TANGZU YU XUAN JI: Poetic, Melodious and Euphonic

Yu Xuan Ji was a historical personality from the Tang dynasty era, She was previously a courtesan until she became a concubine of a court official of a lower rank, and she known to be pansexual but she has talent of being an excellent poetess that some of her works were recorded and became part of Quan Tangshi (Collection of poems from Tang dynasty era). She later became a Taoist nun but died in her late 20’s due to her alleged crime for killing her servant.

(Photo is just a creative depiction of the said personality)

TANGZU AUDIO is one of the standout audio companies in the market right on how they present their products that are truly attractive in the eyes of audio enthusiasts. They are not just aesthetically-pleasing sets but also well-tuned as it manages to gain some trust and ears from some of the most discerning audio enthusiasts around. Also, I'm honoured that I was one of the first reviewers that was chosen to do a review on their inaugural product model, the T-Force Yuan Li despite my limitations and a few catalogues of my audio product reviews at that time. (Initially, TANGZU was previously known as T-Force Audio but due to some brand naming dispute, they decided to change to its current name)

What we have here is their latest entry-level set, the TANGZU Yu Xuan Ji and this one is actually a collaboration project with DETHORAY which is another audio company with a good reputation, so technically this is also my first product from them that I've ever reviewed so far. Like the majority of all TANGZU’s entry-level products, this one has a single type of driver.

This set uses a newer type of dynamic driver which is a topology dynamic driver and this type of driver was previously implemented to other IEMS from other brands like HIFIMAN with their RE800 model and iBasso’s IT01X, and also I did previously do a review of set with similar driver tech a week ago. The topology driver has 10mm diameter of its size and what makes this driver more special as its diaphragm’s surface  was coated with special nano-particles that it applies a a varying geometrical patterns that delivers an enhance audio precision and acoustic performance by reducing unwanted distortion for more cohesive and superior performance to enable more balance sound across the frequency range.

The driver was then encased in a semi-opened back design zinc alloy shell chassis in a two part construction. The build quality of this one is pretty solid with its die-cast processed metal alloy structure and  then, both faceplate and its cavity base surface were anodised and then sand-blasted to have that granular texture and matte-finish for resistance from minor scratches and fingerprint smudges. TANGZU offers different colourway options like silver, black and the recently released Year of the Snake Edition, and the one that is featured here is a black variant with a gold accent on its filter mesh inside of its hollowed metal with stylized pattern inspired from petals and wings that gives the elegance and sophisticated look. Good thing that unlike its budget entry-level sistren, the Wan’er S.G.s, it uses a 0.78mm bi-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism for its detachable cable which is proven more stable and easy to operate on attaching and detaching.

Note: As I thought that since this is a semi open-backed design, it might affect that sound quality if I covered the whole faceplate with my fingers and to determine if there are some changes like more low frequency emphasis but I just found that it doesn't have any subtle changes at all, so I concluded that it might be more of an illusory design which I find it intriguing and somehow amaze about it.

Regarding its included stock cable, it has 4-core structured oxygen-free silver-plated copper wirings with a rubbery-like coating material as its insulator and on its end, it has a gold-plated 3.5mm termination plug. The silver-plated copper will ensure a reliable audio undulation output to reduce any signal losses to have a clear and detailed sound. The overall build quality of this one is somehow decent as it is quite flexible and offers a grippy texture; however, it is still prone from entanglement. Aside from the 3.5mm termination plug, you can choose other options like 4.4mm balanced and USB type-C connector.

The Yu Xuan Ji’s shells offer a comfortable fitting as it snuggly rests well into my lug holes without any issues like ear sore, irritation or any discomfort issues. The passive noise isolation of this one is quite satisfactory as it was able to occlude unwanted external noises from the outside.

Another good aspect that this set has was its product packaging that TANGZU is one of the relatively generous in terms of quantity of inclusions and like all of its product line-up from budget to flagship levels, the packaging box looks attractive and its included accessories were well-organised.

