Unamped, and with the included silicon tips, the  Lyra sounded like, well, a $20 cheapo—bass-shy and anemic , with a dark unnatural-sounding tone. Amping these with a Shanling UA-3 dongle, switching to foams and (esp.) inserting the nozzles deeply massively transformed these to warm, rich-textured and (generally) balanced, with tons of thumping-but-controlled subbass, a bit of a dip in the 100-200Hz midbass region and full-bodied mids.  

Treble is smooth and fairly laid-back—it misses a bit of snap on drums and percussion, but wholly avoids the tizziness and sharpness of cheap hybrids. Soundstage isn’t massive, but remains uncongested, and imaging (a typical KZ strength) is very good by any standard.

The Lyra lack the high-end extension and sound less expansive than KZ’s better hybrids (ZSX, ZS10 Pro) but have the more organic, less strident timbre; the Lyra is also less revealing than the $40 budget champ  Blon BL-03, but has superior fit and isolation. In the same price bracket, the amazin’ TRN-STM is bigger-sounding and presents more microdetail and sizzle, but is also hotter at the treble end and more exhausting than the easygoing Lyra.

Durwood praises these as daily-driver material and the current uber-budget go-to. He may be right.

Disclaimer: borrowed from Durwood.

SPECIFICATIONS CCA Lyra

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DISCLAIMER

Get it from CCA Store on Aliexpress

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The post CCA Lyra Review (2) – Profiles in Polyurethane appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Build quality is very impressive for the price, with well-machined alloy shells and a supple, microphonic-free silver-plated cable. Swappable 2.5/3/5/4/5mm plugs are a neat idea, although the connection is unreliable (I had to heatshrink the 3.5mm plug to the cable, which defeats the purpose of interchangeable plugs).

No carrying case is included. Isolation is particularly noteworthy—these block out sounds effectively even without music playing. Very efficient and easy to drive; I didn’t notice significant differences with more power. The TRN ST5 tended to be unforgiving of lower-quality files and sounded best with a more neutral source–the CX Pro dongle was a very good match, while the more energetic, colored ibasso DC-05 gave the TRN ST5 more low end oomph but a bit of unwanted stridency at the high end.

In contrast to the surprisingly bassy, U-shaped signature of its predecessors, the TRN ST5 goes for what I’d term a “Japanese” tuning—bright, with more  subdued bass, energetic, forward mids and considerable high-end extension.  With the included foams, low end has considerable midbass quantity but not much subbass depth or impact and there is audible bleed into the mids.

Changing to the included narrow-bore silicons tightens  low end but sounds a little anemic, while wide-bored hybrid tips like the Symbio W had the best combination of bass control and quantity.

Mids, as stated, are prominent, full and very detailed, while crisp, highly-resolving treble shows a lot of little nuances and sparkle but (as is characteristic of TRN) sounds a bit hot/metallic in that 10-20kHz region.  The ST5 would likely benefit from further tiprolling and a bit of micropore tape modding in order to smooth the presentation.

In any formulation, the ST5 present a wide soundstage with modest depth but (other than a tendency to push vocals forward) good layering and accurate instrument placement.  Coherence isn’t as seamless as the BA5 or comparably-priced DD designs like the KBear Diamond or Moondrop Aria—your ears tend to drawn to the hopped-up mids—although the TRN ST5  shows more high-end information than either.

Ultimately, whether these are for you will depend upon your taste in tuning—in this weight class I prefer the bassier, less analytic BA5 as an all-rounder, while comparably-priced BQEYZ or Blon have less drive but a more natural tonality.

However, the ST5 is still a lot of earphone for the money—viscerally it looks and feels like it could cost $150-200, and it has as revealing a high-end as you’ll hear for $60, even if it lacks the ultimate refinement of pricier pieces. K-POP fans should take note.

Disclaimer: got ’em for free from Linsoul: https://www.linsoul.com/

Specifications TRN ST5

• Drivers: 1 x 10 mm beryllium-coated dual-magnetic dynamic driver, 2 x 50060 midrange balanced armature drivers, 2 x 30095 tweeter balanced armature drivers
• Impdedance: 22 Ω
• Sensitivity: 120 dB
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
• Cable/Connectors: 8-core high-purity silver-plated oxygen-free copper cable/ 0.78 mm, 2 pin
• Plug: 2.5 mm, 3.5 mm, and 4.4 mm modular swappable plug terminations
• Product Page/Purchase Link: Linsoul

Also check our reviews of the following TRN models:

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All Our 349 Earphone and Earbud Reviews (with Links)

The post TRN ST5 Hybrid IEM Review – I Sing the Body Electric appeared first on Music For The Masses.

INTRO

In this hobby, if you have not heard of Knowledge Zenith these past few years then time to get educated on the KZ ESX. Recycling the shell from classics such as the KZ ZSN, Z10pro , and countless other models from TRN, CCA and others, KZ gives the faceplates a cosmetic refresh. Given inflation these budget models have trickled up in price from $12-15 and now come priced at around $19. The KZ EDX is a bassy rolled off treble listen that is inoffensive and lackluster.

DISCLAIMER: It’s hard to get excited over new budget models, but I graciously received these direct from KZ to give everyone an Audioreviews take. There are limits to budgets, and we cannot forget those folks.

GOOD TRAITS

• Common universal shell with good nozzle length and a lip to keep the eartip on
• 2 Pin cable
• Inoffensive treble, no sibiliance
• Easily driven from smartphone

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

• Darker/mellow sounding treble (yes I put treble in both pros and cons)
• Technically abilities
• Better bass articulation

FITMENT / DESIGN

The rear of the KZ ESX driver is vented quite a bit, but I don’t notice it impacting isolation so much. The translucent blue is a nice color accenting the silver metal faceplate. The nozzles are long and made of plastic with a lip, they are on the larger side but not XL. Cable is the standard silver plated straight cable with a right angle plug and plastic molded earhooks.

The dynamic driver is a 12mm liquid crystal 5 micro thick diaphragm, claiming more powerful energy, faster response, and stronger vocal resolution. This reminds me of a persona that typically says things that are untrue to detract from what may be really happening.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

• Earphones
• 0.75mm 2 Pin detachble 1.2m silver plated cable
• S/M/L White starline eartips

SOUND

Tested using LG G8 and SMSL DO100/HO100 DAC/AMP

First thing you notice on the KZ ESX is the throbbing bass, I would say the boost feels centered near 40-60Hz, sub bass is covered no problem. While not articulated in precise terms, it has a boomy linger that tends to color the lower mids and sits in front of the mix.

Midrange is recessed with no harshness, but no excitement either. I sense some crowding of instruments all in the center. There appears to be a medium/normal pinna gain, guitars and horns are present, but lack any bite or edginess to them to sound realistic or exciting to listen to.

Treble roles off quickly and early after 10khz making the KZ ESX sound “polite” or even too dark at times. No real sparkle on cymbals, string instruments are present but like wallflowers. If feels as if I was around loud noises all day and my hearing has compensated for the barrage of noise.

TECHNICAL STUFF

There is not a lot to say about the technical merits of the KZ ESX. Width feels narrow, perhaps the recessed midrange gives it the essence of depth. Overall they feel claustrophobic, lacking in resolution, and congested with busy music. At least there is no sibilance or shoutiness.

FINAL REMARKS

10 years of KZ slowly defining the era of budget entries, the KZ ESX feels as if panders to collectors. This is one I don’t find particularly worthy of purchasing. It has a very 70’s/80’s vibe of big driver bass, coupled with low resolution midrange without decent tweeter output to mask the shortcomings.

This is probably not the review KZ was hoping for, but not everything is a homerun, and sometimes they strike out. Maybe it is not far to call it a strikeout, perhaps a bunt is a better classification as I am sure some people might prefer the politeness of the treble. The CCA CRA+ is a better buy at $9 more, although I do like the styling of the KZ ESX better.

SPECIFICATIONS

GRAPHS

• Left vs Right

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DISCLAIMER

Get it from KZ direct at their Aliexpress Store or other distributors and retailers.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

The post KZ ESX Review – 10 Years of Another One appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Sleek metal shells look and feel more substantial than many exponentially more expensive models; isolation is only average but fit and comfort are good. The ED9  is easy to drive with just a mobile but scales well with more power. 

Uniquely for this price class, the ED9 sport replaceable “bass” and “reference” tuning nozzles. With the gold “bass” filter, the ED9 has a bass-enhanced gentle V-shape with impactful, deep subbass which is perfect in quantity and has good pitch definition but could stand to be  quicker and tighter (amping helps considerably). The brass “reference” filter reduces the low end boominess and brings mids forward but sounds leaner and duller overall; I much prefer the gold. Soundstage in either formulation is of average width and height but imaging, esp. for the price, is uncanny—you feel like you’re in a small, well-designed auditorium.

 Brightish reble it’s not hyper-detailed and can get a bit splashy at very loud volume but generally avoids harshness or sibilance. The ED9’s real selling point is its vinyl-like tonal quality; they reproduce drums and acoustic instruments in an extremely natural way and acoustic jazz is very live-sounding. 

Compared to my current mega-cheap fave, the $20 TRN STM (which also sports interchangeable filters), the ED9 has significantly less high-end detail and more unruly bass, but sound considerably less colored, with a less metallic treble. The much-venerated, $30 Blon BL-03 has an even more “natural” timbre, tighter bass and more top-to-bottom coherence; the Blon are the more refined but lack the ED9’s low end impact and don’t rock as hard. KZ’s $40-50 hybrids like the ZS7 and esp. the ZSX have more expansive stages, more high-end information and better-tamed bass but sound somewhat digital/processed against the humbler ED9.

The amazing NiceHCK Bro/Senfer UES excepted, I’m hard-pressed to find a more recommendable cheapo, and ultimately the ED9 is tough to criticize.

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The post KZ ED9 Review – Return of the O.G. appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Instead of first impressions, we offer completely flavour-neutral optical treatments before following up with our exhaustive reviews of the products’ performances.

Current Photography

1. BQEYZ Autumn vs. BEQYZ Summer (Jürgen Kraus)
2. Hidizs MM2 (Jürgen Kraus)
3. IKKO OH2 vs. IKKO OH1S (Jürgen Kraus)

Vintage Photography (prior to March 2022)

1. AME Custom Argent Hybrid Electrostatic (Jürgen Kraus)
2. Anew X-One (Jürgen Kraus)
3. Blon BL-05 Beta (Jürgen Kraus)
4. Blon BL-05 Beta (Jürgen Kraus)
5. Blon BL-05 MKI & MKII (Jürgen Kraus)
6. BQEYZ Spring 1 (Jürgen Kraus)
7. BQEYZ Spring 2 (Durwood)
8. CCA CA16 (Durwood)
9. Drop + JVC HA-FXD1 (Jürgen Kraus)
10. Fidue A65/A66 (Jürgen Kraus)
11. FiiO FD1 (Jürgen Kraus)
12. FiiO FHs1 (Jürgen Kraus)
13. Hill Audio Altair • RA (Jürgen Kraus)
14. iBasso IT01 V2 (Jürgen Kraus)
15. Hilidac Atom Pro (Jürgen Kraus)
16. Ikko OH1 (Jürgen Kraus)
17. KBEAR Believe (Jürgen Kraus)
18. KBEAR Diamond (Jürgen Kraus)
19. KBEAR hi7 (Jürgen Kraus)
20. KBEAR KB04 (Jürgen Kraus)
21. KBEAR Lark (Jürgen Kraus)
22. Kinboofi MK4 (Jürgen Kraus)
23. KZ ASX (Jürgen Kraus)
24. KZ ZSN Pro (Slater)
25. Moondrop Crescent (Jürgen Kraus)
26. Moondrop Illumination (Jürgen Kraus)
27. Moondrop Kanas Pro Edition (Jürgen Kraus)
28. Moondrop SSP (Jürgen Kraus)
29. Moondrop SSR (Jürgen Kraus)
30. Moondrop Starfield (Jürgen Kraus)
31. NiceHCK Blocc 5N Litz UPOCC OCC Copper Earphone Cable
32. NiceHCK Litz 4N Pure Silver Earphone Cable (Jürgen Kraus)
33. NiceHCK NX7 (Jürgen Kraus)
34. NiceHCK NX7 Pro (Jürgen Kraus)
35. Queen of Audio Pink Lady (Jürgen Kraus)
36. Revonext QT5 (Slater)
37. SeeAudio Yume (Jürgen Kraus)
38. Senfer DT6 (Slater)
39. Sennheiser IE 300
40. Sennheiser IE 500 PRO
41. Shozy Form 1.1 and Shozy Form 1.4
42. Shozy Form 1.4 (Jürgen Kraus)
43. Shozy Rouge (Jürgen Kraus)
44. Simgot EM2 (Jürgen Kraus)
45. Simgot EN700 Pro (Slater)
46. Smabat ST-10 (Jürgen Kraus)
47. Tin Hifi T2 Plus (Jürgen Kraus)
48. Tin-Hifi T4 (Jürgen Kraus)
49. TRN-STM (Jürgen Kraus)
50. TRN V90 (Jürgen Kraus
51. TRN-VX (Jürgen Kraus)
52. Whizzer Kylin HE01 (Jürgen Kraus)

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Gear of the Year: 2021 marks the blog’s third year and the second with 8 contributors. We collectively published almost 200 articles, mainly product reviews, but also technical information. Apart from receiving review units from manufacturers and sellers, we also purchased a lot…and we borrowed from audiophile friends and colleagues.

We are a heterogeneous bunch not pressed into templates by commercialism. Each of us enjoys maximum freedom. None of us gets paid. And it is this variety that makes this blog interesting. Two of us, Baskingshark and Kazi, have been drafted to also write for Headphonesty, which gives them more exposure and also access to very interesting gear.

Our main focus has traditionally been on earphones – we have reviewed almost 300 – but particularly DACs and amps also caught our attention this year.

