Introduction

LETSHUOER has managed to impress consistently over my time here taking a look at in-ear monitors, which is a feat in itself given the relentless churning of new audio products out of China. The tribrid EJ07M, for example, was so nice that I did a second article covering the CIEM version too. Then there was the LETSHUOER S12 which was one of the earliest entries in the recent gen planar magnetic IEM hype train and was a commercial success to where there have been multiple versions of the S12, including collaboration variants called the Z12. That particular collab, if you will, was just one of many that LETSHUOER has partaken in a move that clearly works well for most brands who have gone this route. They get the extra marketing and have an influencer’s name attached to the product, with varying degrees of involvement from the other party on the final product itself. Today we look at one such collaborative effort involving LETSHUOER in the form of the Galileo.

The Galileo, officially called the LETSHUOER x Gizaudio Galileo, differs from the norm of such collabs in being a new product altogether and not based upon an existing one. The other party involved is Timmy from Gizaudio so there will be no doubt fans of the person and the Gizaudio brand who have an interest in this set too. The Galileo is a hybrid set of IEMs using a 1 DD/1 BA driver setup that aims to be a competitive offering in the ~$100 market. It’s certainly stunning to look at if the stock photo is anything to go by! Thanks to HiFiGo 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

Packaging for the LETSHUOER x Gizaudio Galileo is quite similar to what we saw with the LETSHUOER S12 before, although of course the outer sleeve is custom made for this set. It includes artwork reminding you what the Galileo name is for, with a space-theme employed here. There’s also no doubt left that HiFiGo was involved in making this collab happen. On the back are product specs and contact information for LETSHUOER although I would have liked to see the empty space being used up for a factory frequency response graph. Slide out the inner box and now we are back in familiar territory with LETSHUOER branding as well as a sticker on the side confirming the exact cable termination you have. Inside is a pamphlet with a more complete version of that artwork on the box and this is also a user manual going over the use and maintenance of the IEMs. There’s more paperwork in the form of a warranty card, registration form, and a QC check certificate itself. Below we find a thick foam sheet that has machined cutouts for the IEMs and the carry case for added protection during transit.

The carry case was a pleasant departure from the other LETSHUOER cases I’ve seen thus far as the Galileo goes for a more cuboidal plastic case with a formidable latch. There’s LETSHUOER branding on the top which gets a brushed finish here to the black plastic used throughout and the bottom goes for a soft touch finish instead with more branding. Open the box to see silicone rubber trays in both cavities with one side holding the ear tips and a cleaning brush in dedicated sections—there’s room for another set of ear tips too—and the cable found in the other compartment where there’s clearly enough room to hold the IEMs. This makes for a highly functional case that has everything you might need to use with the IEMs and potentially also room for a small dongle or portable DAC/amp too.

Underneath the cable was a plastic zip-lock bag that contained another set of ear tips, and so you will have to decide which size works best for you since the case itself accommodates eight ear tips nicely as seen above. We get a total of six sets (12 total) of two types of silicone tips in sizes S/M/L. The white flange tips are slightly stiffer than the black flange ones and you can see what works best for you among these, or grab aftermarket tips if you prefer.

Closer Look

The cable that ships with the LETSHUOER x Gizaudio Galileo certainly looks similar to what we got with the LETSHUOER S12 before. There too you needed to choose between a 3.5 mm single-ended or 4.4 mm balanced connection headed to your source, and I have the latter here as evident from the larger TRRS plug used. The cable uses silver-plated copper conductors and differs from the S12 cable in using non-sleeved four conductor strands as opposed to sleeved two thick strands there. This has the benefit of reducing microphonics I had noticed on the S12’s cable, although it can make for a slightly less wieldy cable that also takes up some more room throughout. The plug housings adopting this gunmetal gray finish work well with the silver/dark brown color scheme, with more branding on the source side. There is the expected splitter a little over halfway down, and it is accompanied by a clear plastic cable cinch that works well enough. The other end consists of pre-formed ear hooks with plastic sheathing over the cables. Each of the strands terminates a 0.78 mm 2-pin connector, with clear or red plastic inserts helping identify the left and right channels, respectively. The metal plugs are gold-plated for oxidation resistance and note the circular housing used for the flush 2-pin connectors here as opposed to the usual rectangular design.

The Galileo is a downright gorgeous set of IEMs, and no two shells are alike on the face plate design. These are made of 3D-printed blue resin which then have a a synthetic resin panel face plate. What that means is LETSHUOER and Gizaudio went to a factory that has various designs printed on a large resin sheet, chose the one that best resembles the « Starry Sky » theme in play here, and then cut out the face plate sections which are then molded over the shells fairly seamlessly to make for a set of IEMs that look pricier than they are. These are otherwise larger and thicker than average for IEMs, which may pose a fit and/or comfort challenge. There are front and back vents for the dynamic driver inside and markings on the side to help confirm the left and right sides. The other side hosts the flush 2-pin female cable connector itself and the translucent shell also provides a teaser look at the drivers inside. The nozzle is part of the resin shells and extends at a slight angle while also being relatively thick at 6.3 mm at the widest spot. There is a metal mesh at the end to help prevent contaminants from entering the acoustic chamber.

Here is a look at the two size M silicone ear tips installed on the right shell of the LETSHUOER x Gizaudio Galileo. I mentioned before how they only seem to differ in the flange stiffness so you can see what works best for you. The built-in end point for the nozzle where it meets the shells also helps provide you a definite stop for the ear tips themselves. Note that you may also end up having different sizes for the two ears depending on the size of your ear canals, given these biological features won’t necessarily be the same for everyone. 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 0.78 mm 2-pin plugs into the IEM connectors as seen above, and friction will do the rest in keeping them in place.

Fit and Audio Performance

Seen above is the right side of the LETSHUOER x Gizaudio Galileo installed in an anthropomorphic pinna that does well in showing my own experience with these. I have average-sized ears, and found the size M softer black flange silicone tips to work better. Part of this is because the shells and nozzles are already on the larger side, so a more flexible ear tip would be ideal. I also tried some of the FiiO HS18 and SpinFit ear tips too so don’t be shy to tip roll if you have others on hand. Even with all that said and done, the Galileo isn’t a set for those with smaller ears and/or ear canals. I am really not sure why the shells are this large given the amount of free space inside too, but I am also not an audio engineer. I was able to accommodate these in my ears but a significant portion still hung outside and the semi-ergonomic shape as well as the cable providing additional support points came in handy to help keep the IEMs in place. There’s no physical fatigue otherwise given the shells weigh ~4 g each, and I was able to achieve good isolation with aftermarket tips too.

The Galileo uses a hybrid driver configuration in the form of a 10 mm dynamic driver that employs a liquid silicone diaphragm similar to what we saw in the SeeAudio x Crinacle Yume Midnight. The dynamic driver handles the lower frequencies whereas the excellent Sonion 2389 balanced armature driver appears to take over for the mids and higher frequencies. Perhaps a second BA driver might have been useful here since the Sonion 2389 doesn’t have much energy in the higher frequencies, but let’s see how the combo works out in the Galileo first. It’s a set of IEMs that is quite easy to drive given the relatively low rated impedance of 14 Ω and average sensitivity of 104 dB/mW. A basic dongle will be plenty enough thus, and I paired it with the Qudelix-5K and Questyle M15 for most of my listening experience.

Testing was done similar to all other IEMs, such as the recently reviewed Noble Audio Viking Ragnar. Seen above is the measured frequency response for both channels of the LETSHUOER x Gizaudio Galileo, which can be inspected further here if interested. Channel balance is very good on this sample and I’ll also re-affirm there was no burn-in effect felt or measured here. The overall tonality of the Galileo could be classified as a mild U-shape bordering on being neutral with bass boost, and in fact the frequency response does seem to match the IEF target even better. I did sense the warmer presence in the lower frequencies when I first listened to these and it can be seen with the slight rise in SPL starting from as high as 600 Hz albeit only really coming into its own from ~350 Hz to make for a ~7 dB bass shelf with decent extension into the sub-bass. It’s not the hardest hitting set by volume or impact although it does take EQ quite well for those wanting to play around and get a bass response more to their liking. I do wish the dynamic driver was, well, more dynamic in nature since it wasn’t the easiest to pick up trailing ends of tones in contrast to leading edges at higher volumes. It’s plenty resolving for tracks that are not as varying in volume thus, and fast/heavy metal comes to mind.

Vocals can be hit or miss depending on the fit achieved here since you do need to get the nozzle in deep to have forward-facing and engaging male vocals in my experience. Instruments are generally the star here with excellent separation and I was plenty pleased with the fairly natural timbre too. Imaging is on point where applicable and the soundstage itself was about on par for IEMs in that the playing field appeared to be mostly located within my head itself. Female vocals sounded quite nice too courtesy the ear gain here matching my own HRTF close enough. The upper mids/lower treble is also not as pronounced comparatively to where it wasn’t fatiguing or shouty either. The issue comes in the higher frequencies where there’s really not much energy to hear anything. No cymbals or triangles, no harps or most string instrument/piano key harmonics. A lot of people perceive detail as higher order harmonics of instruments in the treble, and the Galilieo effectively has less « information » to provide. For example, violin notes are present but feel unappreciated in a midst of vocals in a symphony recording to where I go back to my point above about perhaps the Galileo needing a second BA driver to accompany the Sonion 2389 which holds its own in the mids but isn’t a treble champ by any means. This makes the Galileo far more genre-specific and a potential deal breaker depending on your preferences.

The price range that the LETSHUOER x Gizaudio Galileo belongs to is an exceedingly competitive one. Seen above are just some other IEMs I’ve reviewed, including the single DD Tripowin x HBB Olina SE, the 1 DD/3 BA hybrid Truthear Hexa, and the single planar magnetic 7Hz x Crinacle: Salnotes Dioko. The increasing amount of IEM collabs aside, note how these four have different driver setups and yet are tuned similarly! It’s when you dig closer that the differences start to pop up, including the clear lack of treble energy in the Galileo and the Dioko coming off slightly hot by comparison. These two also happen to be among the larger IEMs here from a comfort perspective, although the Hexa with its thick nozzle doesn’t help either. My personal pick of the lot, and indeed my go-to recommendation for the $100 range is the Tripowin x HBB Olina SE. The Truthear Hexa is well worth a look too since it even costs less at $80, and the Dioko feels more like a less expensive route to trying out planar IEMs than something I’d recommend as a single set for everything. Unfortunately the combination of the larger shells and nozzle as well as the poor treble reproduction—EQ does nothing of value here—means the LETSHUOER x Gizaudio Galileo at $110 from HiFiGo is a tough sell for those who agree with my music preferences. I can see people going for it with a more specialized music library, for the aesthetics, or simply to support the brands involved though.