Here are the following contents inside of its packaging box:

• A pair of TANGZU IEM transducers.
• Stock cable
• PU-leather carrying pouch.
• Three (3) pairs of wide-bored silicone ear tips of different standard sizes.
• Three (3) pairs of SANCAI (balanced) ear tips of different standard sizes.

As for its power scalability, with a resistance rating of 15.6Ω, this makes the set quite sensitive that it can be paired from any sources from normal gain output dongles up to desktop-grade headphone DAC/Amps that makes it very versatile and easy to drive. Even with a usual normal gain output, this one delivers a full and sort of a dynamic sound quality that encompasses across the frequency spectrum.

As for its tonal profile, it has mild U-shaped signature which somehow aligns a neutralish-bright tonality as it has more emphasis on upper-midrange up to the high frequencies

LOWS/BASS:

The bass quality of this one is rather more focused on sub bass presence over mid bass production as its bass response is tight, precise and rumbly that shares bass lineation with neutralish-bright tuned sets. The sub bass presence is clearly discernibly felt with its reverberations and rumbling sound coming from selected instruments such as synthesisers, drum machines, octobasses and some other instruments that were set into low tuned ones like bass guitars and double-basses.

Apparently, the mid bass texturing is just fairly adequate, enough to some sense of heftiness on some notes on the bass-clef instruments and male vocals but not that heavy, rich or less dark timbre. With the quality of this bass section, it gives that tidy and well-segregated bass quality that some midcentric and treble heads will find this one more appealing. Bass guitars have a resonant and rasping sound while the double-basses sound similar with the aforementioned instrument but it's a bit hollowed, and the bass kick drums have these sustaining and rumbly sound  in every stroke. On the male vocals like bass and bass-baritones, they are sort of lacking that heavy and deep resonating voices as they sound less dense and dusky in my ears.

MIDRANGE:

The midrange presentation on this one, while it is noticeably a bit lean and its warmth appears to be modest along with slightly recessed sonic layout on its overall frequency range, it sounds energetic, transparent and clean that female vocals, some strings and woodwind instruments will sound more dominant on this type of midrange tuning. Although, male vocals will somehow sound smooth and balanced, we will notice that some sub-type vocals will need that note weight to sound more tonally correct.

On male vocals, baritones sound milder with sweet and light sound which are suitable for both light and lyric baritones, tenors have that dazzling and clear vocal quality with some slight metallic timbre, and countertenors have a golden and fiery sound from their falsettos. Meanwhile on female vocals, contraltos sound less plush and rich with just barely smoky sound, mezzo-sopranos sound lighter, velvety with just tad of brightness, and then the sopranos have crystalline and shimmering sound on their vocals that somehow will deliver an almost faithful sound on both lyric and coloratura soprano types.

When it comes to instruments, on string instruments, guitars have a crisp and ceiling sound on every pluck and strumming on its note strings, violins have lively and brilliant sound on every grip on its bowstrings and cellos sound incisive and brilliant. The woodwind ones like concert flutes, piccolos, clarinets and saxophones, they sound silvery, penetrating, expressive and lively respectively. On brasses, trumpets sound vivid while trombones sound eruptive, and then the horns have a brilliant and a bit metallic sound on them. As for percussives, snare drums sound sharp and clear, tom-toms have a resonant and bit dry sounding, field drums sound sonorous but a bit dry and hollowed sounding, and same with kettledrums which also sound dry and hollowed.

On pianos, they sound bright, clear and clean although there are some cases of a metallic and dry tone on them.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble quality of this one is definitely on the brighter side, as it has this shimmering,crisp and airy response with some noticeable dip somewhere on the presence section on the treble region that gives some slight tonal inconsistencies of timbre on some treble-clef instruments in which I will explain later. It has a sufficient clarity and definition to highlight notational attacks on instruments and vocal articulation. The sibilance was kept under control but there are some slight tinny and a bit piercing sound on them.