As at the end of the previous years, we list our our personal favourites of 2021 – the portable audio we personally enjoyed most. There are no rules, we just tell you what we like. After all, the gear we use most is our best. And we attached some of this gear to our newly created Wall of Excellence, which averages all our opinions.

Enjoy this read and we wish you a happy and successful 2023!

We thank

Most of our reviews would have not been possible without our 2021 cooperating partners. We thank:

ADV, Allo, Apos Audio, Astell & Kern, AudioQuest, Azla, Blon, BQEYZ, Burson Audio, Campfire Audio, Cayin, CCA, Dekoni, Dunu, ddHiFi, EarMen, Easy Earphones, Fiil, Helm Audio, Hidizs, HifiGo, ifi Audio, IKKO Audio, KBEAR/TRI Audio, Keephifi, Khadas, Knowledge Zenith, Meze, Moondrop, Musicteck, NiceHCK, OneOdio, Penon Official Store, Pergear, Sennheiser, Shanling, Shenzhenaudio, Smabat, Snake Oil Sound, SpinFit, Tempotec, Tin Hifi, TRN Official Store, Unique Melody, Venture Electronics, Whizzer Official Store, Yaotiger Hifi Audio Store. Don’tkillusifweforgotyoujustsendusanotandwefixit. 

For the companies: you can check for your products/yourself in the search field on the right-hand side.

We also thank the private sources that supplied us with loaners.

And here we go…that’s what we enjoyed in 2021…

Alberto Pittaluga…Bologna, ITALY

I’ve come accross quite a few interesting pieces of gear in 2021, mixed / hidden amongst piles of shameful crap. Nothing new, is it ? I’ll try to make a succint list of the most significant stuff I auditioned here. Most of these devices are also now part of my operative audio gear.

IEMS

Dunu ZEN (discountinued, was $ 699,00) : beyond spectacular microdynamics, resolution, layering and technicalities in general. A masterpiece.

iBasso IT07 ($899) : the sole real “direct upgrade” to Ikko OH10 I encountered as of yet. Same presentation, twice the refinement, at more than four times the price.

Oriolus Isabellae ($ 599) : somewhat “more V-shaped” alternative to Zen, delivering very similar technical prowess.

Ikko OH1S ($143) : a potential new join into the our World of Excellence roster as a sub-200$ allrounder

Headphones

Final Sonorous-II  (€ 300) : arguably by far the best neutral-tuned closebacks in their price category, staging and imaging easily compete with many lower tier openback alternatives.

Sennheiser HD600 (€ 310) : not a novelty for anybody but me, I’m sure. Quite simply: I got my first HD600 pair in 2021 and that’s why I’m listing it here. I presume no one needs a description. Do you?

Earbuds

Rose Mojito ($259) : superbly neutral-tuned high end earbuds with strong bilateral extention, beyond spectacular mids and vivid, refined highs in a fully holographic stage, with plenty of resolution and dynamics.

K’s Earphone Bell-LBS (€ 59,25) : mid centric buds delivering superbly organic vocals – both male and female – and very good trebles

K’s Earphone K300 (€ 28,59) : unreal sub-bass extension for an earbud, they deliver a very nice V shaped presentation while drawing an incredibly sizeable 3D stage. Presentation remembers a bit Ikko OH10, but in earbud form.

DAC/AMPs

Ifi Micro iDSD Signature (€ 749) : top sub-$1K mobile dac-amp. Very high quality DAC reconstruction paired with superbly transparent amping stage with power to spare for the most demanding planars and power deflation options to optimise low impedance IEM biasing. Truly a full step ahead of the competitors’ pack.

DAPs

Cowon Plenue 2 MK-I (€ 835) : hopped on this recently when I found a impossible to turndown openbox deal. Starting from my direct experience proving that there’s pretty much no game between proprietary-OS DAPs vs commercial-OS (read Android) DAPs, the former being in by far better position to achieve superior output sound quality, Plenue 2 represents a great companion to my QP1R offering a different / alternative optimal pairing opportunity for a few of my preferred IEM drivers.

DAC/AMP Dongles

This year’s experience proved to me that exclusively higher-tier (and price) dongles are able to deliver sound qualities worth the comparison with battery-equipped alternatives. Simply put: pretty much nothing until an Apogee Groove ($200) is really worth the price difference compared to the super-cheap Apple Dongle ($9), and even on the Groove some caveats apply (power needs, amp stage competibility).  That said, I really had pick one device “in the midfield” I’d pick the :

Questyle M12 ($139,99): while still not worth an inclusion on our Wall of Excellence, yet M12 runs circles around pretty much all similar or lower priced competitors I assessed in terms of extension, note weight, clarity and technicalities.

Biodegraded…Vancouver, CANADA

Doesn’t have anything to report this year.

Durwood…Chicago, USA

Shozy Form 1.4 has still been my go to earphone due to it’s warm inviting nature, great technical abilities and it feels great in my ears.

7Hz Timeless is another good buy late in the year for me, it’s a little more sub-bass plus analytical counterpart to the Shozy that has nudged the BQEYZ Spring 2 out of the way. A more detailed review is coming.

I rediscovered the Senfer UES for a quick throw around set, was hoping the Senfer DT9 was a slight improvement, but alas the Senfer UES sticks around instead. Sony MH755 is also perfect for quick on the go usage where I don’t need the universal fit in-ears.

Tempotec impressed me enough to consider the Sonata E35 for when good phone DAP’s are finally dead. Other than that, dongles are not my thing, and I have issues with some of Sony’s GUI decisions on the NW-A55 mainly related to playlist creation and long text support.

Lastly, the Questyle CMA Twelve would be an awesome DAC/amp combo to have, but my needs are more mobile. Perhaps when life slows down, but there are other bucket list items such as the Burson Playmate 2, RebelAmp, the Ruebert Neve RNHP, or RME ADI-2 that look interesting as well. Maybe someone will loan me one in 2022?

Jürgen Kraus…Calgary, CANADA

Earphones have traditionally been our main trade and there’s not many that stuck with me this year. First and foremost, I was impressed by the immersive and engaging sound of the single DD Dunu Zen that further excel in microdynamics. They are still very popular within our team.

Moondrop finally got it right with their tuning in the smooth and very pleasant sounding Moondrop KATO single dynamic driver. This model is generally well received. The JVC HA-FDX1 are still my standard iems for equipment testing, and an honourable mention goes to the Unique Melody 3DT for the clean implementation of 3 (!) dynamic drivers.

Another iem that fascinated me is the Japanese Final E5000. On the market since 2018, and very source demanding, this iem can produce a bass texture beyond belief. I have become a bit of a Final fanboy, as their products are unpretentious and natural sounding…and they fit my ears very well. I also purchased the Final E1000, E3000, and A3000…which get a lot of usage. No surprise that our Wall of Excellence is decorated like a Christmas tree by quite a few of these Japanese earphones and headphones.

Expanding my horizon into other devices, the Sony NW-A55 is a user-friendly digital audio player with great sonic characteristics and signature-altering 3rd party firmware options. But, most of all, it updates its music library within a minute or two. For the ultimate portable enjoyment, I discovered the Questyle QP1R dap...sounds simply amazing with the Final E5000. Found the dap on Canuck Audio Mart.

Dongles, battery-less headphone DAC/amps that turn any cheap phone into a decent music player, were big in 2021. Around since 2016, the market caught on to these devices. But out of the mass of dongles tested, the 2019 AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt was the most musical to my ears. I also like the AudioQuest DragonFly Red and the EarMen Eagle (replacing the EarMen Sparrow which I sent to Biodegraded). For earphone testing (and bigger cans), I still use the excellent Earstudio HUD100.

For my full-sized headphone needs with my notebook, I discovered the powerful Apogee Groove, a current-hungry dongle DAC/amp that has been around since 2015. I am even portable around the house. As to headphones themselves, I am still happy with the Sennheiser HD 600 and HD 25, but also with the Koss Porta Pro.

For my desktop setup, I identified the EarMen Tradutto as being a fantastic DAC in combination with the Burson Funk amp. Currently testing the Tradutto with my big stereo system.

In summary, I learnt a lot in 2021…

My Take Home this Year

• The latest is barely the greatest…many old brooms get better into the corners
• Influencers are not always right (…to say it nicely)
• Measurements are overrated
• Timbre (degree of naturalness of sound) is underrated
• Source is super important and also underrated
• Group pressure through hype may become a sobering experience
• That groomed YouTube stuff is boring

Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir…Munich, GERMANY

This year was very educational for me when it came to audiophilia. I got the chance to try out truly summit-fi setups and realized how good a system can sound. This also resulted in a sense of yearning where you keep comparing the gears you own with the ones you cannot own, at least not yet. Nonetheless, without further ado.

Headphones: The one headphone that has stuck with me throughout the year is the Hifiman Susvara. They won’t flatter anyone with the build quality but when paired with the right amp they sound astonishing. One of the most natural sounding headphones out there with exceptional timbre. A must listen.

Honorable mention goes to the Final D8000. Supreme bass that’s pretty much unmatched. On the budget side, I really liked the Final Sonorous-III. They are underrated and under-appreciated.

IEMs: When it comes to in-ear monitors, I have a hard time picking any single one of them as all of them fall short in one area or another. Nonetheless, the one IEM I’ve used the most throughout the year is the Dunu Zen. There is something truly addicting about their sound that makes me come back to them time and again.

However, the Zen is not the best IEM that I have heard throughout the year. That would probably be the Sony IER-Z1R or the 64Audio U12t. In the relatively budget realm, the 7Hz Timeless took me by surprise with their planar speed and excellent bass slam.

Source: Instead of going with separate sections for amps, DACs and such, I will just consolidate them into one.

Best desktop amp I’ve tried: Accuphase E380. One of those rare speaker amps that sound great with headphones.

Best portable amp I’ve tried: Cayin C9. It is the only review loaner in the past year that I have wanted to buy with my own money. I probably will, soon, budget permitting.

Best DAP: Lotoo PAW 6000, even though it can’t power difficult loads.

Best dongle: L&P W2. The only dongle that I found to be good enough to replace some DAPs.

Best DAC: Holo May L2. The price is extremely high but so is the sound quality. Exceptionally natural and neutral tuning. Another must listen.

And that’s a wrap. Have a great Christmas, and see you on the other side!

KopiOkaya…SINGAPORE

Too many lists…I focus on eartips…

Best EARTIPS of 2021

Most versatile eartips: SpinFit CP-100+
Best budget eartips: Audiosense S400
Best eartips for bass: FAudio “Instrument” Premium Silicone Earphone Tips
Best eartips for vocal: Azla SednaEarFit Crystal (Standard)
Best eartips for treble: BGVP S01
Best eartips for soundstage: Whizzer Easytips SS20
Most comfortable eartips: EarrBond New Hybrid Design

Loomis Johnson…Chicago, USA

Gear of the Year (and other Favorite Things)

SMSL SU-9 DAC/Preamp—one of those pieces that makes you seriously question why anyone would spend more. A seriously good DAC which is even better as digital preamp.

Hidisz S3 Pro DAC/Dongle—lacks the juice to power challenging loads, but has an uncanny knack for enlivening and improving more efficient phones. Very refined, with impeccable bass control.

Cambridge Melomania TWS—ancient by TWS standards, and its rivals have more features and tech, but this may still be the best-sounding TWS you can buy.

Shozy Rouge IEM—like a really hot girl you get smitten by the beauty before you even delve into the substance. Properly driven, however, these sound just as good as they look, with estimable staging and clarity.

The Beatles, “Get Back” Documentary—as probably the only person on earth who hasn’t seen Lord of the Rings I was gobsmacked by how brilliant this film looked and sounded. The real surprise for me, however, was how natural  a musician John was—unburdened by technique, but soulful and  exploratory.  Poor George invokes your pity—a good writer forced to compete with two great ones– while Ringo wins the award for Best Attitude.

Bob Dylan, “Desolation Row”—I always found the lyrics impenetrable and a bit sophomoric, but the Spanish-influenced lead guitar part is incredible, with scarcely a phrase repeated throughout the full 11 minutes. I’d always assumed it was Mike Bloomfield, but it’s actually the harmonica virtuoso Charlie McCoy, who also plays the trumpet part of “Rainy Day Women”.

Reds, Pinks and Purples, “Uncommon Weather” In hope of finding something genuinely fresh I dutifully listened to the most-touted 2021 releases before fixating on this one, which (predictably) sounds exactly like 80s Flying Nun and Sarah bands.

And This Was The Previous Year:

The post Gear Of The Year 2021 – Our Personal Favourites appeared first on Music For The Masses.

The 2DD/BA/piezo GK10 is a warm (cf dark-sounding) V-shaped piece with emphasis on the voluminous but somewhat sluggish midbass, recessed mids and a grainy but  reasonably detailed treble. There’s adequate separation between instruments, but imaging is confusing—the performers seem to be randomly placed in a scrum towards the middle of the stage.

Drums lack some snap and the highest frequencies seem to be veiled by the big low end. For all that, the GK10 is a pleasant enough listen—there’s no harsh edges or sharp peaks, and tonality is fairly analogue-sounding.  However, it’s difficult to hear just what all those drivers are doing—these lack the quick transients and high-end transparency of  other budget piezos like the NX-7 or BQEYZ Spring. Okay overall, but the more revealing KBEAR KB04 or a TRN STM are much better for much less. 

Specifications

• 1 balanced armature for high frequency
• 2 piezoelectric ceramic for ultra-high frequency
• 7mm graphene diaphragm dynamic for middle frequency
• 8mm dome titanium diaphragm dynamic for bass
• Panel: stable wood
• Shell material: ABS+PC
• Impedance: 8Ω
• Sensitivity: 106dB
• Frequency response range: 20-30kHz
• Cable material: 8-strand silver-plated
• Connector: 2pin 0.78mm
• Cable length: 1.2m

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DISCLAIMER

Hifigo kindly provided this set to Durwood for no charge, for everyone else they can be found on Amazon on Hifigo’s store page.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post Geek Wold GK10 Review (2) – Another Opinion appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Excellent fit and good build.
Natural and organic timbre with great tonality.
Smooth and non fatiguing.
Above average technicalities (other than microdetails). Layering is a highlight.
Excellent price to performance ratio.

