TANCHJIM 4U: Tonal Versatility As Its Name
TANCHJIM as an audio company has a solid reputation and well-respected among the audio community around the world that one of their famous products leaves an indelible mark in the audio market. The TANCHJIM Oxygen is still highly regarded as it has a matured tuning and a tonality that really impresses up to this day.
As the audio market became even more competitive, TANCHJIM remains steadfast to rooted its position as they also have some hidden cards on their sleeves to be even competitive as ever with its peers.And now what I have here to be featured in this product review is their latest entry-level product and this time it has some interesting features to offer.
This is TANCHJIM 4U, it has single driver configuration and a dial tuning that makes it even more versatile in providing more tonal options. The driver that was implemented here is a latest generation of dynamic driver that TANCHJIM painstakingly developed, the DMT4 Architecture Dynamic Driver in which has dual-chambered configuration with well-optimised cavity structure for better improvement of its overall sound quality. The diaphragm that was applied in this high performance dynamic driver is made of high-quality LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) which is known for its flexibility and firmness that ensures a fast vibration response for better clarity and detail with a low probability of distortion. Aside from the drivers, TANCHJIM also implemented high-quality capacitors for consistent and precise audio frequency separation and a fuller audio definition.
The driver is encased in a solid zinc alloy shell structure with an unusual rounded trapezoid shape that reminds me of a hind leg of a bunny or some rodent species. It seems that its surface underwent a sandblasting process to achieve that matte finish-like texture with a mirror-finished teardrop shape on its faceplate. At the cavity base area, there are two small vent holes, one at the bottom part of the nozzle and the other one is at the top part near the connector port. Another feature that was situated at the cavity base was its tuning dial knob that reminds me of an old TOTL-flagship set from Vision Ears, The Erlkönig as we can also choose 4 varieties of sound profiles, Pop Mode at the northern axis part, Monitoring Mode at the southern axis parts, Natural Mode at the western axis and Atmosphere Mode at the eastern axis part. TANCHJIM always uses a proven and stable 0.78mm 2-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism with its detachable cable and good thing that this set carries that feature on this one.
Even with its unusual shape, it seems that it offers surprisingly comfortable wear as it gives a remarkable ergonomic fit into my lugholes without any discomfort. It does offer a good passive noise isolation as I have a good seal that blocks some unwanted external noises from the outside.
Regarding its stock cable, it's a braided Litz 2-core high purity silver-plated copper wire with a straight gold-plated 3.5mm single ended termination plug. I find it's cable good enough for its asking price as it is quite supple and flexible while it offers a seamless transmission of electrical signal for better fidelity on its audio quality.
In TANCHJIM 4U's product packaging, it presents a minimalist presentation with a sufficient quantity of included accessories inside.
Here are the following contents that are included inside of its packaging box:
- Pair of TANCHJIM 4U IEM transducers
- Stock cable
- 3 pairs of balanced bore silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
- 3 pairs of narrow bore silicone ear tips in different standard sizes..
- Small flat screwdriver for tuning
- Velvet storage pouch
- Paperwork like user's manual and warranty card.
With the development of dynamic drivers with stronger magnetic flux for better flow of electric charges, TANCHJIM 4U is moderately sensitive as it can be driven with sources with just decent power output in a typical normal gain mode but pairing it to the sources with more powerful output will show its full potential. This set is one of the few sets in entry-level that automatically activates the high impedance mode of my LG phones as it sounds fuller with a good amount of dynamics on it.
Due to the implementation of dial knobs, the TANCHJIM 4U offers four distinctive tonal profiles, here are the following modes and some of its brief description but it seems that it aligns more with bass adjustment:
Pop mode - a balanced mild U-shaped sound signature
Atmosphere mode - a more bass-boosted U-shaped sound signature.
Natural mode - a more balanced-neutral tonal profile.
Monitoring mode - a reference-neutral type of sound profile a.k.a. neutralish-bright.
(FR graph was provided by [USER=516219]@baskingshark[/USER] , credits to his effort)
LOWS/BASS:
Pop Mode
A more balanced bass presentation as it has a sufficient sub bass presence with ample textured mid-bass that gives a more punchy and tactile bass response.
While I felt slight rumbling and reverberations generated by sub bass-focused instruments, the mid bass texture that this setting mode on some instruments and male vocals gives an adequate note weight on them. Bass kick drums have a thudding sound while bass guitars and double bass have sombre and resonant on them. Bass and bass-baritone vocals have a sufficient weight texture that in some bass vocals, I was able to notice its vibrato for its vocals end with sufficient deep resonance while it gives an acceptable intensity and a fairly dark tonality of bass-baritones’ voices.
Atmosphere Mode
The most “coloured” bass presentation among its sound profile tunings out there as the low frequency was indeed boosted but it gives a more clearer sub-bass presence while the mid bass section has a tad fuller and more textured as it gives more slam and authority yet it remains well controlled.