For a single dynamic driver, it delivers a good airy extension that affects the quantity of its harmonics and an intensity of its sparkle as it also influences  the tonal coloration of these selected instruments that I will mention below. Cymbals sound bright and a bit piercing, while the hi-hats have a sizzling tone on their distinctive chick-y sound, celestas sound glistening and bright, and glockenspiels sound thin and brilliant.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

Moreover, for a single dynamic driver, this set delivers notable technical performance from sound/speaker stage up to resolution capabilities. It has a fairly roomy head stage in which it has an above-average width on its lateral span, good height reach and a rather adequate depth. It has good separation in which I can locate precisely the positioning of vocals and instruments in a fairly decent layering on its soundspace as it also projects a concave-like stereo imaging presentation. Furthermore, playing some complex multi-instrumental like symphonic orchestral recordings and jazz will be easy-peasy on this one.

Driver coherency of this one too is pretty excellent on how these new generation of dynamic drivers will be able to perform a good transient response on bass delivery, overall clarity of the sound and thus greatly diminishes any chances of distortion. The resolution capability on this one handles the macro-dynamics and micro-detail definition pretty well as the former have a solid production on highlighting the varying degree volume level for instrumental passages and choral lines while the latter have a sharper definition on extracting some good amount of nuances, subtleties and grains from an audio track like notational attack on instruments, vocal ends and reverb tails.

PEER COMPARISONS:

SIVGA QUE

• SIVGA’s first IEM model with single driver configuration.
• It uses a dynamic driver with beryllium-coated composite diaphragm and it was encased in a composite shell chassis made of wood on its faceplate and metal alloy on its cavity case.
• This one is pretty-packed with quality accessories that were included inside of its packaging box.
• It has a hard-bound PU leather case and also has a high quality stock cable.
• The tonality profile of this one is a bright U-shaped which has punchy and impactful bass response, recessed but warm with a tinge of energetic midrange and then, a bright and clear treble response which also possesses a good amount of air just like the Yu Xuan Ji.
• Evidently that it has almost similar performance with Yu Xuan ji in terms of technicalities but it has more depth on its perceived sound/speaker stage and also has a tad more solid macro-dynamics.

SIMGOT EW200

• One of SIMGOT’s entry level products that was released in the late quarter of 2023 and it has a single driver set-up housed in a metal alloy shell just like the Yu Xuan Ji.
• The driver that was used here is a self-10mm dynamic driver with a self-developed 10mm dynamic driver with a composite diaphragm, then it was encased on an aluminium alloy chassis.
• Compared to Yu Xuan Ji, the quantity of accessories of this one is rather meagre but at least, it has a bit better stock cable.
• The EW200 has a bright U-shaped sound signature which is somehow a derivative of a Harman-ish tuning.
• It has a more sub bass-focus bass quality as it sounds more rumbly but less mid bass texture, a recessed midrange presentation as it sounds leaner but energetic sound, and a shimmering and a bit shrilly treble response.
• On its technical performance, it projects a bit intimate soundstage and a rather two-dimensional stereo imaging with fairly good layering and separation on its soundscape, and also it is pretty resolving on its both resolution capabilities.

TANCHJIM 4U

• Another contender set from TANCHJIM and like the Yu Xuan Ji, it also has a single driver set-up that was also contained in a metal alloy shell.
• It uses a proprietary dynamic driver with a LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) diaphragm  that is encased in an aluminium alloy in an unusual shape design similar to a rabbit’s outline.
• There’s a feature that makes this set stand out as it has a tuning dial knob that offers some choices of different tonal profiles that makes this set a versatile one.
• This set is fairly well-accessorised just like the Yu Xuan Ji, so both sets are on par when it comes to product packaging.
• Since this set has a tuning knob, it offers not just one, not two but four distinctive tonal profiles; a balanced-neutral sound, neutral-bright, bass-boosted U-shaped and a bright U-shaped.
• As for technicalities, if it is compared to Yu Xuan Ji, they are almost alike in all aspects but I think that in some tuning profiles, the 4U has a tad wider and spacious head stage.

