YUANDAO TEARS: Sensationally Good Sounding One

YUANDAO is a parent brand of NiceHCK, a decade-old Chinese audio brand known for producing affordable yet high quality products like earbuds, IEMs and upgraded custom cables, and I did a few product reviews from them in the past. And  now they released their inaugural model, the YUANDAO TEARS, a single driver IEM and its a budget-friendly entry-level set priced at US$29.

The TEARS features a new generation of dynamic driver with a 10mm size, in a dual-chambered construction with a dual magnetic array of strong high magnetic flux for better vibration, less distortion and faster transient response to deliver a deep bass response on the low frequency, clear and crisp sound of vocals and instruments from its midrange and bright and detailed highs.

The driver was then encased in a well-though designed compact ABS shell casing in an asymmetrical pentagon-shaped with a gold accent that Yuandao/NiceHCK meticulously crafted, especially its acoustic chamber within its cavity base. It has this  3D-printed mould with maze-like structure that will optimises the air flow of sound wave to linger for awhile as it enhances the quality of the bass region as it adds more depth and rich texture and it was mounted with an electro-plate acoustic plate covering that helps to eliminate unwanted resonance for having a pure sound quality. It also has four ventilating holes, three slant vertical ones and a smaller one at the jut part of its nozzle base that allows it to disperse excess air pressure generated from the dynamic driver to alleviate listening fatigue caused by the build-up of high frequency energy.  It has a detachable cable that allows us to swap with other third-party cable options with different termination, and it uses a 0.78mm bi-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism which is known for its reliability and stability that firmly latch the earpiece and the cable.

When it comes to wearability, with its compact shell structure, it offers a comfortable fitting into my lugholes snugly without any discomforts at all that I can wear for a long listening session. Depending on the ear tips you are pairing with its nozzle, as long as it securely latches into our outer ear canal, we will have a good passive noise isolation that is able to block unwanted external noises from the outside.

The stock cable of this one is rather of a standard quality for its price bracket, that it has decent build quality with a bit lean profile and quite flexible that also has resistance against entanglement. The cable’s internal wiring is made of 6N monocrystalline high purity silver-plated copper conductor sheathed with PVC insulator coating and it has a two-core structure that was braided and twisted for less crosstalk and interference issue, increasing signal output and reduces microphonics as it delivers a seamless audio transmission data as it outputs a pure sound without degradation of signals. What I have is the USB type-C variant with DSP/DAC chip (probably a conexant one) that can decode up to 192kHz on PCM digital format but it doesn’t have a native DSD support.

The product packaging of this one is pretty minimalistic in terms of the number of inclusions inside of its packaging box. The design elements of its packaging is conventional in that regard as it has a usual presentation on an IEM product like the illustration of a product along with a printed brand and model name at the front and then, basic specs, company address and contact details, and the overall design is quite pleasant to look upon.

The following contents inside of its packaging box:

• Pair of Yuandao Tears transducer earpieces
• Stock cable
• Five (5) pairs of balanced bore silicone eartips in different standards sizes
• Paperwork like Q.C. stub, instruction manual and warranty card

Regarding its driveability, this unit on its DSP/USB-C configuration is quite sensitive that a device host can deliver enough power output to drive this set properly. As it is connected through USB-C and both the built-in DSP audio and amplifier on this cable will work altogether as they process the audio signals, it sounds pretty dynamic that it encompasses the full spectrum of its frequency response.

As for its sound signature, it has a V-shaped sound signature as it has a more pronounced lows and highs with a balanced tonality on it. This makes this IEM align with a fun, engaging and lively coloured sound.

LOWS/BASS:

The bass response of this one is definitely boosted as it exhibits both the sub bass presence and the mid bass texture in a very balanced presentation. Overall, it presents a well-defined good quality bass response that delivers a rumbly, impactful and striking sound while having that segregation and cleanliness that it doesn't smudge across the other frequency parts that makes this set even more impressive, although I don't consider this one as a basshead’s bass response after all.