Cons

Non detachable cable.
Hard to drive, needs amping to scale better.
Not the most detailed set, not for analytical listening.
Below average isolation.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Tanchjim Tanya is a warm and lush harmanish set with great timbre and tonality. It is smoothness personified, admittedly it does needs some power to shine, but I can see this set as being one of the standout budget sets for 2021, with excellent price to performance ratio. I’d even stick out my neck and say that this may be the new BLON BL-03 for this year!

SPECIFICATIONS

• Driver configuration: Dynamic Driver
• Frequency response: 20Hz – 42000Hz
• Impedance: 16Ω
• Sensitivity: 112dB/Vrms
• Cable: non detachable , but made of 4N oxygen free copper + Kevlar shaft core and litz structure
• Tested at $21.99 USD

ACCESSORIES

Other than the IEM, the Tanchjim Tanya packaging comes with:

• Spare filters
• Silicone ear tips of 2 types – the narrower bore ones boost the bass whereas the wider bore ones boost the higher frequencies.
• Velvet carry bag

Accessories wise, nothing to be sniffed at for $20ish USD. I’ve seen worse in pricier IEMs, cough cough TRN BA8. Everything is rather usable OOTB here, so no need to mess with getting aftermarket tips, which can add to costs (looking at you BLON BL-03).

Do note that the stock narrower bore eartips boost the bass, whereas the wider bore ones boost the higher frequencies. The Tanchjim Tanya is already quite warm and thick in sound, with a kind of veiled sound signature. So for those that want a bit more clarity and openness, I would recommend the wider bore stock tips, or you can try some wider bore aftermarket tips.

For the purposes of this review, the stock tips were used, so as not to change the sound signature with aftermarket gear.

BUILD/COMFORT

The Tanchjim Tanya is a bullet shaped IEM and is meant to be worn cable down. It is very light and well fitting, comfort is excellent. In fact, I’ve used it for many hours continuously with no discomfort whatsoever.

I didn’t find any driver flex for myself on the Tanchjim Tanya (but YMMV, as this is somewhat dependent on ear anatomy and types of ear tips used).

Sadly, the cables are non detachable, this area may be a dealbreaker for some, as this may be a point of failure down the line, or perhaps some might wanna use aftermarket balanced cables or even bluetooth adapters with it. But the cables in the Tanchjim Tanya are quite supple and not tangly, and there’s a strain relief.

This is not the noodle thin, non strain relief reinforced type of cable that makes your heart drop (looking at you Final E3000!), I think it looks and feels quite durable.

Personally, I would have preferred if it was MMCX as least, but I won’t beat this area with a stick, since it is a $20ish USD set, and some of the pricier Tanchjim products do not have detachable cables too -> also looking at you, Tanchjim Cora!!

As per most cable down, non detachable design IEMs, there’s some microphonics unfortunately, but it is not that bad, compared to the Sony MH755 or Final Audio E3000 in this area. The cable is also quite long, unlike the Sony MH755 where the too short fixed cable mandates that you can’t move too far from the source.

Strangely, the Tanya didn’t come with any L/R markings to let us know which side is which, but there’s a small dot on the strain relief insertion area (into the IEM) to denote that this is the left earpiece. This dot thing seems to be some relic design that I’ve encountered in some old school Japanese IEMs!

ISOLATION

As for isolation, the Tanchjim Tanya is below average in this area, as per the open backed design, but this design does aid in soundstage, which we will discuss below, so it is a double edged sword.

DRIVABILITY

I tested the Tanchjim Tanya with a Khadas Tone Board -> Topping L30 amp, Sony NW A-55 DAP (DMP-A50 FEv2 Classic Mr Walkman Mod), smartphone, Shanling Q1 DAP, Tempotec Sonata HD Pro, ESS ES9280C PRO DAC/AMP, and a Khadas Tone Board -> Fiio A3 Amp.

The Tanya is rather difficult to drive. In fact, it sounds meh from a lower powered smartphone, and scales nicely when amped. I mean, you can get sound from lower powered source, but it can’t sing. Ie soundstage, dynamics, microdetails are lost when it isn’t amped.

When underpowered, the midbass bleeds quite a fair bit and music sounds congested. I tried the Tanchjim Tanya originally with the Shanling Q1 DAP and the Tempotec Sonata HD Pro at 2V power (with a 3.5 mm adapter), it sounded a bit mushy and overly thick.

On amping this set with the Topping L30 amp, then the veil kind of lifted and I’m glad to report that this set can scale with power, and the bass can be cleaner when amped. Of course that brings us to the question of whether one should pair a $20 USD IEM with a more expensive amp, is that putting the cart before the horse?

As discussed, since the Tanchjim Tanya features a warmish veiled tuning, it does synergize better with brighter or at least neutral sources, rather than a warmer source which makes the mix too mushy and overly syrupy thick.

SOUND & TECHNICALITIES

The Tanchjim Tanya features a warm harmanish tuning. Tuning is towards laid back and analoguish. The keyword to describe this set is “lush” and “smooth”. In a nutshell, the Tanchjim Tanya is a non analytical set, and is a set suited to chill back and enjoy music.

Tonality is very good, there’s a slight upper mids peak around the 3 kHz region, but it is far from shouty or hot and is very smooth and non fatiguing. In contrast, I couldn’t use the Moondrop SSR (which also has a 3 kHz peak) for more than 5 minutes due to the icepeak 3 kHz spike on it.

On to tonality. The Tanya is midbass focused. There’s a subbass rolloff, but there’s a tickle of rumble called for when the deepest bass registers are played. As discussed, when underpowered, the midbass smears and bleeds, but on amping the bass tightens quite a fair bit. The Tanya doesn’t have the most textured bass unfortunately, but that’s something I can close one eye for, considering the price.

Mids are thick and lush and this gives quite a lot of body to music. This may overly too thick for some, so it can be a pro or con, but those that like the analoguish sound will like it. The lower mids are slightly depressed until it rises and peaks at the 3ish kHz region. There’s no sibilance on this set, so it is a rather treble safe set, treble rolls off around 8 kHz or so.

Vocals are a tinge forward in this set due to the peak at the upper mids, but even on some shouty tracks, I did not find that the Tanya is fatiguing or shouty for me, it is a very safe and non fatiguing tuning. Due to the borderline darkish treble, some cymbal and percussion hits may be a bit too subdued and this isn’t the most detailed treble, but it for sure can be used for hours upon hours due to the non fatiguing tuning.

For those that find the tuning overly thick and veiled, as discussed, using a brighter source or wider bore ear tips may help.

On to technicalities, soundstage is above average in all 3 directions, as per the open backed design. Probably some multi BA/hybrid sets at this price bracket will trump it in technicalities, but the Tanchjim Tanya’s layering is very good for this price bracket, haven’t heard this in most $20ish IEM.

Imaging and instrument separation are above average, I felt it can cope with busy passages of music when amped. However, details are not the best, notes lack bite and edge definition as per the analoguish signature, so as discussed, it isn’t a set for analytical listening, but just to chill and appreciate music.

Timbral accuracy on the Tanchjim Tanya is truly excellent, I would term it as organic and natural. Indeed, this is a very good IEM for vocals and acoustic instrument lovers. In fact, I think it has one of the best timbral accuracy I’ve heard in a $20ish USD set, it even edges the fabled BLON BL-03 in the timbre department.

COMPARISONS

Here are some comparisons with some well regarded budget single DD types. As hybrids/multi BA have their own strengths and weaknesses compared to single DD types, they were left out of the comparisons.

BLON BL-03 ($25 USD)

The legendary BLON BL-03 is a harmanish set with a midbass bump, boasting superb tonality and timbre at the sub $30 USD region. Both sets sound a tinge analoguish and scale with amping, though the Tanchjim Tanya is harder to drive. Both sets also have subpar isolation and share a similar tonality and timbre. Perhaps the BLON BL-03’s midbass is a tinge more bloated.

I think the Tanchjim Tanya edges it in the timbral accuracy and technicalities department. The BLON BL-03, even though it has detachable cables, has a notoriously bad fit due to the too short nozzles. Hence, most people need to do spacer mods or use aftermarket eartips/cables to secure a better fit.

Thus, the BLON BL-03 may be closer to $40 – 50 USD if aftermarket tips/cables are factored in, whereas the Tanchjim Tanya is ready to go OOTB, no need to mess around or spend more on aftermarket gear for it. As such, I see the Tanchjim Tanya as a marginal upgrade and a better set in terms of investment. I daresay the Tanchjim Tanya may even be the BLON BL-03 of 2021!

BLON MINI ($29.99 USD)

The BLON MINI is much easier to drive, though the Tanchjim Tanya has better timbral accuracy, better technicalities and layering and imaging.

The Tanya has better accessories, though it has weaker isolation. The Tanchjim Tanya is more noticeably laid back in tuning, whereas the BLON MINI is more dynamic and in your face.

HZSound Heart Mirror ($49 USD)

The HZSound Heart Mirror is a neutralish bright set, with a more linear and neutral bass than the Tanchjim Tanya.

The HZSound Heart Mirror comes in a nicer shell (mirror like as per its namesake), with non detachable cables and a very nice packaging. Both sets scale superbly with amping, timbre are excellent on both sets.

In terms of technicalities, the HZSound Heart Mirror whips the Tanchjim Tanya, the former has much better transients, clarity, microdetails, imaging and instrument separation. Note weight is thinner on the HZSound Heart Mirror and it has less subbass and midbass quantities too, though the bass is faster and cleaner. The HZSound Heart Mirror is a much more technical and analytical set, compared to the chiller and more laid back Tanchjim Tanya.

Sony MH755 ($7 USD)

The fabled Sony MH755 is also another harmanish set with a bullet shaped design. The Sony MH755 really has quite good timbre and tonality, but I think the Tanchjim Tanya beats it in these departments. The Sony MH755 can be shouty at higher volumes (Fletcher Munson curve) at the upper mids. Isolation and technicalities are also better on the Tanchjim Tanya.

Both sets have non detachable cables, but the Sony MH755’s cable is very short and J shaped, with markedly bad microphonics. One can’t go too far away from the source due to the short length (without using a cable extender), unlike the longer cable on the Tanchjim Tanya.

The Sony MH755 is also very hard to find in the wild nowadays, with a lot of shops selling counterfeit sets, so getting your paws on a legit Sony MH755 is an arduous task now.

So, I see the Tanchjim Tanya as an upgrade over the Sony MH755, although it is more expensive.

Moondrop SSR ($39.99 USD)

The Moondrop SSR comes with a waifu anime otaku packaging. That in itself makes it the clear winner, enough said. Please move on to the next section.

Ok ok jokes aside, the Moondrop SSR is tuned somewhat diffuse-field neutral with an upper mids boost. Both sets are quite tough to drive and have subpar isolation, but the Moondrop SSR is technically superior and has better transients than the Tanchjim Tanya.

The Moondrop SSR falls apart tonally though, it is akin to shouting at the moon at the 3 kHz area, especially at louder volumes (Fletcher Munson curve), and this is a dealbreaker for me. Both sets have a boosted 3 kHz area, but the Moondrop SSR more so, it can even be quite icepick like on some recordings at this area. The caveat is that we have different hearing health, different sources, different eartips, different ear anatomy (affecting pinna gain) and we play our music at different volumes, so YMMV and Moondrop fanboys, don’t crucify me!

Anyways, timbre is also less natural and the note weight is rather thin on the Moondrop SSR, so it is a much more analytical and technical set than the laid back and chill Tanchjim Tanya.

Final Audio E3000 ($50 USD)

The Final Audio E3000 is rather L shaped, featuring a big nebulous midbass and a rolled off treble. The Final Audio E3000 is harder to drive than the Tanchjim Tanya.

The Final Audio E3000 has better technicalities when amped, in the area of soundstage, imaging and instrument separation/layering, though it has a poorer timbral accuracy than the Tanchjim Tanya.

Both sets are bullet shaped and have non detachable cables, but the Final Audio E3000’s cable is worryingly noodle thin, with more microphonics and no strain relief! Isolation is also poorer on the Final Audio E3000.

CONCLUSIONS

The Tanchjim Tanya is a warm, smooth and lush harmanish set with great timbre and tonality. It needs some power to shine, but with adequate juice, the sound is really good for the $20 USD asked, with this set presenting excellent price to performance ratio. I’ve no regrets skipping a Macdonald’s meal or two for the Tanchjim Tanya TBH.

One area to nitpick, is that the cables are non detachable, as this may be a point of failure down the line, or perhaps some might wanna use aftermarket balanced cables or even BT adapters with it. This non detachable aspect may be a dealbreaker for some even, but otherwise, I’ve really no complaints about the build.

The non fatiguing and smooth and lush tuning can really make the Tanchjim Tanya a set to just sit back and enjoy the music for what it is, and not to listen to the gear. I can see this set as being one of the standout budget sets for 2021, maybe one can even label it as the BLON BL-03 for this year?

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You find an INDEX of all our earphone reviews HERE.

DISCLAIMER

I bought this set at my own expense, with a slight discount from the Yaotiger Aliexpress shop: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002568046521.html

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post Tanchjim Tanya Review (1) – The BLON BL-03 For This Year? appeared first on Music For The Masses.

CCA has not impressed me (or some of my other com-padres) so far based on my limited samplings of the CCA CA16 (jumbled) and CCA C10 Pro (remix), but that finally changed with the CCA CKX. First impressions are always important and once the CCA CKX is plucked from the box the heftiness in such a tiny package will put a grin on your face. Sound is very familiar and improves upon the C10 Pro with a less aggressive midrange rise giving listeners a better balanced signature with tighter bass control, improved clarity throughout the midrange treble transition all in a solid compact form factor. A surprising feat for a $69 hybrid 6+1 configuration.