TRIPOWIN VIVACE

• A single driver from IEM from TRIPOWIN in collaboration with 0DiBi.
• It uses a dynamic driver with titanic-coated diaphragm and then encapsulated in a composite shell chassis.
• On its product packaging, the inclusions are rather decent as it has the pair of transducer earpieces, a cable and two types of ear tips.
• It has a U-shaped sound profile with a balanced-warmish tonality on it.
• On its overall sound quality, compared to the Yu Xuan Ji, it has more balanced bass response and it has a bit more texture on its mid bass, a more recessed but it more warmth presence on its midrange and a smoother and a bit relaxed treble response with a rather sparse on airy extension and a bit dull in its sparkle.
• On its technical performance, this one is quite an average performer as it presents a rather intimate head stage, a merely acceptable performance on its layering and separation capability and then perhaps, its overall resolution capability is rather pedestrian in my opinion.

In TANGZU’s existence for over 3 years in the audio market since the introduction of the YUAN LI, this is one of the remarkable set that they released on their entry-level line-up as how it was beautifully crafted metalwork on its shells structure along with a tonality that will surely very pleasing to ears to audio enthusiasts who wants that high-fidelity that has a strong predisposition with treble emphasis type of tuning, and also an impressive technical capabilities that only few selected sets possesses this aspects in the entry-level segment. Undoubtedly there are some tonal characteristics that need some polishing and refined to sound it even better and this one will somehow disinclined some audio enthusiasts that prefers warmer tonality with stronger bass emphasis. But overall, I will still recommend this attractive-looking set without batting an eyelid.

TANGZU Yu Xuan Ji  is now available in some selected online vendors in the e-commerce space, just check out the non-affiliated links that I have provided below.

HIFIGO:

https://hifigo.com/products/tangzu-yu-xuan-ji

TANGZU OFFICIAL STORE:

https://tangzu.net/products/tangzu-yuxuanji-tplx-10mm-topology-dynamic-driver-zinc-construction-in-ear-headphones

TANGZU AUDIO STORE-SHOPEE:

https://ph.shp.ee/G5T16C6

For more TANGZU product reviews, you can simply browse the following links below:

■ TANGZU/TFORCE YUAN LI

■ TANGZU WAN'ER SG

■ TANGZU PRINCESS CHANGLE

■ TANGZU FU DU VR.1

■ TANGZU XUANWU GATE

■ TANGZU XUAN NV

■ TANGZU WAN'ER SG STUDIO EDITION

 SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: TANGZU YU XUAN JI

IMPEDANCE: 15.6Ω

SENSITIVITY: 104.5dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m

PIN TYPE: 0.78mm 2-PIN CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE:  3.5mm, 4.4mm, TYPE-C

DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER

PROS:

● Beautifully crafted metalwork of its shell chassis.

● Solid build construction yet it has a balanced weight on it.

● It firmly fits well to my lugholes and seals well to provide a good passive noise isolation.

● Fairly well-packed with quality accessories.

● Two types of ear tips to choose from, TANGZU’s Sancai balanced ear tips are one of them.

● It has that sound quality that will be likeable among treble heads and probably even neutral heads.

● Tight, incisive and clean bass response.

● Transparent, energetic and tidy midrange presentation.

● Good for tracking om female vocals and both for string and woodwind instruments

● Bright, clear and vivid treble response with good amount of air on its brilliance section

● Surprisingly, despite of its bright tuning, the sibilance was kept under control and It doesn't sound too harsh

● It has very competent technical capabilities..

● Quite resolving and good delineation capability on its micro-detail retrieval aspect.

CONS:

● Unlikely that it will not be a highly-recommended for a vehemently bass heads out there

● Inadequate warmth on its midrange that affects some tonal characteristics on some male vocals and percussives.

● Stock cable could be better as some of its competitors have better stock cables.

● There are certain slight timbral quirks on some instruments particularly on brasses and percussives.

● Some treble-sensitive folk should take caution on the tuning of this one.

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*

Type O Negative - Black No.1 *

Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **

P.S.

I am not affiliated to TANGZU AUDIO 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 the TEAM TANGZU for sending this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.