CVJ TXS: REDEFINING THE BUDGET SEGMENT
Oi! Audio enthusiast mates, What I have here is another product review from CVJ, and this is their latest ultra-budget budget IEM, CVJ TXS. If you are a frequent visitor of my blog page or reading some of my reviews on Head-Fi, you are already aware of my product review articles of CVJ products and it is quite plentiful.
What makes CVJ TXS quite unusual compared to its most competitors in the same price bracket was its tuning toggle switches which give a different flavour on its sound profile. Tuning switches on ultra-budget to entry-level IEMs will be a trend this year and some audio companies are slowly adapting it to give even more options to budget conscious audiophiles.
CVJ TXS has a single 10mm, dual chambered dynamic driver with a possibility of PET material on its diaphragm. It was housed in an opaque, solid polycarbonate plastic shell chassis with a peculiar form factor. It has this stylised triangular epaulette-like design on its face plate. There are two toggle switches at the upper part of the shell and also two vent holes on its cavity base part of its shell to let escape some excess air pressure generated from its dynamic driver. Like most ultra-budget IEMs, it has a QDC-type 2-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism with its detachable cable.
The wearability of CVJ TXS is quite good on how it rests well in my lug holes with excellent sealing due to its stabilising fin on its cavity base. It was able to isolate well from external noises from the outside surroundings.
The product packaging of CVJ TXS is rather basic and too barebones which is very similar to most ultra-budget level IEMs in this segment, so no need to be detailed any further about it.
Here are the following accessories included inside the box:
■ a pair of CVJ TXS IEMs
■ 2-core SPC cable with an L-shaped 3.5mm termination plug.(with mic version)
■ Tuning pick tool
■ 3 pairs of black-coloured, narrow-bored ear tips of different standard sizes.
■ Some paperworks like Q.C. card, warranty card and instruction manual.
CVJ TXS is an easy to drive set that even a portable multimedia device like smartphones will give a proper power output to amplify it with good amplitude scale.
Regarding its sound signature, since it has tunable toggle switches, TXS has three "modes" of tuning. But all of them have a similar sound profile from a typical V-shaped to a more mature U-shaped sound.
Here are the three setting modes:
■ Cell phone mode - This particular setting will make this set into a V-shaped sounding.
■ Game mode - Very similar to cell phone mode, it also has a V-shaped sound signature.
■ Hi-Fi mode - It has a more U-shaped sound signature albeit it has a more subdued tonality compare the two prior tunings but at least it gives an even more balanced sounding.
To be honest, I was barely able to differentiate the contrasting sounds between "Cell phone Mode" and "Game Mode", unless I do a critical listening process but the difference was marginal elevation on the upper mids to the presence part of treble in which the majority of listeners will hardly be able to hear the difference and make it mostly insignificant.
LOWS/BASS:
My initial impression regarding its bass quality was that it is vivacious with decent depth that it was able to give a sufficient texture, particularly in the mid bass part but there are some instances of smudges towards midrange.
There's a good presence of sub bass as I was able to pick out some rumble and reverberations from sub bass focus tracks. Mid bass have an ample body to add more note weight on bass-baritone vocals, bass drum kick and bass guitar. Bass-baritone vocals have that guttural and dark sound quality, bass drum kicks have a thudding and sonorous sound although sometimes it's a tad hollow and has a softer attack. And then on bass guitars, they have these mellow and "earthy" characteristics on them as my ideal bass guitar lines should have more weight and more raspiness on them.
MIDRANGE:
The midrange frequency of CVJ TXS is evidently depressed in the entirety of its tuning especially on "Cell phone mode" and "Game mode". But on "Hi-Fi mode", the recession on midrange frequency has less notch on presentation. Other characteristics that I noticed was it has ample warmth, well-texture and consistency to give a more body on vocals and instruments.
Both male and female vocals are well-portrayed on this matter that they will give a robust, powerful and euphonious sound quality. Baritone voices have warm and velvety sound while countertenors have this angelic and silvery quality on them and tenors have a brassy tone on them. On female voices, contraltos have a decent depth and musky sound while mezzo-sopranos have smooth texture on their vocals. On sopranos, it has a silky and creamy sound on "Hi-Fi mode" but on the other modes it gives a decent energy on higher and lighter soprano like coloratura and some lyrical types.
