Jomo Audio S100 Cappuccino Review
Jomo Audio has built their brand out of their high quality and rather chic IEMs. The S100 Cappuccino is Jomo Audio’s first foray into making a single driver IEM. With it’s 3D printed body that serves as a specialized acoustic chamber and a diaphragm made from liquid crystal polymer, the S100 Cappuccino has some interesting specs to consider before we take a listen.
What’s In The Box?
-S100 Cappuccino universal in-ear monitors
-Firm carrying case
-Mesh headphone pouch
-Silver Plate OFC Copper Stock Cable (3.5mm jack, 1.3m length)
-6.35mm adapter jack
-Airplane adapter
– Ear tip carrying case with 6 pairs of silicone ear tips of varying sizes.
Look And Feel
The S100 Cappucino looks classy and warm with its reddish-brown coffee colored body and light beige, cosmic latte marble-like swirls on the back. The body is well carved and sat in my ears rather comfortably. The ear tips included with the Cappuccino have a double-ridged design that maximizes isolation and comfort, and they come neatly organized in a small and convenient case. The cable is just the right length for everyday use, and feels well insulated and sturdy with its braided design. The firm, padded carrying case is clearly not meant to be pocket sized, but is small enough to fit easily and ergonomically inside a small bag.
Design
The Jomo Audio S100 Cappuccino utilizes a 10mm dynamic driver with a rigid and lightweight liquid crystal polymer diaphragm for enhanced responsiveness. The driver is encapsulated by a double harmonic acoustic chamber, which serves as a diffuser by allowing airflow through the front and rear chamber, thus eliminating unwanted resonances. At an easy going 15 ohms, they get pretty loud are well suited for use with anything from a phone to a DAC.
-Frequency range: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
-Impedance: 15 Ohms
Soundstage
It’s immediately apparent that the S100 Cappuccino prioritizes warmth and mids in its sound character. Going just by my ears, the frequency response seemed to mimic that of an acoustic guitar: heavy in the low mids, tamer in the high mids, and a touch of boost in the highs that adds some extra click to percussive sounds. I appreciated the mid-centric approach these take as it adds some extra density and energy into the driving components of songs, such as vocals and rhythm guitars.
While I found the S100 Cappuccino took creative liberties in its balance, it was exceedingly natural and precise in its wide imaging and layering. The sound stage felt like standing in between train tracks, with parts of the mix approaching me from the front before flying past either side of me. Tremolo pans and stereo sample delays were rendered with dizzying precision as the Cappuccino handled them with breakneck response. It’s ability to sift and separate parts of a mix coupled with its panning capabilities genuinely brought out parts in songs that I had never noticed before.
Lows
Subs are still present on the S100 Cappuccino, but it takes a lot to make it really rumble. A lot of low end energy ends up in the low mids rather than the subs. I didn’t mind this at all though since it prevented masking, which fits well with its strengths in imaging and layering and preserves clarity.
Mids
It’s here that we have the defining characteristics of the Cappuccino’s sound stage. While the layering and imaging is what kept parts sounding distinct from one another, it’s the mids that acted as the invisible strings tying them back together. I found the fundamental frequencies in vocal parts were particularly pronounced, making them warm and smooth, while distorted rhythm guitars and tom-toms had some extra weight and commendable harmonic clarity. Due to the weight being shifted towards the lower end of the mids rather than the upper end, snare drums had a little more thump and a little less crack.
Highs
The upper half of the frequency spectrum was cleverly carved to preserve warmth without sacrificing clarity. Though the high mids are not particularly pronounced, the Cappuccino is simply waiting to give them back to you mid highs. Acoustic guitars were expressed with a nice pluckiness, and hi-hats had a nice sandy quality. This boost was befitting for the warmth in the vocals, where sibilance was smoothed over without sacrificing delicacy and airiness.
Overall
Jomo Audio made something special out of the S100 Cappuccino. A pleasantly warm yet precise sound character with extremely wide and fast imaging, housed in comfy and thoughtfully engineered buds, with a side of some premium accessories such as the included ear tips and carrying case. At a competitive $300 price point, the S100 Cappuccino from Jomo Audio is worthy of some serious consideration from audiophiles who want to see just how wide a pair of well made IEMs can go.
The Jomo Audio S100 Cappuccino can be purchased at Audio46.
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