or Juzear 51T Review: Fully Customizable IEM with Impressive Sound Quality and Unique Design.
- Introduction
- Source Chain
- Original Juzear 51T Sound Quality & Initial Experience
- Sound Customization and Adjustments
- Custom Design
- Performance with Different Vocals
- Isolation and Further Thoughts
- Ear Tips
- Song Comparison with Other IEMs
- Pricing
- Juzear 41T vs. 51T
- Juzear / Junzi 君子 Meaning
- Cable Quality and Termination Options
- Chat with Juzear Owner
- Upcoming IEM Development by Juzear
- User Experience
- Returning the Test Sample to Juzear as a Foreigner in China
- Conclusion
Introduction
The “custom” Juzear 51T is a highly customizable in-ear monitor (IEM) that offers impressive sound quality and a unique design. With its 1 carbon composite dome dynamic driver (DD) and 5 balanced armatures (BA) configuration, the 51T provides a wide soundstage, excellent layering, and impactful bass. In this review, I will discuss the sound quality, customization options, song comparison to other IEMs, the meaning behind the name Juzear, and the overall user experience from my point of view.
As always, all products I am talking about are purchased with my own money, and there is no sponsored content here. Everything I am talking about is based on my own experiences and based on my personal listening habits. If you are interested what are my listening habits, I wrote more about it in my blog post My Ultimate Guide to Affordable In-Ear Monitors and you can check my Heavy Testlist on Apple Music.
Source Chain
For all my tests, I used Apple Music lossless from my Laptop and a Topping E70/L70 chain with my Heavy Playlist.
Original Juzear 51T Sound Quality & Initial Experience
The Juzear 51T delivers a remarkable sound quality with its 1 carbon composite dome DD and 5BA configuration, consisting of 3×28698 and 1xdual BA 31736 from Knowles. Initially, I found that the original 51T had too much bass for my taste, which was covering the lower mid-range frequencies. I wanted to hear more from the vocals and entire drum set, besides the impact of the base drum including the snare, cymbals, ride, and crash.
Sound Customization and Adjustments
After several back-and-forth communications with Juzear via Taobao chat, I requested the recommended 2dB decrease in the low frequencies. This custom adjustment resulted in better layering and staging without sacrificing the punchy bass. The vocals and instruments are emphasized, creating a wider and more open soundstage compared to the ‘standard’ 51T.
Custom Design
The Juzear 51T offers extensive customization options, both in terms of design and sound. Users can choose different faceplate colours and shell materials, as well as adjust the sound based on their preferences. In my case, I opted for a green right and blue left faceplate with a transparent shell, resulting in a unique and personalized design.
In addition, choosing a custom design can be more complicated than describing the sound you are looking for. However, despite this challenge, the Juzear 51T offers a highly customizable and impressive-sounding IEM with a unique design and excellent sound quality.
Performance with Different Vocals
The custom Juzear 51T demonstrates a remarkable performance when it comes to handling different vocals. Female vocals, in particular, are beautifully presented in a front position, giving them a clear and captivating presence. The IEM’s custom configuration also ensures that higher male vocals are smooth and well-defined, contributing to an enjoyable listening experience. However, some lower male vocals may tend to move slightly to the background and merge a little with the instrumental layers with this custom configuration. Nevertheless, the overall sound quality remains impressive, and the 51T delivers a balanced sound with a defined and punchy bass.
It is definitely an IEM to have fun with. Its impressively punchy bass, even with the -2dB reduction, makes it an appealing performer. The Custom 51T is not an IEM that I use as a source for simple background listening, such as the IKKO Asgard OH5. With the Juzear 51T, it’s easy to get caught up in the music and the dynamic driver gives the 51T its character. For me, the 51T is a very good addition to my IEM selection and listening style (Apple Music Test Playlist). The Custom 51T has a good amount of detail and a nice width of sound, but is not a detail “monster”.
Isolation and Further Thoughts
The Juzear 51T provides good isolation, making it suitable for use in noisy environments or during commutes. It has a normal overall size, but the nozzle feels slightly longer compared to the DT600, which may affect the fit and comfort for some users.
The 51T is a good set for commuting and some more serious analytical listening. However, it’s not ideal to have it in your ears if you have to concentrate on something else, because your ears will make your brain focus on the music and not the task you have to finish. 🙂
I would say, the 51T will focus your ear well on the drum set, from the bass drum and tomtoms to the cymbals. It’s very musical and offers a good amount of details. This custom IEM is perfect for my metal music with the impacting bass and great instrument representation. Overall it maintains an aggressive sound signature if you are listening to metal or hard rock/alternative, but can play also soft if I am listening to singer-songwriters or softer female vocals.
Ear Tips
I recently switched from SpinFit CP100+ ear tips to regular silicone tips from the AudioSense DT600. This change reduced the low frequencies and the lower mids, opening up more space for male vocals. In this combination, the custom 51T gives me a lot of joy when listening to my heavy test tracks. If I am aiming for a short, very ‘punchy’ listening experience, I will go for the SpinFit configuration again, but with my current setup, I am getting a well-balanced sound with a tendency to have some well-defined bass impact on the songs.