The sub bass presence of this one is definitely clearly felt by the rumbling and reverberation that were generated from sub bass-focused instruments like synthesisers, drum machines, bass guitars, cellos and double-basses. The mid bass of this one has an adequate richness and warmth for bass-noted instruments and low-octave male vocals as the bass guitars sound sombre and resonant, while the double-basses sound more weighty and rasping, and then the bass kick drums sound more substantial and rumbly on every kick. The male vocals like the bass and bass-baritones have a wool-y and heft sound quality as it has an enough depth with some resonance on them.

MIDRANGE:

The midrange presentation of this one is definitely recessed on the overall frequency spectrum but it doesn't sound lean nor dry as it has an ample warmth presence and quite energetic sounding at the same time. With this type of tuning, it gives some richness on male vocals, a more defined striking and sharpness on the percussives, a bright and clear sound on female vocals, a crisp and lingering on strings, brassy and snarl on brasses, and last but not least, the expansive brilliance of its woodwinds.

On the male vocals, baritones sound smooth and plush while the tenors have a clear and tinge spiciness on their vocals, and then, a pure and tender sound on the countertenor from their falsettos. For a meantime, as for the female vocals, contraltos have enough dense and mellow from their chesty modal voice, mezzo-soprano have a coppery and musky sound, and the sopranos have a brilliant and silvery in which both the lyric and coloratura types will sound more open.

As for instruments, on the strings, crisp and bright sound on guitars, a vibrant sound on violins, and then, a warm and sweet sound from cellos, while on the woodwinds, a bright and rich sound from flutes, a delicate sound from piccolos, a mild and pale sound on clarinets, and a warm and reedy sound from saxophones. The brass instruments like the trumpets, trombones and horns, they sound full, overpowering and bright respectively, whereas on the percussives, on every beat and stroke on their corresponding drum heads, toms-toms have some warm resonances, snares sound bright and hard, field drums sound sonorous, and the kettledrums have those deep and rumbling sound. The pianos seem to have a rich, sweet and clear sound on them.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble response of this one is definitely bright, crisp and shimmery with a good amount of air given that this one is a single dynamic driver. The accentuated parts on the upper mids up to the presence treble were highlighted to give that sense of clarity and definition on the vocal articulation and the attack of instruments. Despite its energetic tuning, the sibilance was kept under control and not a hint of stridency that might be overtly sharp or fatiguing to some treble-sensitive folk out there.

The brilliance section of this one is relative airy as it makes this set even more impressive with ample sparkling presence. The cymbals sound bright, while the hi-hats have those shortened crisp and sizzling sounds, celestas sound sweet and shimmering, and the glockenspiels sound sensitive and delicate.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

This one projects a fairly decent sound/speaker stage as it has a moderate length on its lateral span from left to right, good height reach and an immersive depth that I can determine the distance of musical elements from front to back. Its imaging aspect presents a concave-like stereo presentation with a fairly-layered soundscape and a thoroughly-defined separation on both vocals and instruments that I can pinpoint their respective placement in a sonic canvas that playing complex, multi-instrumental tracks would be easy peasy for this set.

Coherency on its dynamic driver is quite above par on how it performs on executing as fast transient response for its bass note attacks, along with a clear and detailed sound on its midrange and high frequency. On its resolution capabilities, it has solid contrast on its macro-dynamics as on how it bring out the varying degree of volume from the quietest section up to the loudest level on chorale lines and instrumental passages while its micro-dynamics is capable of extracting fine details, grains and other nuances like vocal delays, notational attacks and instrumental reverb tails with a reasonably sharpness.

PEER COMPARISONS:

TANCHJIM ZERO ULTIMA

• TANCHJIM's latest single driver set-up was released for the entry-level segment.
• It has a 10mm proprietary-design dynamic driver encapsulated in a composite bullet-type shell structure.
• The cable is firmly fixed in the earpiece therefore it doesn't have a detachable feature and the quality of cable is rather decent for its price.
• This one is fairly packed with accessories inside of its packaging box.
• It has a U-shaped sound signature but compared to the TEARS, it has less punchy but still rumbly bass response, a less warmth but still doesn't sound too lean and dry on its midrange, and a less brighter treble response with a modest airy extension.
• In general, the overall technical performance of this one is almost comparable with the TEARS, as it also has a similar soundstage size and resolution aspect but the latter is a bit superior on layering and separation.