THE PACKAGE

The cable included with the CCA CKX is similar to the KZ ZSN pink color, not the smaller diameter KZ ZSN other color if anyone remembers the cable difference history of budget offerings. The eartips are white starlines instead of the typical black, so anyone familiar with what has been coined as “starlines” is an acceptable tip, firm and grips well. What had me grinning was the earphone though, the metal shell feels very sturdy and polished in the unassuming matte styling which I thoroughly enjoy. It feels heavier than other metal styled contenders such as the TRN V90 or the BQEYZ Spring 2, however the size is tiny comparatively. People who desire a smaller IEM should definitely consider the CCA CKX because I couldn’t find anything in my collection of universals that are the same sizing. Isolation is average for me since it does not fill my ear as much, but the lower provide helps with wind noise.

SOUND

CCA CKX boasts boosted powerful bass with controlled seismic capabilities maybe ever slightly dull. If I were to describe it in paint sheen I would give it an eggshell maybe satin rating. It can sound overly thick on electronic and pop music, but it provides throbbing basslines enough for those that don’t want to be considered bassheads. It sounds less bass peaky than the CCA C10 Pro leaning on thump over midbass bump. As we follow the basslines into the lower mids on the CCA CKX there is some coloration making things sound full if not a little thick. Upper mids sound snappy as if someone turned up the contrast knob, beware of poorly recorded tracks- clipped vocals will be exposed as scratchiness. Some smoothing would tame this a bit, but perhaps this is the allure of the CCA CKX and the use of the less common 30017 BA driver which was also used in the TRN STM. The CCA CKX follows the trend for IEMS tuned using a Harman curve ditching the scooped out middle treble region aka presence region and instead letting this area shine. This can go good or bad depending how much they let loose on the popular 30095 BA driver. When utilized, an IEM can sound very energetic and lively which the CCA CKX has achieved. One of my previous budget favorites the TRN V90 is overshadowed easily by the slightly smoother yet still edgy CCA CKX, there is a cost difference of course. Comparing the CCA C10 Pro, they are similar in this area but the CCA CKX does take it up ever so slightly due ot less peaky upper midrange allowing other areas to balance it out.

TECHNICALITIES

Timbre on the CCA CKX is a bit plasticy. Instrument separation is good we loose some definition in the treble, I sort of wonder what it would sound like if the extra 30095 BA in the nozzle were eliminated. Perhaps it would clean up this area of weakness. Coherency otherwise is good for a multiple driver hybrid, I think the treble is the only area that feels a little busy with cymbals sounding too splashy and washed out. CCA CKX staging is wide, depth is shallow since it is forward sounding, but layering is nice and even. Powered easily from a portable phone or DAP, amplification not needed but always appreciated. My Sony A55 powered it just fine as did my LG V30.

FIN

Well done, the CCA CKX is very mature and unassuming which is something to be appreciated for those tired of larger shaped universals. The sound signature is very familiar, bassy and energetic without sounding too recessed more V signature tuned to western ears. Value-wise they are plopped into the right pricing bracket. The size of the CCA CKX packed into a solid shell with a medium midrange rise achieve a nice to have recommendation from me.

SPECIFICATIONS

GRAPHS

• Various eartips -Starline (blue), Widebore Silicone (pink), Foam (green)
• CCA CKX vs CCA C10 Pro
• Impedance Plot

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DISCLAIMER

CCA let me save some of my hard earned newspaper delivery funds by providing this set to me. Get it from Amazon, Aliexpress or any other option.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post CCA CKX Review – Hunky Dory appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Cons — Overheated upper midrange, sterile timbre, poor cable and accessory package.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The TRN BA8 is a well-resolving and otherwise technically very good earphone that fails on its overly aggressive sound and sterile presentation.

INTRODUCTION

TRN are a Chinese company that has entertained us with a few hits and misses in the past. The TRN V90 was immensely popular and one of the best visited in our blog’s history. The TRN STM made it on our “Gear of the Year 2020” list. This is approximately the 20th review of a TRN earphone on our blog (you find them all here). I found some of the TRN models very aggressive sounding, such as the TRN VX so that we repeatedly had to offer modding procedures such as this one. The TRN BA, unfortunately, falls into this category.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Driver Type: 8 BA (Customised 30095 high frequency x 3 + 29689 midrange x 2 + 50060 midrange x 2 + 22955 low frequency x 1)
• Frequency Response: 20 – 20000Hz
• Impedance: 20 ohms
• Sensitivity: 100 dB/mW
• Cable type: 2 pin
• Tested at $141 USD

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

The package contains the earpieces, a 4-core occ cable (not the one in the photo below), and a set of silicone tips (S/M/L). Baskingshark has this chapter covered very well in his own review. The earpieces are well machined, the cable is substandard – the QDC connectors were loose and the right channel failed after short use. I replaced the cable with the pure copper one on the photo below.

TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

My tonal preference and testing practice

My test tracks explained

Equipment used: iPhone SE (1st generation), stock cable, Yinyoo 8-core pure copper cable, Azla SednaEarfit and Spinfit CP145 silicone tips.

To make this short and swift: the TRN BA8 are only for people with metal eardrums or hearing loss in the upper registers. To me, they generated that instant Chi-Fi headache. They are the classic earphone that needs the famous micropore tape mod. The upper midrange is way overcooked which sharpens the vocals/midrange to the utmost. Most western ears find this offensive to painful. At this price, the high risk of buyer’s remorse is too big imo and means too big a potential loss.

Bass is really good, it is dry and tight. It does not smudge into the midrange and keeps it clear and transparent. However this also sucks any warmth out of the presentation and adds to a sterile and clinical timbre. The presentation is technically excellent however entirely unnatural. Like an overpixelated, oversharpened piece of photography. Yes, mids are intimate by piercing.

The other technicalities such as soundstage, separation, and layering are also very good.

The micropore mod (and replacing the small stock tips with Azla SednaEarfit) removed some of the aggression and harshness from the midrange, however the sound remained very digital – like out of an early-generation CD player. This had one advantage: event the oldest 1950s recorded sounded “remastered”.

And suddenly disaster stroke: the right earpiece lost some volume so that there was a strong channel imbalance. I grabbed the next cable lying around – it happened to be an 8-core pure copper cable: and both channels worked again equally well. But as a side effect, the sound characteristics had totally changed: it was was warm not not so digital anymore. And the low end sounded overly thick. I replaced the Azlas with the Spinfit CP145 to tighten the bass…and also ripped the micropore tape off.

The sound remained warm at the bottom but now the vocals picked up energy again. I realized that, apart from the earpieces, nothing was stock anymore. I decided to stop my review here as I felt I was doing R&D, something TRN should have done before throwing the BA8 on the market. Reporting the BA8 in my configuration does not help anyone, not the reader and not the manufacturer either. I therefore refer you to Baskingshark’s review.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

In summary, the TRN BA8 is another promising iem thrown on the market prematurely. It is an unfinished symphony with an aggressive tuning many listeners find torturing, and with a cable that does not harmonize with the earpieces. TRN had ample warnings over and over again from the feedback to some previous models. If I had paid $150 for this, I would be extremely unhappy. Buyers should not be guinea pigs.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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DISCLAIMER

The TRN BA8 was sent to me unsolicited by the manufacturer and I thank them for that.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

RELATED…

The post TRN BA8 Review (2) – Cuts Like A Knife appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Beginnings

ADV has ventured into the premium eartip market but are also known for their custom fit series.

The eartips are definitely unique, no one else is making elliptical shaped eartips that I know of, so when they were asking for volunteers I raised my hand and yes please. They boast some interesting features that on paper make sense, and some of it translates to reality.

Quick Summary

-Pick one size up from your normal, normal size might not fit.

-Bore is medium sized, not wide

-Short nozzle allows tip to move around and might block openings on IEMS that have molded in sound tubes.

-Thin silicone, not thick like Alza Sedna (Light or Regular) or JVC Spiral

-Position long dimension vertically in your ear, however might still feel uneven pressure

Good news is that they are made from non-itchy silicone, and I do agree this is a nice feature if you have ever wondered if something is crawling in your ears after using some cheaper silicone eartips. The silicone material is on the thinner side, so they will not put too much pressure on your ears and slip in like a cozy pair of slippers. JVC Spiral Dots are much stiffer in comparison and even the Alza Sedna Light are also on the stiffer side. These don’t appear much thicker than run of the mill included eartips, which is good for sensitive ears.  I selected medium size since that is the most common for me, but I also found the large work too, small and extra small are also offered.

The wide-bore is a stretch, I call them medium bore. I have plenty of other eartips such as the JVC spiral dots that are true wire-bore. Maybe they mean the end of the eartip? The nozzle portion is fairly short and not as thick as other premium eartips. Thicker nozzles typically keep the eartip in place better and also increase bass, so these Eartune Fidelity tips are not something you would select if that is your goal.

I kept you waiting for the most intriguing feature, the elliptical shape. I had to wonder why they picked this shape, was it to reduce standing waves? Perhaps, but I was surprised to learn that our ear holes are not round, but actually elliptically shaped. I assume ADV decided this shape was beneficial based on their customer eartip side of the business? Me being the dummy had to ask ADV though which direction they should sit on the nozzle for proper fit. I could have experimented, but I wanted to know for sure. The long side should be vertically placed into the ear canal. Despite this assurance, and experimentation, I still felt a slight pressure as a result after longer listening sessions. Perhaps my ear holes are more round. At least they are not itchy.

Sound

I did notice they have a minor effect in the middle treble, and it does help to take some ringing out of horns and electric guitars. I decided to use it on the TRM STM which has some lively treble in this area. I am aware of the funny business of the tips costing more than the earphones. It does smooth out this area a bit, and it is measurable. I prefer the TRN STM with the stock tips however, because it removed some of the magic. I could see using these tips on something that deserves better tips, say the Shozy Rouge, or mid to upper tier IEMS that need some smoothing of the mid treble.

End Result

Value-wise I cannot make a judgment since those who invest in better eartips don’t bother worrying about cost. They are definitely unique and the science side of oval openings makes sense, but the elliptical shape seems like a better on paper concept. I will be glad to have them in my collection for taming stubborn earphones that need that edge taken off, I would say these are a great alternative to foam eartips that conform and also take the bite out, but wear out over time. This helps raise their value over throw away foamies. On the other hand, they are awkward to use since the shape and short nozzle tube make it hard to position, and the silicone is on the thinner more flexible end of the spectrum. They are not plug and play so keep that in mind.

Disclaimer

The ADV EARTUNE FIDELITY U Elliptical Audiophile IEM eartips were supplied unsolicited by the company through Head-Fi – and I thank them for that.

Get them from ADV directly

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our Eartips Reviews HERE.

The post ADV Eartune Fidelity U Elliptical Silicone Eartips Review II – Unique Position appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Gear of the Year: Just in time for Christmas we list our our personal favourites of 2020 – the portable audio we personally enjoyed most. Note, these are not necessarily the best, but the ones we…you got it. Therefore, these are highly personal, subjective listings. Please be aware we don’t offer reviews for everything we like/we list here (yet).

That Christmas tree on the right is a carryover from last year. It stood in the lobby of the Windsor hotel at the Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro…and it should be a symbolism for looking forward to travelling again. Viva Brazil!

Most of our reviews would have not been possible without our 2020 cooperating partners. We thank:

Acoustic Effect, ADV, Akoustyx, Apos Audio, Azla, Bill Barraugh/Audiotiers, Blon, Cozoy, CVJ, ddHifi, Dekoni, Dunu, EarMen, Earstudio, Hifigo, iBasso, ifi Audio, KBEAR, Keephifi, Moondrop, NiceHCK, Opa Audio Store, Sennheiser, Shenzhenaudio, Shozy, Smabat, Tempotec, Tronsmart, TRN, Vision Ears, V-Moda, Wooeasy Earphones Store, Yaxi, Don’tkillusifweforgotyoujustsendusanotandwefixit. 

For the companies: you can check for your products/yourself in the search field on the right-hand side.

Note: we do not make any money (or getting compensated by products) through the gear we review. No affiliate links, trackers etc. We keep the conflict-of-interest potential as low as possible by attempting to stay at arm’s length.

As to the popularity of our reviews with you, the reader: our top-viewed BLOG POSTS for 2020 were (click to go to the respective article):

1. Simplified Guide To Silicone Eartips (~13,000 views in early Dec 2020)
2. Tin Hifi T2 Plus Review
3. Blon Bl-03 Review
4. KZ ZSN Pro Review
5. Blon Bl-05 Beta Photography
6. Tempotec Sonata HD Pro Review
7. Moondrop SSR Review
8. Drop JVC HA-FDX1 Review
9. Apple Audio Adapter Review
10. Earphones Of The Year 2019
11. Sennheiser IE 500 PRO Review
12. Reversing Starlines Eartips
13. TRN V90 Review
14. Moondrop Starfield Review
15. Sony MH755 Review

Total Number of Blog Posts in 2020: 186

Facebook Group (est. 2020-01-01)| https://www.facebook.com/groups/audioreviews: >5200 members

YouTube subscriptions | https://www.youtube.com/c/audioreviews: 660

Our most-watched YouTube Video of 2020:

And yes, this blog grew and grew and grew in 2020. We are now 8 reviewers on 3 continents. Below are our personal favourites of 2020…

Baskingshark…Singapore

My 2020 favourites in the following categories are:

Earphones

$300 – 500 USD:
LZ A7. Provides a mind boggling 10 tuning configs (or more with aftermarket tuning nozzles). It has excellent technicalities, good fit, good isolation, and the best part that surprised me is that the LZ A7 has very natural timbre for a BA/piezo containing tribid (other than the higher treble frequencies handled by the piezo). Most folks would find an ideal sound signature with it, maybe except diehard bassheads. 