On instruments, it gives an intensity and zest on percussive and brass instruments, like pianos have a warmer and rich tone, toms and snares have these sonorous and boomy sounds on them while trumpets and trombones have rounded and "dramatic" sounds on them. Acoustic guitars have a warmer and buttery sound while violins have lustrous sound but a bit austere in my liking. Woodwinds like the flutes have mellow and soft sound while saxophones have a rounded and velvety sound on them.
HIGHS/TREBLE:
Smooth, linear and inoffensive, those treble quality characteristics that CVJ TXS has on "Cell phone mode" and "Game mode", while on the "Hi-Fi mode", it sounds even more relaxed and less brighter. It has an ample brightness to give a decent amount of detail and clarity. There's no hint of sibilance nor harshness that I encounter on this one.
It has a more lustrous and undulating sound rather than a shimmering and sizzling sound on cymbals. Hi-hats are depicted accurately with its distinct chicky sound with its shortened buzzing sound. The airy extension on TXS is rather meagre on this one as it has a sparsing amount of sparkle and deficiency of harmonics.
SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:
CVJ TXS has average to above average sound/speaker stage width with decent height ceiling and a good depth from front to back as it gives me a tad broader headroom with my aural sphere.
Imaging is rather a typical two-dimensional stereo presentation as I was able to locate the placements of vocalist(s) and instruments in both channels but not the most accurate as It was a bit hazy and indistinctive. It has decent separation of elements but the arrangement of tonal layers is rather ill-defined as it struggles on more complex tracks like orchestras and jazz.
It has a good coherency of its drivers given how it performs effortlessly to have a good transient response and good dynamics.
As for resolution capability, It shows a solid fundamentals on macro-dynamics while the micro-detail retrieval is rather average on extracting subtleties and nuances of infos from sonic canvas of an audio track. The overall timbre of TXS is very organic and with some added warmth to have that engaging and fun sound.
PEER COMPARISONS:
TRN MT1 MAX
● They are on the same price bracket, similar driver implementation but it has 3 toggle switches compared to TXS' 2 switches. MT1 MAX has a semi-opened back aural coupling design. It doesn't even have an instruction manual setting on tuning switches inside the box unlike TXS which has a tuning guide at the back of its box.
● MT1 MAX has 4 sound profiles ( or just 3) to choose from but like my issues with "Cell phone Mode" and "Game Mode" which has very marginal difference that I was barely able to tell apart, the same case with this set along with its "Balanced Mode" and "Treble-boost Mode". It has an L-shaped, U-shaped and a shades of V-shaped sound signatures. In three modes, it has punchy bass but less dense and depth while it has similar recessed and a warm midrange, and the treble of MT1 MAX is rather unrefined as I was able to pick some graininess, instances of sibilance and a fair few of stridency.
● Both devices have similar technical performance. It has a less spacious soundstage but some resolution, MT1 MAX has a more sharper definition on retrieving details out from the sonic canvas of audio tracks.
As I end my assessment and put up my impartial conclusion, it seems that CVJ nailed it again in the tonal department on how it sounds so mature and with some refinements to show that CVJ is uncanny on tuning their products, even on their ultra-budget model.
With a good tonal balanced with a semblance of fun and engaging factor, a working tuning switch and quite very affordable. what else are you looking for? CVJ TXS will surely fit those prerequisites.
CVJ TXS is now available at CVJ official stores in SHOPEE and ALIEXPRESS.
And also, please checkout my reviews on other CVJ products:
SPECIFICATION:
MODEL: CVJ TXS
IMPEDANCE: 22Ω
SENSITIVITY: 115dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: QDC-TYPE 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER
PROS:
△ Solid-built polycarbonate shell frame.
△ Good fitting due to its protruding stabilising fin that rest well in my concha. (subjective)
△ Good quality dynamic driver
△ 2 toggle switches that really works for 3 types of tuning
△ Pricing is very affordable.
△ Punchy bass.
△ Smooth, well-balanced treble register.
△ No hint of sibilance and even harshness.
△ Above average sound/speaker stage width.
CONS:
▽ Recessed midrange.
▽ Both "Cell phone Mode" and "Game Mode" are indistinguishable on their tuning
▽ Not for complex tracks due to its mediocre layering.
▽ Inadequate solidity on its bass response.
Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)
Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
P.S.
I am not affiliated to CVJ nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.
Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to CVJ LOVE for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.
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