FH7 was amazing at its release date, but presents a bit too much brightness and becomes fatiguing after a hour of listening or so, especially if the source music is aggressive like Lucrecia – Sleeping Slaves Of Fate.

Value and Conclusion

Priced at 450 EUROs for an IEM, you may argue that the price is a bit on the high side, but at the end of the day, Corsa is enjoyable, fairly comfortable, and extremely clean / clear. In fact, I have a hard time finding something as clean, as clear, as detailed, yet as natural and coherent around this price point. There’s a good amount of IEMs I reviewed to this date, as Audiophile-Heaven slowly draws closer to over 400 completed reviews, and I simply haven’t yet heard of something that’s as good with the midrange as Corsa is.

The package is also interesting, and we see why European companies still stand a chance, even after some EU based companies having to increase the prices of their products to keep up with the ever stronger growing regulations and requirements for physical items production here.

At the end of the day, Earsonics Corsa is the perfect IEM for those who love a clean, clear midrange, for those who want to hear the best detail possible but with a huge soundstage width, good nuance, and with excellent overall control, making them easy to recommend at their 450 EUROs default price point.

Product Link

Official Website: https://www.earsonics.com/in-ear-monitors/en/corsa/

You can grab one from www.amazon.com here: https://amzn.to/3rtCgZz

If you’re in the UK, you can grab one from www.amazon.co.uk here: https://amzn.to/3lvrwWG

And if you’re from Europe, you can grab one from www.amazon.de here: https://amzn.to/3xSjAnf

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Full Playlist used for this review

We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5

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