$200 – 300 USD:
Audiosense T800. It has good technicalities, is “fun sounding” and excellent isolation nearing 30 dB. Even though it contains a BA bass, it sounds like a DD bass due to a vented subwoofer. The T800 may be a bit on the bright side, so it isn’t the best option for treble sensitive folks, but you can use knowles filters, warm sources or eartips to tame the treble.

@ $100 – 200 USD:
TRI I3. Smooth, balanced, grand and coherent despite the weird 1 planar + 1 BA + 1 DD config. It needs amping though, the planars handling the mids are quite power hungry. It has one of the best soundstages at the $100ish region when amped, with sweet planar mids. Treble is safe, bordering on darkish, so maybe not for trebleheads.

KBEAR BElieve. “Bearly believable” for a full beryllium set at this price? The KBEAR BElieve sports a smooth and refined U shaped tuning, great technical chops in the mids and treble areas for a single DD. It has good timbre for acoustic instruments but is very hard to drive, as per the 98 dB sensitivity. It sounds muddy, congested and slow in the bass with a low powered source, but scales beautifully when optimally amped, so those that don’t intend to get an amp best look elsewhere. With power, the KBEAR BElieve does hit about 70% of the technical performance of the famed DUNU LUNA, at 10% of the price! 

@ Sub $100 USD:
HZSound Heart Mirror. Nice mirror like shells, as per its namesake, it is a neutralish bright set, excellent timbre for acoustic instruments. I like how it manages to get a forward upper mids without going into harsh or shouty territory, a very fine line to balance. The Heart Mirror has good transients and speed on the driver. Note weight is thin and soundstage is not the best though, and it needs amping to shine, sounds meh from a smartphone. Good set for vocal lovers and timbre lovers, but maybe not so all rounded due to the lack of bass, but it takes to EQ in the bass like a champ.

Favourite earbud for the year:
SMABAT ST105 Black Gold. Neutralish set with subbass and upper mids boost. If you have always looked down on earbuds for not having subbass, think again. The SMABAT ST10S Black Gold has the best subass quantity and extension I’ve ever heard in a bud. It has excellent technicalities, is MMCX
detachable and can be worn over ears or cable down. It needs amping though, as per the 150 ohm impedance. Not to be mixed up with the SMABAT ST10S Black Silver, which is tuned differently (and has lower impedance).

Best lucky bag/Fukubukuro/Mystery bag:
Urbanfun YBF-ISS014 – it is extremely exciting to see whether u get a beryllium vs “noble metal” driver. Or a working versus wonky mmcx. Even newer batches of the Urbanfun have been reported to have QC problems in the audio forums.The Urbanfun can be summed up in this statement by Forrest Gump: “My Mom Always Said Life Was Like A Box Of Urbanfuns. You Never Know What You’re Gonna Get.”

Best price to peformance joke IEM of the year:
TRN golden ears $14,750.00 USD IEM paired with $3400 USD xiaofan ortiz “king of the gods” cable. Mere mortals cannot hope to use these gear if not you’ll be struck down by lightning! I hope the Bellsing BAs inside are also made of gold!

Biodegraded…Vancouver, Canada

Sorry, from me you get stuff that mostly hasn’t been reviewed. In no particular order; and most aren’t new this year.

Digital transports:
Pi2Design Pi2AES (+ Raspberry Pi)
For streaming (via wifi or Ethernet cable) digital music from your computer, you could go cheap and crap like a Chromecast or Airport, brutally expensive like an all-in-one streamer from Naim or PS Audio, or this $US 149 HAT for a Raspberry Pi which will produce excellent quality AES or S/PDIF digital audio to feed into your audiophile DAC. DIY aesthetic & philosophy, audiophile quality, fantastic convenience once you figure out how to set it up (variety of OS solutions, some better than others).

Amps/Preamps:
Ifi Audio Zen Phono RIAA phono preamp
$US 149 for excellent resolution and transients and the ability to work with a wide range of cartridges. Might benefit from an improved power supply such as Ifi’s own iPower, but my jury remains out on that. Audioreviews summary here.

Amp accessories:
GE JAN 5670W vacuum tube
Cheap and widely available true new-old-stock military-surplus tube that works really well as a 6DJ8/6922 preamp tube substitute (great in the Schiit Vali 2).  Nice tight lows, smooth but detailed mids, sparkly highs. 6922 to 5670 adapter required to translate the I/O pin pattern so nothing blows up.

Headphone accessories:
Yaxi pads for Porta Pro / KSC75 / PX-100
Tastefully boost bass and treble while (on the Kosses) lowering the prominent 5kHz peak. And they’re comfortable! Audioreviews summary here.

IEMs:
Drop/JVC HA-FDX1
Champion single-dynamic earphone with great DD timbre and almost BA-fast transients. Slightly boosted in the uppermost mids, heavy in the ears, intermittent availability, but huge bang-for-buck. Audioreviews summaries here and here (note that Loomis isn’t their greatest fan).

Headphones:
Fostex T50RP Mk3 with cheap angled pads and other mods
Closed or semi-open (depending on how much you stuff the cups) planar magnetic phones that with a little effort (see eg here for ideas) can be made both neutral and extended while retaining deep bass and technicalities. Need amp power to perform.

Players:
USB Audio Player Pro
Gets better with every update. Neutron is more configurable, but unnecessarily so. Put this on your Android phone, plug in a USB DAC/amp, and enjoy great lossless sound quality on the go. Equalizer plugins available. Android only though.

Durwood…Chicago, USA

CCA this year might as well been a lump of coal, it’s only two letters shy of selling your soul. If you want to talk to your boring Uncle Bob, (no offense Bob’s of the world) get yourself an iBasso IT00 or Tin Hifi T2 Plus you knob. Your uncle Bob is the guy who has lots of interesting things to say, but leaves you wondering what did you just listen to today. My only favorites this year were TRN STM who is the punk that your family doesn’t like to talk about and the Shozy Rouge as your killer looking date that likes to party but not shout. Waiting to see if Shozy Form 1.4 is in good form, only thing I decided to buy during the holiday sales storm. BQEYZ Spring 2 was a nice lively upgrade to the BQEYZ Spring 1, but fix that bass man, maybe take some lessons from the Nicehck NX7 Daniel son. Some of my friends from last year are still good folks to have around, Sony MH755, BLON BL03 for sleeping, and TinHifi T4 (I just wish you would hang in my ear longer than a few minutes of sound). Simgot EN700 is a carry over as well. I like a mild V if you can see.

Jürgen Kraus…Calgary, Canada

Blon BL-05s: These are very articulate playing single DDs also appeal to me through their hideous colour. Probably my most used items of the year (together with the JVCs and Shozy Form 1.4 below). Following the footsteps of the popular Blon Bl-03 – the Blon Bl-05s disappeared fast in the big black hole of anti-hype. And for a good reason: they look like the Bl-05, smell like the Bl-05, measure like the Bl-05, but the Bl-05 had been thrown on the market prematurely, and they sucked. The more distinguished audience may have realized that Bl-05 and Bl-05s have different drivers and sound completely different.

Drop JVC HA-FDX01: Hailed as arguably the best single DD on the market until Dunu Luna and Final Audio A8000 took over, this labour of love was originally only available 665 times….which has extended to above 2000 by now while the price dropped to $200. Carryover from 2019. Still my best earphones because of their organic timbre and great resolution.

TRI I3: Planar magnetic. Something totally different. Big and bold sounding yet soothing. Nothing offensive, nothing dull.

Sennheiser IE 400 PRO ($349): The best of their PRO series. Classic Sennheiser quality midrange. Super ergonomics. Nobody will dislike this one.

Shozy Form 1.4 ($199): The Shozy team somehow got their tuning 100% right. The Form 1.4 simply sound appealing to my ears…warm and fuzzy.

Guilty Pleasure: I pull the $70 FiiO FD1 out for the road: nice’n’punchy.

Vision Ears Elysium in the Endgame category. At 2500 EUR hand made by elfs and some Rhine mermaids in Cologne, out of reach for longer than a week (borrowed). Produce vocals better than real life but also melts credit cards. Cymbals as crisp as Swedish bread…

Perversions and Subversions: the Moondrop Spaceship at $20 beats the Moondrop SSR and SSP…less accurate but the better “junk food” for my ears. Moondrop have a history of undercutting their own mid-tier earphones with their budget offerings…we remember the $30 Crescent and the $180 KPE.

Inasmile Cable Protector: Discovery of the year. 20 cents that protect my fraying Apple cables from total breakage.

I still use the Koss PortaPro headphones with Yaxi earpads for video conferencing and listening when I need comfort around my ears. Also great are the Koss KSC75. Grab all of them when you can, they are affordable standard staples. And my standard full-sized cans are still the Sennheiser HD 600.

Tempotec Sonata HD Pro dac/amp dongle ($40): comes at the price of an adapter – but with all possible adapters to connect this little rascal to anything, including iPhones. Good enough to drive any iem. The very best dongles are the $199 EarMen Sparrow run on their balanced output, and the $120 Earstudio HUD100. In terms of larger portable dacs/amps (with integrated battery), I like the $199 ifi Audio Nano BL, the $149 ifi Audio hip-dac, and the $249 EarMen TR-amp. And I don’t think I need a bigger desktop amp.

Question mark of the year: The KBEAR Believe with their Japan sourced Beryllium drivers were too cheap to be true…which was underlined by some competing cheater Be-less Beryllium earphones and doubt seeded by the Dunu competitor. Hey, but the Luna have that Chi-Fi peak…

Personal Disappointment of the year: the continuing Chi-Fi peak between 2 and 4 kHz that kills western eardrums…TRN are leading the charge…the TRN BA8 cuts steel like butter.

Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir…Munich, Germany

I’ve tried and reviewed more stuff this year than ever, and part of it (actually, most of it) is due to the awful home-arrest that we’ve all succumbed too. Hope things get normal soon, sigh.

IEMs: 

Final E500 ($20): This otherwise “cheap/beater” IEM does one thing better than *anything* under $100 – binaural tracks and gaming. At least it did so until its brethren VR3000 came out, but I’m yet to hear that and that’s got a 4x price tag attached to it. People call the Sony MH755 the best value IEMs, for me it’s the Final E500.

Dunu Studio SA6 ($550): This is a great all-rounder IEM. Great bass for an all-BA IEM, the lower-mids are full and organic whereas upper-mids tread the fine line between forwardness and shoutiness. The treble has good amount of sparkle and air. Great design and accessory pack. Really, hard to pick a fault.

Honorable mentions: Final E5000, Samsung Galaxy Buds, Moondrop Blessing 2, Sony IER-M9, Final FI-BA-SS, Dunu Luna

Headphones:

Koss PortaPro X + Yaxi Pads ($40): Just buy one. Don’t be stingy. Thank me later. 

Sennheiser HD650 ($300): The once and forever king. The HD6XX esp is a no-brainer. Scales better than any headphone I’ve tried.

Honorable Mentions: Hifiman Sundara, Focal Clear, Final D8000

DAPs:

Sony NW-A55 ($200): If your primary need is to run efficient IEMs, look no further. Great ergonomics, actually usable UI, good display, fantastic battery life, and then there’s the MrWalkman mod to turn it even more awesome. The only “budget” DAP I recommend. 

Questyle QP1R ($600): Questyle made the QP1R 6 years ago. It’s still one of the best DAPs out there when it comes to overall dynamics.

Honorable mentions: Cowon Plenue V, iBasso DX160, Sony ZX300

Desktop sources:

YULONG Canary II ($230): One of the best budget all-in-ones I’ve come across. Criminally underrated too which is a royal shame.

Questyle CMA-400i ($800): The all-in-one system I ended up with after countless trials and tribulations. Perfectly aligned to my tastes.

Honorable Mentions: iFi Zen Can, Headamp GSX-Mini

And that’s a wrap. Hopefully 2021 brings us better times.

KopiOkaya…Singapore

This year there are 8 of us, thus there are more choices for our readers to choose from.

This year also marked the year of COVID-19…. Meaning, people are staying home longer and more often, thus they can listen to their gears on desktop systems other than portable music players and phones. Fortunately, desktop gears are much better and more affordable now.

Desktop DACs:

Denafrips Ares II (US$700): I don’t own one but my friend do. If you like natural, organic sound with a huge, deep, tall soundstage and don’t mind its higher price tag, look no further… This is it! 

Topping E30 (US$130): A nice warm-neutral DAC. It doesn’t sound as natural, as organic or has a huge soundstage like the Ares II but it offers great audio at an affordable price.

Note: Extremely sensitive to the quality of power supply used. Make sure you power it with something decent like the iFi iPower X.

Desktop Amps:

Yulong Canary II (US$250): This is actually a DAC/Amp with a Class A amplification stage. It posseses a warm-neutral sound signature with lots of low-end drive thanks to the Class A topography. Very good value and performance consider this is both a DAC and an amp! 

Topping L30 (US$140): My current reference amp… If you have noticed, so far I don’t have any balanced amp in my list. When I tune earphones, I never tune them in balanced, simply because if it sounds good in single-ended, it should sound even better in balanced… Well, this is usually the case! The L30 is great (for me) because it has a gain REDUCTION switch for IEMs with high sensitivity… Not many headphone amps have such feature. This is a very neutral, clean and transparent amp that doesn’t colour the sound of the source. That’s all I ask for when tuning earphones.

Portable DAC-Amps:

FiiO BTR5 / Shanling UP4 / EarStudio ES100 MK2 / Qudelix 5K (US$120 or less): I don’t want to decide which is better. To me, each has its pros and cons but my point is… acceptable Bluetooth quality listening is finally here! Almost everybody owns a smartphone these days, so why not use it as a music player? Some of you despise this idea but c’mon… A TOTL DAP still runs slower than my $150 Android phone operating on Android 10.