The sub bass portion evidently has more presence as there are deep reverberations and grumbling coming from sub bass-focused instruments like low tuned bass guitars and double bass, drum machines and synthesisers. On added mid bass texture, it even highlighted the density of bass clef instruments and male vocals as bass guitars and double bass have broader and weighty sound while bass kick drums have a fuller and sonorous sound on them. Male vocals like bass and bass-baritones have a fuller, heftier and voluminous sound to give those dusky and wool-like vocal texture.
Natural Mode
Bass response of this one is quite tight and precise unlike the other two aforementioned tuning settings as it truly defines a “neutral” bass presentation. It appears that startlingly, it still has sufficient mid bass texture on it.
While it still has some faint sub bass presence on this type of tuning setting, the mid bass still retains some of its texture to give an ample note weight on bass-clef instruments and male vocals. Bass kick drums have a sustaining and eerily sound on every stroke while bass guitars and double bass have rasping and menacing sound on them. It appears that bass and bass-baritones still have volume and depth but a noticeable attenuation compared to the Pop and Atmosphere modes but still have a rich and dark tone on them.
Monitoring Mode
It has a very similar bass curve presentation with the Natural Mode but it's even tighter and incisive bass response. But incredibly it still retains an ample mid-bass texture.
Sub bass presence is sort of cut-off on this one as I barely felt those faint reverberations and rumble generated from sub bass-focus instruments. Like I mentioned a while ago regarding its mid bass quantity, it has a satisfactory texture as it gives a more resonant and sustaining sound while bass guitars have a sombre and rasping sound on both of them. On bass and bass-baritones, they have some similar sound characteristics with the Natural Mode as it has a dark tone and richness but it has less depth, less volume and less hefty.
MIDRANGE:
The tuning modes will somehow affect some frequency presentation and tonal qualities of certain vocals and instruments. Overall it retains a neutral, smooth, clean and sufficient energetic sound on its four tonal profiles.
Pop Mode and Atmosphere Mode
It has a tad texture that adds a hint of warmth just to give enough note density on vocals and instruments. In this regard, it gives a more prominence to vocals and instruments on how flexible this set is.
On male vocals, baritones have sufficient volume and texture to have that smooth and sweeter sound, tenors have a brassy and dazzling sound on their vocals and countertenors have mild, tender and emotive vocals on them. And for female vocals, contraltos have a smoky and “bronze-y” sound while mezzo-sopranos have tender, emotive and a tad sound although in Atmosphere Mode, it adds a more plush and richer tone. The sopranos will sound great on this one while its energetic and shimmering tuning will sound great on lyric and coloratura types of sopranos, spinto and dramatic ones will sound even better as it has a rich, powerful and delicate voice.
On instruments, brasses like trumpets, trombones and horns have brilliant, intense and resounding sound respectively while woodwinds like concert flute, piccolos, clarinets and saxophones have silvery, clear, melodic and expressive sound in order correspondingly. On strings, guitars have a balanced sound as I describe its tone between buttery and crisp, violins have a vibrant and sensuous sound on them and then, cellos have that “stately’ and vibrant sound on them. On percussives, field drums have a sonorous and hard sound but on Atmosphere Mode, it sounds more sombre and a tad boomy while on tom-toms, it sounds a bit warmer while having a resonant sound on Atmosphere Mode. Snare drums have clear and precise sound on every stroke while kettledrums have deep and resonant sound on hitting on its vellum. Pianos to have a well-balanced sound as it has an even tone while maintaining also a bright tone to have a clean and clear sound.
Natural Mode & Monitoring Mode
Sonically, they are very similar with the other tuning settings that were featured above. While it lessened a bit of warmth on the midrange, it gives even more linearity with a more transparent sound quality.
Almost all vocal types somewhat lose some of its depth and texture as most baritones, tenors and contraltos will sound a bit lean but countertenors and mezzo-sopranos have added intensity and sound a bit fiery. On sopranos, as this set was tuned to have an energetic and bright tuning, it will give a more vivid, silvery and crystalline sound that it will more on both coloratura and lyric soprano types.
On instruments, this type of tuning affects the quality of timbre and tonality of some strings and brass instruments as I will elaborate. Guitars will have more presence, crisper and lingering sound on some acoustic tracks, violins sound more lively, brilliant and a bit thin and then, cellos have more vibrant, open and a bit incisive.
HIGHS/TREBLE:
In all tuning mode settings, this set has a sufficiently bright, crisp and detailed treble response that makes it more appealing to some neutral heads and treble heads alike. It has an excellent clarity and definition for vocals and also an attack of instruments. While it maintains a good sibilance control with just a little intense not to sound too harsh and piercing, I will still rather suggest that treble-sensitive folk should stay cautious on this one.
For a single dynamic driver set, this one has remarkable performance on its brilliance section as it has a good airy extension with a good intensity on its sparkle. Cymbals have a bright and metallic sound while hi-hats have a short sizzling sound. Celestas have silvery and ethereal sound, and then glockenspiels brilliant and lustrous sound (on Natural and Atmospheric Modes).
SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:
In general, the sound/speaker stage of this one is quite impressive for a single dynamic driver set as it projects a rather spacious head room as it has a wide lateral span, above-average height reach and immersive depth as it has good distance from front to back.