KEFINE KLEAN

• One of KEFINE successful entry-level sets and like the TEARS, it has a single driver configuration.
• It is equipped with a dynamic driver with DLC diaphragm and it was encased in a solid shell structure with a trapezoid-like shape made of aluminium alloy.
• The transducer earpieces feature a detachable mechanism and it also has a good quality cable for its price.
• This set features a substantial amount of inclusion inside of its packaging box.
• Since this one has a turnable tuning filter nozzles, it offers two sound profiles; a mild U-shaped warmish-balanced tonality (silver) which has a punchy and impactful bass, a warm and rich midrange, and a bit smooth treble response with modest airy extension, or a bright U-shaped sound (black) which is more rumbly yet a bit tighter bass response, a tad leaner but more energetic midrange presentation, and a brighter and shimmering treble response.
• Technicality-wise, it has a very similar performance with the TEARS, but has a bit sharper definition on micro-detail retrieval on the silver tuning filter.

TANGZU WAN’ER S.G. STUDIO EDITION

• A variant of TANGZU’s most successful entry-level product and it still sports a single driver configuration.
• It uses a 10mm PET dynamic driver encapsulated in a polycarbonate plastic shell casing with a QDC-type two-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism.
• Again the stock cable is rather decent which is quite appropriate for its price.
• The product packaging of this one has bare-bone contents but it has a beautifully designed packaging box.
• This one has a neutral-ish bright sound signature as it has more precise and tighter bass response, a linear and transparent but still balanced as it has enough warmth and energy, and then a lustrous yet airy treble response.
• As for its technical performance, it is quite eerily similar to the TEARS as it has almost the same soundstage size, imaging, layering and separation but it has a bit sharper definition in its macro-dynamics.

In my conclusion regarding this product review, the YUANDAO TEARS does really amaze on how it performs well on both tonality and technicality that I can safely declare that this one is indeed a best value for money set in this year’s audio product released. If you are an audio enthusiast looking for a set with refined tonality which has coloured sound signature with fun, engaging and exciting tonal profile compared to usual V-shaped sounding that were standard for consumer-grade earphones for casual listening, this one fits well to your listening preference.

YUANDAO TEARS is now available on NICEHCK official online store as you can check their other offerings that might garner your interest.

Interested in this set? I just provided a non-affiliated link below.

LINK: https://www.nicehck.com/products/nicehck-nicehck-tear-in-ear-earphone

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: YUANDAO TEARS

IMPEDANCE: 20Ω

SENSITIVITY: 127dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m

PIN TYPE: 3.5mm TSR PLUG CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE:  USB TYPE-C. 3.5mm, 4.4mm

DRIVER UNIT(S):  (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER

PROS

● Lightweight, compact and fairly-built shell structure.

● That maze-like internal acoustic chamber really works as it was intended.

● The dynamic driver can deliver a fast transient response and low distortion for clarity and detailed sound quality.

● Detachable cable.

● The built-in DSP/DAC chip on its USB type-C cable work can decode a high sampling rate on PCM digital format.

● Well-done coloured tuning with musicality, fun yet natural sound signature.

● Deep, punchy and rumbly bass response.

● Full, warm and rich bass-clef instruments and low octave male vocals.

● The midrange has a balanced tone with ample warmth and energy for a lively and engaging sound from vocals and instruments.

● Natural and realistic tone from all vocal types and instruments.

● Offers a sense of openness on some female vocals and airiness on woodwind instruments.

● Shimmering, gleaming and airy treble quality.

● Surprisingly, it has good technical performance for a single dynamic driver IEM.

CONS:

● Too coloured sounding for ardent neutralheads.

● Fairly recessed midrange presentation.

● While the shells are pretty minimalist in design, at least it should have an all metal alloy-build in my opinion.

● The built-in DSP/DAC chip can't decode DSD format natively.

● Its treble response might be tedious to some treble-sensitive folk in a long listening session due to its energetic tuning.

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 **

Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *

Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to NICEHCK 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 NICEHCK Rep for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.