Earphones:

Etymotic ER4XR (US$350): My reference for tuning hybrid earphones. If you are familiar with Etys you should know their earphones have a near-neutral Diffuse Field Target tuning. The “XR” version has slightly more bass. 

Etymotic ER2XR (US$100): Similar to the ER4XR except this uses a single dynamic instead of balanced armature, thus my reference when I tune dynamic earphones. The ER2XR has more natural timbre and punchier bass than ER4XR. You can forget about Moondrop SSR/SSP if you plan to buy one. This is better.

Note: Etymotic earphones are to be worn deep inside the ear canals touching the bone… #Etyheads call “deep insertion”. This can cause discomfort to first time Etymotic users but you will get used to it eventually… I used to hate it but I am OK with it now.

Headphones:

Singapore is too damn warm for headphones, unless using air-conditioning while listening to music… Sorry, I am too cheap for that. Electricity is expensive here.

Loomis Johnson…Chicago, USA

TRN STM–$20 wunderkind is not, as Durwood aptly states, a purist’s earphone, and it veers towards sounding over-pixilated and artificial. However, it has that certain toe-tapping rightness that keeps me reaching for it over much pricier “audiophile-tuned” pieces. Did I mention it’s $20?

KBEAR Diamond—you can spend a lot more and get a bigger stage or a richer timbre, but this smooth, highly-resolving single DD is awfully refined for the price, with class-leading coherence and premium aesthetics and build.

Cambridge Melomania TWS—they don’t have ANC, EQ customizability or the bells and whistles of their Apple/Samsung peers, and microphone is sub-standard. However, they sound damn good for wireless buds—and are surprisingly good value at <$99. 9 hour battery life a plus.

Honorable Mentions: Shozy Rouge, Shuoer Tape.

Slater…Cincinnati, USA

Slater is short for “See Ya Later”…and you will see him later…

And This Was The Previous Year:

The post Gear Of The Year – Our Personal 2020 Favourites appeared first on Music For The Masses.

We thank: Acoustic Effect, ADV, Akoustyx, Apos Audio, Azla, Bill Barraugh/Audiotiers, Blon, Cozoy, CVJ, ddHifi, Dekoni, Dunu, EarMen, Earstudio, Hifigo, iBasso, ifi Audio, KBEAR, Keephifi, Moondrop, NiceHCK, Opa Audio Store, Sennheiser, Shenzhenaudio, Shozy, Smabat, Tempotec, Tronsmart, TRN, Vision Ears, V-Moda, Wooeasy Earphones Store, and Yaxi.

The post Christmas Greetings 2020 appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Cons — Generic shell shape.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The KBEAR Lark earphone is yet another well-tuned sub-$30 offering with good technicalities and a neutral to slightly warm tonality that works right out of the box.

INTRODUCTION

KBEAR have surprised us in the last two years with hits and misses – good that reviews exist. Read as many as possible to get the complete picture. Their 2020 offerings in the budget segment comprised the 1+ 1 KBEAR KB-04 and the 1+1 KBEAR KS2. The KBEAR Lark addresses the shortcomings for these models in that it adds more coherence and balance to the sonic image.

SPECIFICATIONS

Drivers: 1 DD + 1 BA
Impedance: 16 Ω
Sensitivity: 105 dB/mW
Frequency Range: 20 – 20,000 Hz
Cable/Connector: 2 pin 0.78 mm
Tested at: $30
Product Page/Purchase Link: KBEAR Official Store

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

The content is surprisingly generous, with a fancy container, plenty of tips, a half-decent cable, and well manufactured earpieces. The earpieces follow a generic standard design seen in many other budget earphones, and would therefore be really boring, was it not for the pretty, thick metal faceplates. These faceplates make the haptic of the KBEAR Lark. I used the white stock tips for testing. Everything is of good quality.

The earphone fit well (as in similar models), are comfortable, isolate well…as you expect from a proven design.

TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

My tonal preference and testing practice

My test tracks explained

Equipment used: MacBook Air; EarMen Sparrow; stock cable and tips.

Up front, this is a sonically well designed earphone. The tuner [yes, it was KopiOkaya again] could obviously work with a driver quality good enough to leave the realm of budget U-shape and flatten the bass response. KBEAR had already a recent budget offering with a great stage in their KBEAR KS2 model, which generated contrasting opinions because of its strongly recessed midrange [video summarizing internal reviewer opinions]. KBEAR addressed the recession in the tuning of their Lark which brings the vocals much more up front while still offering a big stage. Yep, the Lark’s graph looks “expensive” – and very similar to the ~$3000 Vision Ears Elysium…and no worries, the Elyisium sounds much more elaborate. It is just to show that KBEAR got their dosage somewhat right…even that “pinna gain” – that notorious curve climb between 1 and 4 kHz – was kept at just above 10 dB (as opposed to 15 dB in other budget models, which results in icepick sounds).

The overall signature of the KBEAR Lark is neutral with some warmth added.

Bass depends a bit on insertion depth (duuuuh!). It is fast, punchy (but not too punchy), and it can be visceral. A solid foundation that is never boomy. Its slight boost above neutral counteracts the upper midrange and helps prevent shoutiness. Sub-bass does not have the biggest extension.

The lower midrange is reasonably intimate, they are certainly not back but somewhat lean. Vocals show some sibilance. That’s where the budget driver comes into play – it is not the tuning. That elevated upper midrange does not drown in shoutiness. Treble is very well extended, surprisingly well. Cymbals are astonishingly presents and well resolving, although their decay is a bit fast.

As to technicalities: drivers are quick which yield great note definition and a great attack. Decay may be a bit fast in the upper registers, but hey, at $30…Stage is wide, tall (something relatively new in the budget realm), and has decent depth. Spatial cues is good, too, and so are  separation and layering. I find the whole package very coherent sounding.

KBEAR LARK COMPARED

The KBEAR Lark shares it shell design with the KZ ZSN Pro X and the TRN STM. Sonically, these are different in that the KZ ZSN Pro is more V-shaped with a rather “spicy” upper midrange whereas the TRN STM is tuned flatter (if you select the red of the three included tuning filters). Flatter means less bass and less upper midrange. This brings out the vocals more in the TRN STM at the expense of the depth of stage. Adding the single dynamic-driver Blon Bl-01 to the mix, it is bassier (as more V-shaped) and therefore warmer than the KBEAR Lark and TRN STM. The Blon Bl-01 may sound slightly more organic but lags a bit in terms of note definition and detail resolution – and it needs third-party tips (I use the black, long stemmed Azla SednarEarfit and perhaps a “better” cable).

Sound-quality wise, there is not much between TRN STM and the punchier KBEAR Lark, they are just slightly different and it comes down to personal preference. The Blon Bl-01 may be more organic than the other two, but is behind in technicalities. All three are ahead of the same-old-same-old KZ ZSN Pro X. I listened to the Lark, Bl-01, and STM for a whole morning and there barely fits a newspaper between them in terms of enjoyment. On the sliding scale from “fun” to “neutral” we go from Blon Bl-01 through KBEAR Lark to TRN STM. The KBEAR Lark offer the best of the two possible worlds.

Out and about, I prefer the KBEAR Lark because of its livelier dynamics and robust low end.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

I am 100% certain that there will be nobody complaining about the KBEAR Lark…unless they had received an early version with that infamous 4 kHz peak (“too bright”). The KBEAR Lark is a well rounded, coherent sounding earphone with a good punch and good technicalities. Hey, and there is no need to purchase another cable and tips. The included accessories work just fine.

Until next time…keep on listening!

Contact us!

DISCLAIMER

The KBEAR Lark was supplied unsolicited for review. Thank you very much. Following my review, the unit was shipped to the next reviewer.

Get the KBEAR Lark from KBEAR Official Store

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

MORE…

The post KBEAR Lark Review – Lark Ascending appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Good build, well fitting and comfortable.
Good technicalities at this price bracket.
Well textured bass with good subbass rumble/extension.
Easy to drive.
Smoother and not as hot/fatiguing in the upper mids as the usual CHIFI KZ/TRN fare.
Okay timbre for a hybrid, but won’t beat single DD types in absolute timbre.

Cons:

Overly recessed mids (not for mid lovers).
Average isolation.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The TRN V90S is a V shaped hybrid that does most things well. It has good technicalities at this price range, with a well textured bass. In fact, it is smoother and tuned not as hot in the upper mids as the garden variety KZs/TRNs. I think it can be an allrounder for most folks, other than for mid lovers, due to the recessed mids in the tuning.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Driver Unit: 5 BA + 1 DD
• Sensitivity: 108 db/mW
• Frequency response: 20Hz – 20000Hz
• Impedance: 22 ohms
• Cable: 2 pin detachable
• Tested at $50 USD

ACCESSORIES

In addition to the IEM, it comes with:

1. Silicone eartips (S/M/L).
2. 4 core 6N OCC pure copper cable.

Well, it’s the usual (dearth) of accessories we see for a TRN IEM, these same accessories are seen in budget sets like the TRN STM all the way to their higher end gear like the TRN VX and TRN BA8 (maybe the TRN BA8 has a $3 USD hard metal round case to add some semblance of importance).

The stock cable of the TRN V90S is a bit too thin for my tastes, but sounds fine sonically. Do upgrade the cable if you want something thicker or haptically better, I’ll leave the unending cable skeptic vs cable believer debate for another time, while we concentrate on the review of the IEM. For the rest of this review, I used the stock tips and stock cables for assessment.

BUILD/COMFORT

The TRN V90S came in a very nice Ferrari red hue, quite unique for a CHIFI. The build is very good, no build QC issues detected on my end. They are comfortable and well fitting too, I managed to use the TRN V90S for a continuous few hours without issues. I didn’t find any driver flex on my set, though YMMV, as driver flex is partially related to ear anatomy and eartips used.

I liked that it came with a 2 pin connector, as I’m not a fan of MMCX connectors due to potential longevity issues, especially with frequent cable swapping.

ISOLATION

Isolation on the TRN V90S is average with the stock tips used. It has 2 vents on each earpiece, and this does let in some noise. I tried the TRN V90S on the subway, and personally I am quite OCD about hearing health and I wouldn’t use it for commuting due to this set letting it outside noise. One may try to boost the volume to overcome the external noise, and this is not good for hearing health in the long term. But as usual YMMV, as we have different tolerances in the area of isolation.

DRIVABILITY/SOURCE

I tried running the TRN V90S with a Khadas Tone Board -> Toppping L30, Khadas Tone Board -> Fiio A3 amp, Shanling Q1 DAP, Ziku HD X9 DAP -> Fiio A3 amp, a low powered smartphone and the Tempotec Sonata HD Pro.

The TRN V90S is easy to drive, it does scale just a slight tinge with amping, but amping is not mandatory.

SOUND & TECHNICALITIES

The TRN V90S is a V shaped set, but this is one of the smoother and less fatiguing TRNs I have heard in the past few years. The bass is dosed very well, and the upper mids are more depressed than the garden variety TRN/KZ multi driver types. What this translates to, is that the TRN V90S manages to get in details and clarity without the CHIFI “cheat code” of boosting the upper mids to create a fake sense of perceived clarity, and hence the TRN V90S avoids fatigue/shoutiness in those upper mid frequencies.

For a budget hybrid, the TRN V90S has very good imaging, details, instrument separation and clarity. Soundstage width and height on the TRN V90S is above average, depth is about average. Music didn’t sound too congested on the TRN V90S during complex movements.

Note weight on the TRN V90S is a tinge thinner than average. Considering it is BA drivers handling the mids and upper frequencies on the TRN V90S, the timbre is not bad for acoustic instruments, I was pleasantly surprised by well rendered stringed instruments, though vocal timbre sounded a bit nasal. Timbre on this set is much better than most garden variety KZs for acoustic instruments, but still won’t beat a well tuned single DD set in the isolated area of timbre.

Bass:

The TRN V90S has a midbass just slightly north of neutral. Subbass is of slightly more quantity than midbass. Subbass extension is actually very good, the subbass can give a visceral rumble that should please most bassheads. The TRN V90S also has quite a quality bass in being rather well textured and quite accurate with minimal midbass bleed.

Mids:

The TRN V90S mids are quite depressed and this actually contributes to the wider perceived soundstage as such. Upper mids are boosted relative to the lower mids, but the upper mids in the big scheme of things are tuned on the smooth and safer side relative to the general TRN lineup (looking at you TRN BA8 and TRN VX).

The TRN V90S is hence not a set for mid lovers. Guitars may sound subdued, and on some recordings I was familiar with, there were some nuances and elements in the mids missing. Having said that, this is an intentionally tuned V shaped set, so do know what you getting into if you intend to get this set, mid lovers best consider an alternative option.

Treble:

The lower treble of the TRN V90S continues on from the safe upper mids tuning, and is non fatiguing. At the higher treble region, the TRN V90S does have a peak around the 10 – 12ish kHz region which adds some air and extension to the music, though some who are very treble sensitive to the higher treble regions may find occasional peaks in the music here. Details are captured rather well in the treble and cymbals didn’t sound too splashy for me. Sibilance is mild and manageable.

COMPARISONS

As per comparing apples to apples, I left out single DD types from the comparisons here as the different driver types have their respective strengths and weaknesses.

TRN BA8 (8BA, $140ish USD at launch, now hovering around $130ish USD)

The TRN BA8 is a bright V shaped set, and of the time of writing, is their current flagship (let’s ignore the $15000 USD golden ears joke TRN for now). The TRN BA8 was famous (or rather infamous) for having a scary looking graph, but on actual listening, it didn’t sound as scary as what it looked like. Nevertheless, the TRN BA8 is still hotter and more fatiguing in the upper mids/lower treble than the TRN V90S. The TRN V90S has more subbass extension than the TRN BA8.

A big area of controversy on the TRN BA8 is the almost 15 dB difference between the upper mids to the rest of the lower mids spectrum, this caused the lower mids area to be perceived to be “hollow” and gave an off tonality for the mids. The TRN V90S is much more balanced in the tuning, even though the mids are relatively more recessed than the TRN BA8.