Song Comparison with Other IEMs
Coming soon
Pricing
When I purchased the 51T, it was on sale for approximately 1300 RMB (~1500 RMB without sale), making it an excellent value for the level of customization and sound quality offered. To my knowledge, the 51T is only available at the moment in Mainland China.
Juzear 41T vs. 51T
Initially, I was considering purchasing the Juzear 41T, which is another IEM model offered by the company and has recently been getting a lot of positive feedback in international forums. However, after talking to the support team and discussing my preferences, they convinced me to go for the 51T instead. The 51T’s additional drivers and customization options ultimately made it a better choice for my listening needs.
Juzear / Junzi 君子 Meaning
The name Juzear is to my understanding a homage to the Chinese term “Junzi” (君子), which is often translated as “gentleman,” “superior person,” or “noble man.” The term represents a person of high stature, moral virtue, and profound knowledge. By naming their IEMs after this term, Juzear aims to embody the qualities of a Junzi in their products, offering superior sound quality and design. (This is of course only my personal interpretation)
Cable Quality and Termination Options
The cable provided with the Juzear 51T is of high quality, featuring a thick and sturdy design with a good weight. This ensures durability and a comfortable fit during extended listening sessions. During the ordering process, you can choose the cable termination to suit your preferences. In my case, I opted for a 4.4mm termination, which works perfectly with my setup. It is worth noting that the cable appears to be the same as the one provided with the Juzear 41T, ensuring consistency in quality across their product range.
Chat with Juzear Owner
During my communication via the Taobao chat, I had the opportunity to chat back and forth a lot with the owner of Juzear. He informed me that the dynamic driver in the 51T is his development, which in my opinion contributes to the unique sound quality of the IEM. I believe the -2dB option the owner of Juzear recommended to me, is a good fit without losing the uniqueness of the custom dynamic driver and opening up to the mids and high frequencies of the BA drivers. I would be curious, how -3dB or -4dB in the low frequencies would sound like, or if the driver would lose its impact and uniqueness. This higher reduction could lead to a less engaging IEM with very beautiful details. But this is only a side ‘thought’. 🙂
Upcoming IEM Development by Juzear
Spoiler: I made the mistake of asking the owner of Juzear to let me know if he is developing another IEM, and his answer was yes, he is in the development of a new IEM. After some long thought and a lot of writing in the Taobao chat, I decided to go one. While writing this custom Juzear 51T review, I received the demo unit and I have to say (spoiler) I reached audiophile IEM nirvana. Later, I will post some updates about this stunning IEM development of Juzear.
User Experience
As a user of the Juzear 51T, I found the overall experience to be enjoyable, with its customizable design and sound options, as well as its impressive sound quality. The ordering process, which involves communicating with the company via Taobao chat, allowed me to fine-tune my IEMs based on my preferences. This involved a lot of translation and screenshots on my mobile phone. The result is a personalized and high-quality IEM that delivers an engaging and immersive listening experience.
Returning the Test Sample to Juzear as a Foreigner in China
As a foreigner in China, sending the Juzear 51T test sample back to the company can be difficult as a Chinese ID is required by law. While there are options available to use a foreign passport, it can take a long time in parcel centres to figure out this option, especially in areas with few foreigners like Nanjing. But this has nothing to do with Juzear itself, it is a general difficulty for being a foreigner in China.
Conclusion
The Juzear 51T is a highly customizable in-ear monitor (IEM) that offers impressive sound quality and a unique design. The IEM features a unique carbon composite dome dynamic driver and five balanced armatures, which provide a wide soundstage, excellent layering, and impactful bass. The IEM offers extensive customization options, both in terms of design and sound, and users can choose different faceplate colours and shell materials, as well as adjust the sound based on their preferences. The Juzear 51T delivers a remarkable sound quality with its custom configuration, and it performs well with different vocals (especially with a slightly higher pitch). The IEM comes with a high-quality cable that is thick, sturdy and has a good weight. The Juzear 51T is an excellent value for the level of customization and sound quality offered. The ordering process involves communicating with the company via Taobao chat, which allows users to fine-tune their IEMs based on their preferences. The custom Juzear 51T has excellent sound quality and is at the moment a daily companion during my commute on public transport.
My custom design is my own homage to Nanjing (as Nanjing is known in the local dialect as 蓝鲸 lán jīng / blue whale). This powerful and impressive IEM looks a bit playful because of my design choice, which makes me enjoy owning it even more.
I believe the custom 51T will become my new daily driver if I am looking for an engaging and uplifting sound experience. The custom 51T sound characteristics fit very well with my listening style where I often have a lot of drums, guitars, harsh vocals and an overall more heavy listening style.
If you’re interested in learning more about my audio-related experiences, feel free to reach out on Instagram or check out my other posts on fbk-photography.com.
I also finished my Simgot EA500 short review. You can find it here.
You can also check out My Ultimate Guide to Affordable In-Ear Monitors in 2023 (Including IKKO Asgard OH5).