In stereo imaging, it presents a concave-like presentation in a decently layered soundscape with a good separation of elements inside of it, in which I can accurately locate the placements of vocals and instruments. Therefore, playing complex multi-instrumental tracks is possible to be played here without any veiled or congested play back.
Coherency of its dynamic driver is excellent on how it is able to execute fast transient response without any distortion. Resolution capabilities of this set is notably very competent as it has solid macro-dynamics while also having a sharp definition on its micro-detail retrieval as it is capable of extracting details and nuances from an audio track like vocal ends, roomy effects and instrument tails.
PEER COMPARISONS:
SIMGOT EA500
- The set that put the SIMGOT into the top of the entry-level food chain as this one started the SIMGOT Revolution. Like the 4U, it also has a solid metal alloy shell chassis, a high-quality dynamic driver and also offers different type of tuning modes but there are some differences on how it was implemented as EA500 uses an aluminium alloy on its shell structure, a different dynamic driver technology although it has an LCP diaphragm and a tuning mode based detachable tuning nozzle filters.
- The EA500 offers two types of sound profile, an in-house SIMGOT target curve based on a modified Harman target curve and the other one is more of a typical Harman target curve. The in-house tuning has some instances of sibilance and shrilly while the typical Harman mode gives a recessed presentation and a leaner vocals particularly on male ones and female contraltos. Technicality-wise, it also has very capable performance as it has good spacious head room on its soundstage, a well-layered concave-like stereo imaging, impressive coherence of its driver and a competent resolution capabilities.
SIMGOT EA500LM
- The successor of the EA500 as the SIMGOT Revolution keeps going on. It also shares similar build and features with its predecessor but there are some improvements as the latter uses the latest newly developed dynamic driver and newer type of stock cable which has an L-shaped termination plug. And also, it offers three types of tuning mode settings as it retains the detachable tuning nozzle system from its predecessor.
- The EA500ML offers three types of tonal profile and all of them align with U-shaped sound signatures with slight adjustments. These are the “balanced” U-shaped, a more familiar Harman-type sound profile and a bright U-shaped sound signature, and all of them are more coloured sounding compared to TANCHJIM 4U's monitor and natural modes which aligns with more neutral tuning, different preferences for different audio enthusiasts folk after all. As for technical performance, the EA500LM has a bit more narrower sound/speaker stage compared to the 4U, but it appears that it has tad better on layering and a slightly more solid macro-dynamics but the rest of technical capabilities, they are very similar.
In conclusion, it appears that we have a set which has a potential to be a sleeper hit on how TANCHJIM was able to make this one. With the implementation of the latest development of dynamic driver, a dial knob tuning mode feature in which can be only found on a TOTL-flagship set which makes the 4U has tuning versatility that offers four distinctive tuning profile character and an affordable price, this set makes it truly a very formidable in the every competitive entry-level segment. Whether you are a type of listener who wants a fun and coloured tuning or an audio enthusiast who wants a more neutral and analytical love who loves another high fidelity listening experience, the TANCHJIM 4U covers it all without any compromises.
TANCHJIM 4U is now available at HIFIGO and in a few selected e-commerce services. You can visit the following links that I've provided below, non-affiliated links guaranteed.
For more TANCHJIM product reviews, check out the previous product review links.
SPECIFICATION:
MODEL: TANCHJIM 4U
IMPEDANCE: 32Ω
SENSITIVITY: 122dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 8Hz – 48KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 0.78mm 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER
PROS:
● Solid metal alloy shell chassis while maintaining a lightweight and compact shell design.
● Implementation of the latest generation of dynamic driver inside.
● While it has an unusual shell design, it still offers an ergonomic fitting
● Pretty well-accessorised for its asking price.
● An implementation of dial tuning which gives a cleaner look compared to some tuning toggle switches.
● It offers four (4) distinctive tuning profiles, a bass-boosted U-shaped (Atmosphere mode), a balanced mild U-shaped (Pop mode), balanced-neutral (Natural mode) and reference-neutral/neutralish-bright (Monitor mode).
● Punchy, tactile and clean bass response (Pop mode), a bit more impactful on Atmosphere mode.
● Tighter and incisive bass response (Both in Natural and Monitor modes)
● Sufficiently textured midrange section while maintaining a clear, transparent and detailed presentation.
● Quite an all-rounder to all types of vocals and instruments.
●Sufficiently bright, sparkling and moderately airy treble presentation.
● Wide sound/speaker stage projection.
● It has a well-done resolving capability for a dynamic driver IEM in an entry-level
● At least it perceives an above average within its sound field.
● Quite an analytical sounding one for a single dynamic driver.
CONS:
● Might be a bit lean to some audio enthusiasts.
● Not for listeners who want a more coloured and fun tuning set.
● Treble-sensitives folks should stay cautious on this type of tuning.
● Its faceplate is quite a fingerprint magnet and more susceptible to small nicks and scratches.
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 TANCHJIM nor receive any 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 HIFIGO especially to MS. ALICE XIE and MS. YUMU SONG for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.
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