TRN ST5 Hybrid IEM Review – I Sing the Body Electric
These TRN ST5 showed up unsolicited and unexpectedly from Linsoul, who to their everlasting credit keep sending us gear even after we post less-than-flattering opinions. The($60.00) 5-driver, hybrid ST5 seem to be an update of the all-BA TRN BA5 nd/or the 6BA/1DD TRN VX, both of which we quite liked.
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:
