Humka Hamlet M Review
Humka Hamlet M is a single dynamic driver IEM from China. It looks really great with a grey and red colour combo I think. Let’s find out if the Hamlet M also sounds good as it looks.
The 10mm dynamic driver comes with a self-developed nano-scale rare (which one?) metal-coated diaphragm. It has a thickness of 15 µm, with a THD total harmonic distortion of less than 0.5%. The brass gold-plated voice coil also has a thickness of 0.4mm.
The shells of the Hamlet M are machined by 5-axis CNC from aviation-grade aluminium-magnesium alloy material.
Humka Hamlet M comes with a 4 core Litz with customized high purity single crystal copper silver-plated cable.
What’s in the box
Specs
- Frequency response: 20Hz-28kHz
- Impedance: 32 0hm
- Sensitivity: 110d13±1 dB
- Headphone Plug: 3.5mm gold plated plug
- Cable: 4 core Litz with customized high purity single crystal copper silver-plated
- Price: 209$
I would like to thank Yaoyaotiger HIFI Audio Store for providing me with the review sample of Humka Hamlet M (no affiliate link).
Sound
Bass
My first impression of the Hamlet M is that it serves up piles and piles of bass. The Hamlet M is tuned to have generous amounts of bass, and for recordings that are mixed to be slightly more neutral, this gives the track much more energy. I can hear many levels of bass notes, simply amazing. One of the best bass performances that I came with.
The bass on the Hamlet M reached deep down into the sub-bass region, where it produces an environmental type of bass. The sub-bass is also not particularly rolled off even when compared to the elevated mid-bass region. It’s also very punchy and controlled, so it sounds like there is a subwoofer easily flooding the soundscape with sub-bass richness.
The midbass on the other hand is generally punchy, quick, and controlled. Drum hits end up very controlled, and each hit has the appropriate amount of attack, decay, and sustain. So each hit on the drum skins sounds very natural. Bass guitars on the other hand are presented with a flowy presentation while remaining textured.
Mids
The vocal range is surprisingly very detailed and controlled. Although the vocal range doesn’t end up particularly euphonic, vocalists have this slightly breathy quality to them. So the vocals on the Hamlet M end up being strikingly detailed, particularly with vocal-centric tracks.
The pianos have an immediate sense of attack, and they tend to be very detailed. However, the pianos could do with a bit more fundamental weight. Guitars on the other hand tend to have a slightly brighter timbral tilt but still could use a bit more emphasis on the fundamental of each note.
Mids remain very clear and present midrange tones very accurately. Although on some tracks there is some harshness I must add, especially on higher volumes, and some thin notes on some instruments again on some tracks.
Treble
On its own, the treble is clear and detailed. And it’s slightly elevated when the right ear-tip (wide bore), which brings a slightly better tonal balance with the more elevated bass region. Cymbal hits are well defined and controlled, but still, retain an appropriate amount of splash to give it a natural response.
Interestingly, when electronic music starts playing, and there is a more treble-focused passage, the notes are a bit more rounded. With passages that play treble-focused electronic notes, the edginess of the notes is slightly smoothed over.
While the treble is not going to outshine the more elevated bass region, ear tip rolling can shift the balance a bit to make the treble a bit closer to the bass’ elevation.
Staging
With a less airy presentation, the Hamlet M doesn’t have a particularly expansive soundstage. However, the images within the soundstage are spaced appropriately, and the images produced have enough clarity that they are distinct from each other.
Of course, the Hamlet M can create a coherent centre image, however, that image is left well inside my head. I would have wanted a centre image that was slightly pushed forward so that it would feel slightly more natural.
The general direction of the images can easily be perceived, however, there are dead spots between the extremes and the centre image. So images that pan from left to right would sometimes disappear within those dead spots, and reappear on the other side.
Sum-Up
The Humka Hamlet M is powerful and well equipped. If you like “quality” in the bass, this is a great IEM for you. But if you are in search of a more balanced and safer/Harman-ish tuning you might not like it depending on your taste. Like I said, to like or not to like.