TRN V90S Review (1) – Rosso Corsa

Pros:

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

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