The TRN BA8 has better technical performance and a thinner note weight. The TRN BA8 was a bit more uncomfortable in fit and tuning for me for longer listening sessions, though fit is quite dependant on ear anatomy and the individual, so YMMV.

Scary graph aside, the TRN BA8 is not that bad sounding in the big scheme of things, I’ve heard worse CHIFI before. But the big elephant in the room is that it was released into the $140ish USD region at launch. There’s tough competition against some bigboys there like the TRI I3, ISN H40, Fiio FH3, TRI Starsea, ThieAudio gear, Shozy Form 1.4 etc. People expect a much more refined experience and better tuning at that price bracket. Hence, even though the TRN BA8 has better technicalities, I would take the TRN V90S any day of the week, cause of the better value in terms of price to performance ratio and the better tuning in the TRN V90S. To add insult to injury, the TRN BA8 also came with almost similar accessories as the TRN V90S and other budget TRN models, barring the addition of a $3 USD hard metal case to remind us that it is indeed a flagship. That dearth of accessories is not acceptable for a $50 – 100 USD set, let alone a $130 – 140ish USD flagship.

TRN VX (6 BA + 1 DD, $90ish USD at launch, now hovering at $70ish USD)

The TRN VX is another bright V shaped set in the TRN stable, it has better technical performance than the TRN V90S, but is too hot for me in the upper mids/treble regions, with sibilance in spades. I honestly couldn’t use the TRN VX for more than a few minutes without resorting to EQ or a micropore mod.

As it is also priced more expensive than the TRN V90S, I do feel the TRN V90S has better price to performance ratio, with a better tuning to boot (though TRN VX has better technicalities).

KZ ZS10 Pro (4BA + 1DD, $27 – 30ish USD)

The KZ ZS10 Pro is a popular V shaped KZ. The KZ ZS10 Pro has a muddier and more bloated bass, with the TRN V90S being more textured and accurate in bass lines. Instrument separation, details and imaging are better on the TRN V90S.

The TRN V90S has a better timbre for acoustic instruments than the KZ ZS10 Pro, and is also less fatiguing/hot in the upper mids compared to the KZ ZS10 Pro.

CONCLUSIONS

The TRN V90S is a V shaped hybrid that does most things well. It has good technicalities at this price range, with a well textured bass. To top it off, it is smoother and tuned not as hot in the upper mids as the garden variety KZs/TRNs. I think it can be an allrounder for most folks, other than for mid lovers, due to the recessed mids in the tuning.

The TRN STM and this TRN V90S are actually my favourite TRNs for this year (sorry TRN BA8 and TRN VX, I would take tonality and price to performance ratio over technical performance any day). Anyways, I saw that the TRN V90S is going at a mind boggling $19.90 USD for the upcoming Aliexpress Black Friday sales, that is real a steal at this price, compared to the $50 USD normal pricing! Just 2 – 3 years back, a western brand multi driver set of this sound quality would be retailing for at least 10 times of the $19.90 USD, so we are very lucky to be living in this era where sound quality can come for comparatively little outlay. Well, I’ll just pretend the TRN golden ears that is going at a very “affordable” $145000 USD during the Black Friday sale doesn’t exist, but you know what I mean, that CHIFI sound has really come leaps and bounds the past few years, they give us a small taste of audiophile heaven without needing to sell a kidney (or two).

MY VERDICT

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DISCLAIMER

I would like to thank the TRN Official Store for providing this review unit. It is normally at $50 USD, but will be going at a mind blowing $19.90 for Black Friday sales! https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001518935278.html

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post TRN V90S Review (1) – Rosso Corsa appeared first on Music For The Masses.

TRN is our on again off again significant girlfriend/boyfriend brand in the Chi-fi world. While they don’t churn out minor “upgrades” like KZ or follow a pattern such as Moondrop, they do sometimes produce a model that we can get excited about. It appears some of the models are designed to highlight certain instruments or regions of our hearing. The TRN STM is a relatively benign addition being only a 1+1 hybrid and not following the race to cram as many drivers into a shell, yet this earphone comes off as a welcome surprise in a year of unknowns. Snappy and engaging, this set feels like it was made for drummers.

GOODIES

• Snares and Drums just sound so real
• Vocals come to life
• Variable tuning nozzle filters

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

• Faceplate styling
• Timbre
• Tangly cable, tight ear guides

COMFORT / ISOLATION

Nothing offensive here, pretty standard universal custom fit offered throughout brands. Isolation is slightly above average.

SOUND

The honeymoon has worn off, and I still enjoy this earphone a ton. The timbre is not natural since it takes a bit for my brain to recalibrate from something more natural sounding. There is something infectious whether it be the throbbing baselines without super excessive boost, or the realistic sounding treble, It is just a fun listen. I think most of the magic lies in the abnormally boosted treble region that treble averse listeners will probably not like. The TRN STM is not a purist’s earphone, it is for people who want something that transports them there instead of bringing the music to them. An acquaintance once told me recorded music is an attempt to impart the recorded environment into our ears, but the great playback systems can transport you there instead. The raw nature of the TRN STM makes things like snares and drums pop out and sound so darn realistic albeit not perfect. Bass is tastefully boosted snappy and quick, but still brings the throbbing lower bass notes we have come to like from the earlier TRN models like the V20, V60 or the V80 and later V90 models. It steers clear of bass bleed into the vocal midrange and does not sound thin like the TRN BA5.

One of my favorite parts though is how the boosted middle treble really brings to life instruments that live in this region and give it a more holographic realism.

The midrange is not shouty, it is recessed but stage width is super wide. Depth feels close up with plenty of decay that makes it feel not so closed in. Vocals have a nice decay that lets them marinate so as not to sound flat. Timbre is jacked , but still enjoyable. There is a bit of sibilance due to the juiced up treble, but weirdly it does not bother me because it comes off clear and transparent. The 30019 BA driver appears to be a great choice instead of the overly popular cheerleader BA 30095 found everywhere else. I wonder what a model with two of these 30019’s sharing the duty would sound like.

Cymbals and have a lot of shimmer and sizzle but not tizzy or tinny sounding like on the Nicehck NX7 or KZ ZS6, this is a different kind of bright treble that I cannot quite match in my overzealous Chi-fi collection. On some recordings the treble sounded a bit blunted (electronic music), on others that are already overly energetic (Royal Blood I am thinking of you), will sound a bit overbearing for sure. I would not suggest over-driving this earphone, or the treble gets out of control and unpleasant.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

At this point is probably a bit late to mention they have 3 tuning filters, I stuck with the stock one. Blue is least damped for the treble while the red takes the edge off some the hot treble giving the bass a little more exposure. Gold filter was the way to go for me, but someone could always use the additional filters to easily modify the ridiculously inexpensive TRN STM. The listener could just attach them as is, or actually add/remove your own materials without affecting the cosmetics. The cable is the standard removable tangly mess, with overly springy earguides.

IN THE END

It’s normally hard to get excited over a $20 earphone once you start venturing higher in other price brackets, but the TRN STM just got me excited again to hunt down unique and just cool sounding earphones. While trying to write about another decent $20 safe sounding IEM KBear KS2, I was sidetracked to keep listening to the TRN STM instead. I know we told all our friends we wouldn’t go back to our ex, this time it is different. I don’t care for the almost bedazzled looking faceplate, but function over form rules on this set. For those not afraid of middle treble accentuation, or even if you are and have $20 to spend go get you some TRN STM.

SPECIFICATIONS

GRAPHS

• Left vs Right
• Impedance Plot

MY VERDICT

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DISCLAIMER

These showed up without any knowledge of where they came from, I am assuming directly from TRN.

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About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post TRN STM Review (3) – Oh Snap! appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Good build.
Very good technicalities at this price range.
2 pin connector – better lifespan than MMCX general.
Good isolation.
Tight bass.

Cons:

Overpriced, many better sets for the same price or lower.
Harsh and fatiguing due to the overly boosted upper mids/lower treble, not the best option for treble sensitive folks.
Hollow lower mids, off tonality in the mids.
BA timbre.
Thin note weight.
Dearth of accessories.
Not the most comfortable fit for longer sessions.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A picture paints a thousand words. The TRN BA8’s graph looks like a volcano that is gonna explode! (See graphs below!)

Okay, honestly the graph is scarier than it sounds. Though the TRN BA8 still sports a mild V shape tuning that is bright, with an overly boosted upper mids and lower treble. It has very good technical performance, but the upper mids/lower treble are harsh and fatiguing and the lower mids are a bit off in tonality. Fear inducing PTSD graph and dearth of accessories aside, at the $140ish price bracket this supposed flagship is releasing into, there’s honestly much better sound to be obtained for the coin.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Driver Type: 8 BA (Customised 30095 high frequency x 3 + 29689 midrange x 2 + 50060 midrange x 2 + 22955 low frequency x 1)
• Frequency Response: 20 – 20000Hz
• Impedance: 20 ohms
• Sensitivity: 100 dB/mW
• Cable type: 2 pin
• Tested at $141 USD

ACCESSORIES

In addition to the IEM, it comes with:

1) Hard round case (metal) – FYI, it costs $3 USD on aliexpress.

2) Silicone tips (S/M/L)

3) 4 Core OCC Cable – tangly and thin.

The packaging the TRN BA8 came in was huge, it is easily one of the bigger packages for the last 50 – 60 CHIFI IEMs I have opened. I opened the box like a kid opening a Christmas present, only to find to my astonishment, that the dearth of accessories was shocking. I mean, I wasn’t expecting a treasure trove of accessories as TRN is not known to be the most generous with accessories, but at least I expected it to be something befitting a $140 USD flagship set. (I know TRN released a way more expensive joke $15000 USD golden ears IEM Halloween prank recently, but I’ll just pretend that it never existed cause it is unlikely to be sold. Even if someone with fool’s gold buys the golden ears TRN IEM, there’s a big possibility of infamous TRN QC issues, so let’s just take the TRN BA8 as the current flagship of TRN).

Anyway, back to the accessories (or lack thereof) in the TRN BA8, I don’t really give much weightage to accessories usually, as after a few months in this hobby, most of us would have some aftermarket tips and cables lying about, but this is really astonishing for a purported flagship IEM of TRN. I’ve seriously seen $30 – 40ish USD IEMs with better accessories, eg HZSound Heart Mirror, KBEAR Lark etc! The TRN BA8’s cable and eartips are exactly the same as those seen in budget TRN gear, and perhaps they added the hard case to make it look more premium, but that hard case can be easily bought for $3 or cheaper on Aliexpress.

I know some CHIFI companies cut costs at the accessories area to save money, but this is really a case of penny wise, pound foolish. I hope the $15000 USD golden ears TRN IEM that TRN is selling doesn’t come with the same pitiful assortment of accessories, or at least if they do, I hope TRN makes them all from gold (golden eartips, golden cables, and gold 24 carat Bellsing drivers inside too, pretty please).

BUILD/COMFORT

Personally, I found the TRN BA8 has so so comfort, it can get can be a bit painful for longer listening sessions. We all have different ear anatomies though, so some may find it comfortable, so YMMV.

I’ve no complains about the build, it is very sturdy and well constructed.

I liked that it came in a 2 pin config, generally better lifespan than MMCX in general.

ISOLATION

Isolation is good as per most all BA sets that are generally not vented.

DRIVABILITY

I tested the TRN BA8 with a Khadas Tone Board DAC -> Topping L30, Shanling Q1 DAP, Ziku HD X9 DAP -> Fiio A3, android smart phone, Sabre HIFI DAC (ESS ES9280C PRO) and a Tempotec Sonata HD Pro. The TRN BA8 is easily drivable from lower powered sources, no marked scaling of the sound was noted with higher powered sources.

Since the tuning of the TRN BA8 is on the bright side, I preferred pairing it with warmer sources to tame the lower treble/upper mids. Do note that the TRN BA8 sounds the best when played at a low to average volume. With boosting the volume, the upper mids/lower treble can get extremely hot due to the Fletcher Munson curve.

SOUND & TECHNICALITIES

A picture paints a thousand words as they say. The TRN BA8’s graph really reminded me of some exploding Hawaiian Bad Volcano, no pun intended, or at least Ayer’s Rock (between the 2 – 6 kHz regions). I was bracing myself for a screaming banshee on seeing it, and was getting ready to lose a few years of hearing (and ears of hearing also). This graph looked like it could really give PTSD and flashback nightmares for the next few months, but for the sake of audiophiledom and to do this review, I took a listen. I closed my eyes and said a prayer before turning on the amp. Slowly. Gingerly. Carefully. One volume pot marker at a time. Ah, I am still alive, my eardrums haven’t perforated yet! Honestly, the graph isn’t as painful as it looks, though it is still somewhat shouty, fatiguing and hot in the upper mids/lower treble, but the TRN BA8 actually ain’t as bad sounding as the graph looks. Could be worse. A eardrum could have burst there.

So scary PTSD inducing graph aside, the TRN BA8 does sports a mild V shaped tuning that is bright. Some good aspects about the TRN BA8 are that it is a technically proficient set. It has very good details, imaging, clarity and instrument separation at the $100ish price range. Soundstage is also above average in all 3 dimensions and music sounded rather spacious.

Timbre for acoustic instruments is so so, as per a set with pure BAs, definitely most pure DD sets have it beat in the timbre department, but it isn’t the worst BA timbre I’ve heard. Note weight is on the thinner side.

Bass:

Bass on the TRN BA8 is slightly north of neutral, midbass is more predominant than subbass. This is not a basshead set. The bass is tight, above average in texturing and on the faster side, as per most BA bass sets. The subbass extension is actually not bad for a pure BA bass, thought it won’t beat some DD bass in decay, movement of air and extension. There is only a slight midbass bleed, but this is somewhat source dependent. I have to say the bass is my favourite part of the tuning on this set.

Mids:

In a nutshell, the mids are the most controversial area of the TRN BA8. The upper mids of the TRN BA8 are much more forward than the rest of the mids, an almost 15ish dB difference, and this weird tonality in the mids does overemphasize vocals and guitars, making the mids sound unnatural. Female vocals are more forward than male vocals, but the lower mids are very hollow. This leads into a shrill and thin upper midrange that can get very hot, especially at higher volumes (Fletcher Munson Curve).

On the plus side, this boosted upper mids can give great clarity and details to the music, but the flipside is that the 2 kHz area is very fatiguing and harsh, though it isn’t as bad as the PTSD inducing graph looks. I found this 2 kHz area shouty especially with high vocals and horns/trumpets, and sometimes on badly recorded music.

Pure multi BA sets are commonly used for stage monitoring cause of their better technicalities and isolation (they are generally unvented) than equivalent single DD types. They also tend to have faster bass than DD bass. Fatiguing upper mids aside, I would still be hesitant to use the TRN BA8 for stage monitoring cause the tonality in the mids is rather off. Unless you have EQ on hand to somehow even out the vast chasm between the upper and lower mids.

Treble:

Lower treble carries on from the boosted upper mids, giving good details and clarity, but at the expense of harshness and fatigue.

Thankfully, the rest of the treble gradually dips thereafter, and it does extend quite well, but the upper treble isn’t that hot. The TRN BA8 sports an open and airier treble, with only mild instances of sibilance. Technicalities are good as expected in the treble, and trebleheads will like this set.

COMPARISONS

As per comparing oranges to apples, I’ve left out single DD sets from the comparisons.

TRN VX (6BA + 1 DD) ($69 USD)

The TRN VX is another banshee with a hot upper mids/lower treble and sibilance. I honestly couldn’t use the TRN VX for more than 5 minutes without EQ or a micropore mod. The TRN VX has thinner note weight, poorer timbre and technicalities and more sibilance. In stock form, the TRN VX has much harsher upper mids than the BA8. Accessories (or lack thereof) are similar between the 2, but there’s the added $3 USD metal hard case in the TRN BA8 to give some semblance of royalty to the purported TRN BA8 flagship.

The TRN BA8 is an upgrade over the TRN VX, but it is not doubly better as the price would suggest. Trebleheads and detail freaks may like these two sets, but I wouldn’t recommend both for treble sensitive folks, unless you want to play with EQ or some micropore mods.

TRI Starsea (2BA + 1DD) ($109 USD)

The TRI Starsea has better fit, better accessories, and tuning switches to give 4 different sound signatures. Hence it is more versatile than the TRN BA8. The TRI Starsea has a slightly more compressed soundstage and slightly poorer technicalities (instrument separation, clarity, details). Imaging is about on par between the two, but the TRI Starsea isn’t as harsh in the lower treble/upper mids than the TRN BA8, even on the brighter tunings.

The TRI Starsea is harder to drive and scales much more with amping, with regards to the bass heft. The TRI Starsea is also quite source picky, and benefits from a source with the lowest output impedance possible (ideally close to zero), in view of the very low 9ish impedance. On using it with higher output impedance gear, the FR may be skewed. The TRI Starsea is less dynamic and more “monitor” like. The TRN BA8 on the other hand is quite source agnostic.

TRI I3 (1DD + 1 Planar + 1BA) ($145 USD)

The TRI I3 sports a U shaped tuning, and is very coherent and balanced despite the weird mishmash of driver configuration. The TRI I3 is more power hungry and harder to drive due to the planars inside. The tonality in the mids and timbre are much more natural in the TRI I3 than the TRN BA8.

Imaging is about on par between the two sets when the TRI I3 is adequately powered, though the TRN BA8 edges it slightly in the areas of details and instrument separation. Clarity is more pronounced on the BA8 cause of boosted upper mids/lower treble, whereas the TRI I3’s treble is very safe and almost borders on dark, with less treble extension. The TRI I3 is much smoother and less fatiguing, especially in the higher frequencies as such, though on rare occasions, there is a 3 kHz spike that rears its ugly head on the TRI I3 with poorly recorded material or say in trumpets/saxaphones. When amped, the TRI I3 has a better soundstage than the TRN BA8.

Accessories are better in the TRI I3. Isolation is poorer on the TRI I3. Shell size is larger on the TRI I3, and the shell is heavier.

Audiosense DT200 (2BA) ($149 USD)

The Audiosense DT200 is a 2 BA set that is tuned warm neutralish. The Audiosense DT200 has better timbre and tonality than the TRN BA8, with less fatiguing highs. In fact, the Audiosense DT200’s treble is a bit dark. Technicalities like soundstage, imaging, instrument separation, clarity are better in the TRN BA8.

Accessories in the DT200 are one of the best at its price point, it comes with a myriad of foam tips and silicone tips, a very nice cable and brush, and a pelican like hard case (that is purportedly waterproof too). The TRN BA8 comes with a $3 hard case and some miserable tips and tangly budget cable.

Overall, even though the TRN BA8 beats the Audiosense DT200 in technicalities, I would argue it is easier to find a highly technical CHIFI than one with good timbre/tonality at this price point. The TRN BA8 is too fatiguing and harsh for me to use for longer sessions, compared to the smoother and more laid backed Audiosense DT200.

Hisenior B5+ (5 BA) ($78 USD)

The Hisenior B5+ is about half the price of the TRN BA8, and it is a midcentric (N shaped) set with more marked subbass roll off and higher treble roll off than the TRN BA8. Both are pure BA sets, but the Hisenior B5+ has knowles drivers.

Technicalities (clarity, imaging, instrument separation, details) and soundstage are better on the TRN BA8. The TRN BA8 is more harsh and fatiguing. Hisenior B5+ is more natural in the timbre and vocals department and the tuning is smoother. In view of the midcentric tuning, the Hisenior B5+ is great for vocals, but may not be that all rounded for certain genres eg bass forward genres like EDM.

You find reviews of most of the iems mentioned above here.

CONCLUSIONS

Thanks for reading so far. The TRN BA8 isn’t that great, but it isn’t the worst tuned set. However, the big elephant in the room is why did it launch at the $130 – $150 USD price range? If TRN released their usual $30 – 50 USD fare, the expectations will be lower, but now that they try to muscle into the $100 USD pie, there’s tough competition against esteemed bigboys such as the TRI I3, ISN H40, Fiio FH3, TRI Starsea, ThieAudio gear, Shozy Form 1.4 etc. I honestly can’t recommend the TRN BA8 at its current price of $130 – 140 USD. Maybe at 50% and below of the TRN BA8’s current price, then possibly it can be a very very very soft recommendation.

The TRN BA8’s PTSD inducing graph is admittedly scarier than it looks, but the tuning is still rather fatiguing and hot in 2 – 6 kHz regions, as per the graph. The tonality is also a bit off in the mids, with a very hollow lower mids. Having said that, the TRN BA8’s technicalities are very good. If technicalities are of more importance to you over tonality, and if you are a treblehead, then perhaps this set may be up your alley, but most others may not enjoy the tonality or harshness for longer listening sessions. Different strokes for different folks as they say.

However, to add insult to injury, the accessories provided in the TRN BA8 are laughable for a $140ish flagship, and are almost no different from their budget IEMs (save for an additional $3 USD metal hard case to remind us that it is indeed a flagship).

I’m not really a BA bass fan, but have always appreciated that some of the pure multi BA sets I own (such as the Audiosense T800, some midfi Westones and the Hisenior B5+) can bring different benefits to the table, eg fast bass, good technicalities and good isolation (cause generally these pure BA types ain’t vented). In fact I use these pure multi BA sets mostly for stage monitoring due to the above reasons. But despite the good technicalities, the TRN BA8 wouldn’t be getting any air time as a stage monitor nor a general purpose IEM for me due to the harsh, fatiguing tuning and off tonality in the mids.

I thought that the cheaper TRN VX was pretty bad in stock form without EQ/mods, but TRN continues this similar tuning (or lack thereof) in the TRN BA8, with a higher price to boot. The TRN BA8 is also their most expensively priced IEM to date (let’s ignore the joke $15000 USD golden ears TRN Halloween prank iem), but unfortunately in this case, the sound does not justify the price. I borrowed the TRN BA8 from coblogger KopiOKaya for the purposes of this review. I couldn’t wait to return it to him pronto once the review was done.

MY VERDICT

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DISCLAIMER

This set was borrowed from coblogger KopiOKaya for this review.

It can be gotten at $141 USD from the TRN Official Store: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001302669695.html

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post TRN BA8 Review (1) – PTSD Inducing Graph, Screaming Banshee? appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Cons — Apparently same earphone as KZ ZSN Pro; boosted upper frequencies not for everybody; old, generic design.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The KZ ZSN Pro X earphone follows a long lineage of the company’s budget models with its V-shaped mainstream sound and stellar build that has experienced subtle refinement over time. The tuning is still somewhat tainted by the company’s signature boosted upper end that can generate fatigue in some listeners. Caution: may be essentially the same as the KZ ZSN Pro earphone.

INTRODUCTION

Knowledge Zenith is a Chinese company that has provided us with budget earphones since 2014. Their early $5-10 single DDs are legendary (here a comprehensive summary by the Contraptionist). Since 2017, they have also brought us cheap multi-driver hybrids with up to 10 drivers per side. The price of balanced armature drivers had dropped dramatically to make this happen. The company will issue their 50th model anytime soon.

I purchased about 20 models between 2017 and early 2018, but gave up as they always could be described as follows: “extremely V-shaped with thin and sharp vocals buried between variably boomy bass and a hot upper midrange. Great value but not usable for me in the long run”.

I felt the company should focus on decent tonalities and not be involved in a driver war. As it has turned out over the last three years, the number of drivers and sound quality are not strictly correlated. The BAs do not generate the natural timbre of the old DDs. Recently, the DDs saw a revival in Chi-Fi (Tanchjim, Moondrop…) with brandnames such as Sennheiser still sticking entirely to this technology.

After an almost 3-year hiatus I was talked into doing one for the team by reviewing the KZ ZSN Pro X. After all, the predecessor KZ ZSN Pro had seen one of the largest number of visitors of our blog.

SPECIFICATIONS

Drivers: 10 mm DD + 30095 BA
Impedance: 25 Ω
Sensitivity: 112 dB/mW
Frequency Range: 7 – 40,000 Hz
Cable/Connector: 2-pin 75 mm
Tested at: $20
Product Page: NA
Purchase Link: KeepHifi

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

Nothing new here: earpieces, “Starline” eartips, cable, paperwork. Seen many times before. The earpieces follow a proven standard design, they fit well, isolation and comfort are good. Build is also as good as you can expect, the zinc-alloy faceplates look and feel valid. I went for the golden faceplates…nice bling bling.

The eartips work – and have always worked for me. The cable shows zero noise transfer but tangles easily. A low impedance of 25 Ω together with their high sensitivity of 112 dB make the KZ ZSN Pro X harmonize well with any phone. No external amplification needed. I used the KZ ZSN Pro X with my iPhone SE (first generation) and my MacBook Air.

After having owned over 20 KZ models, I have to make them one compliment: their build and their quality control are stellar: I have never had a bad apple, that is channel imbalances etc.

TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

My tonal preference and testing practice explained

My test tracks explained

Looking at the graph, not much appears to have changed in the last 3 years. The low end is still elevated with a prominent mid-bass hump – and the upper midrange has two broad peaks at 2.5 and about 4.5 kHz up to 13 dB above the trough at 1 kHz. And there is another rather unexpected peak at around 10 kHz.

When it comes to listening, I record an overall sonic refinement however no improvement in the tuning following my 3-year hiatus from KZ. The KZ ZSN Pro X offer a crisp, punchy, and well extended low-end which I find inviting. Gone are the days of strong mid-bass boom…ok, it is still a bit too punchy for some, but overall not bad. The two drivers are fast and the tuning is mainstream V-shape.

But what has not changed is the overshadowing of the the overall sonic impression by the overly boosted upper midrange and that mid-treble peak. These add too much energy (through overtones) to the voices stuck around that 1 kHz trough – which makes them crisp and clear but also somewhat sharp and aggressive, while still being recessed.

The degree of which this happens has been reduced in the last 3 years, not so much by the tuning but by driver quality. The positive effect of this extra energy is the addition of clarity and transparency to the midrange that is only partially real. A nice sonic deception that makes the earphone sound more expensive. The treble comes with some sibilance and splashy cymbals. But the overall tonality is not as fatiguing to my ears as in previous KZ budget models.

Timbre is surprisingly good and a far cry from the plasticky KZ sound a few years back. Soundstage is actually quite impressive. It is wider than deep but deep enough – the speedy bass does not congest the mids and adds to the midrange transparency and a good spatial cues. The other technicalities are also more than acceptable for the price.

WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENTLY?

Flatten the curve! But for this sound signature you have the alternative choice of the TRN-STM: same shell design, similar price. In this case, the graphs tell us more than words.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

After my 3-year hiatus from KZ products, I certainly record a refinement in their sonic quality – whereas the build has remained as impeccable as before. But I still think the company needs to cater more to the western taste and adapt their tuning by removing energy from the upper midrange – many ears still find the sound aggressive.

If you already have two handfuls of KZ earphones, there is no need to line up for this one, especially as there are allegedly little (if no) sonic differences between the KZ ZSN Pro X and the previous KZ ZSN Pro model. But for noobs, the KZ ZSN Pro X may be a good introduction to the brand’s offerings.

In summary, these are decent earphones. In the past, the many KZ earphones have ended up in the drawers of their owners (including mine, until they were shipped to charities) when the next models was ordered a few weeks later. Maybe the time has come to consider the current models as keepers and actually use them.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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You find an INDEX of all our earphone reviews HERE.

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The KZ ZSN Pro X were provided unsolicited by KeepHifi and I thank them for that.

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