TANCHJlM 4U DMT-4Ultra Double-chamber Dynamic Driver In-Ear Monitors

DISCLAIMER

I would like to thank HIFIGO for providing this review unit.

The Tanchjim 4U can be gotten here: https://hifigo.com/products/tanchjim-4u (no affiliate links).




SPECIFICATIONS

• Driver configuration: DMT-4 PU suspended LCP dome composite diaphragm dynamic driver
• Frequency response: 8 Hz - 48 kHz
• Impedance: 32 Ω
• Sensitivity: 122 dB/Vmrs
• Cable: 2-pin, 0.78 mm; copper-plated silver braid cable; 3.5 mm termination
• Tested at: $69.99 USD

ACCESSORIES

Other than the IEM, these are included:

- 3 pairs of wide-bore silicone eartips (S/M/L)
- 3 pairs of narrow-bore silicone eartips (S/M/L)
- Cable
- Pouch
- Tool for turning rotary dial

The accessory line-up is more than decent for a sub-$100 USD IEM, perhaps other than the omission of foam tips.




2 variant of silicone tips are included: the wide-bore ones boost treble and soundstage, whereas the narrow-bore tips increase bass with some compromise in staging.




We have a 2-pin copper-plated silver braid cable, which is sheathed with silver-plated platinum. While it lies on the thinner side, it is tangle-free with minimal microphonics and a chin cinch. Definitely one of the more serviceable stock cables for an IEM below $100.




We have a velvet-like pouch to store the IEM, in addition to the all-important screwdriver-like tool to manipulate the tuning dial of the 4U. Do not lose it!

The rest of this review was done with the stock cable and stock narrow-bore silicone tips. No aftermarket accessories were used, so as not to add any confounders to the sound.


BUILD/COMFORT



The housings are fashioned from zinc alloy, with a frosted deposition. The faceplate has a pretty mirror-like finish that adds elegance, though this may be a potential scratch or fingerprint magnet (so do baby them carefully!).

With a bean-shaped small profile and light weight that is akin to the Shure type IEMs, the earpieces are ergonomic, and shouldn't pose a comfort issue. There are no awkward protrusions on the inner aspects to poke the ears.



Isolation is above average, and there is good venting with no instances of driver flex.


TUNING NOZZLES/INTERNALS

The 4U's engine is a dual-chamber DMT-4 PU suspended LCP dome composite diaphragm dynamic driver.

Tanchjim has also added a double composite DWR-coated mesh, that is condensation and dust resistant, which should mitigate condensation and moisture causing sonic imbalances.






Unlike the run-of-the-mill tuning switch or nozzle craze, the 4U - as per its namesake - has four tuning options via an adjustable rotary bass dial, something similar to that found in the Sennheiser IE80S. This involves using the screwdriver-like tool to turn the dial - it turns easily enough and is not that small, but this will require good eyesight and steady hands.




So we have a legit 4 tunings, from a cold neutral one AKA "monitoring" dial, to a warm-neutral presentation in the "atmosphere" dial, which has more sub-bass. The other tunings lie within these 2 extremes:

Graph of the Tanchjim 4U via IEC711 coupler. 8 kHz is a coupler peak.


After playing around with the dial, I preferred the "atmosphere" dial the most. Personally, I found the "monitoring" and "natural" dials a bit too bass-lite for my tastes, but the basslines are the most nimble on these, and fans of something leaner or thinner can definitely opt for these less bassy dials.


DRIVABILITY

I tested the Tanchjim 4U with the following sources:
- Apple dongle
- Cayin RU7
- Chord Mojo 2
- Fiio KA11 dongle
- Fiio KA17 dongle
- Khadas Tone Board -> Schiit Asgard 3 amp
- Questyle M15 DAC/AMP dongle
- Sony Walkman NW A-55 DAP (Walkman One WM1Z Plus v2 Mod)
- Sony Walkman NW A-55 DAP (Walkman One Neutral Mod)
- Sony Walkman NW WM1A DAP (Walkman One WM1Z Plus v2 Mod)
- Smartphone

This IEM is moderately easy to drive. While one can get adequate headroom from a weak smartphone, it will scale with amplification in terms of dynamics and soundstage, and this is recommended.


SOUND & TECHNICALITIES

The following impressions were done with the "atmosphere" dial locked in - ie the bassiest tonality. This confers a warm neutral tonality as described above.

Even on this bassiest dial, the 4U isn't a basshead set at all, with a 7 - 8 dB bass shelf noted on this configuration. We hear decent sub-bass extension, but not the most robust rumble. Bass is nimble and quick, with no mid-bass bleed. Texturing is above average.

The 4U has a transparent lower midrange, with a 7 dB ear gain translating to forward vocals without shout.

Treble has decent extension without sibilance. It isn't the most airy or sparkly IEM, but balances a fine-line in furnishing resolution without overstaying its welcome, avoiding harshness.

As expected of a single DD, the 4U has legit timbral accuracy. I've no complaints on this front, with acoustic instrument playback sounding natural.

For technicalities, the 4U has good imaging, though soundstage is quite average. It isn't a tour de force in micro-detailing and resolution, and I would probably rank the 4U as average but not classleading in this department.


COMPARISONS

The 4U will be compared against other sub-$100 USD single DDs. Hybrids, planars and pure BAs are left out of the comparisons, as the different transducer types have their own pros and cons.

The "atmosphere" dial AKA bassiest configuration will be utilized for these comparisons.




Simgot EA500LM

The EA500LM has 3 tuning nozzles, and all 3 confer a bright Harmanish tone typical of the Simgot house sound. The EA500LM is brighter in the upper mids and treble as such, with more sibilance and shout noted (AKA a more aggressive tuning).

The EA500LM has a more metallic timbre, but beats the 4U in soundstage, imaging and micro-detailing. The EA500LM is easier to drive.


Oriveti OD100

The OD100 is a neutral bright IEM - it is way shoutier in the upper mids, more sibilant in the treble, with less bass. Indeed, the OD100 sounds more fatiguing and harsh than the 4U on all dial settings.

Timbre is worse on the OD100, and it has inferior soundstage, albeit the OD100 has a bit better micro-detailing and imaging.

The OD100 can be worn cable down or over-ears, so fit is a bit more versatile, but it is has no tunability.


Moondrop Aria 2

The Aria 2 follows the virtual diffuse sound field (VDSF) - which is Moondrop's in-house variant of the Harman curve. The Aria 2 has less bass, and is shoutier in the upper midrange.

Technically, the Aria 2 is slightly weaker, with a smaller soundstage and poorer imaging. The Aria 2 is easier to drive, though it has heavier and less ergonomic shells.


CONCLUSIONS



The Tanchjim 4U is a versatile single DD that operates thru a unique rotary bass dial, to bestow 4 tuning options from a cold neutral signature to a more laid back warm-neutral profile. Thus, it is quite versatile tonally, and isn't a gimmick unlike some "tunable" IEMs that have minimal changes in the frequency response (ie they are crowbarred in for the sake of marketing).

The 4U comes in a small ergonomic and lightweight bean-shaped design, with a generous accessory spread. Bass is tight and fast, with a clean midrange and a smooth treble response. Timbre is very organic and natural.

Some negatives would be the 4U having moderate driving requirements, and it is average in technical chops. The mirror-like shells, while beautiful, may be marred by fingerprints and scratches.

Otherwise, this should be an all-rounder introductory set with good versatility, something for folks who are looking to upgrade from the ultra-budget single DD pool.

TANCHJIM 4U :: 1DD :: $69.99

The 'DMT4' driver, which has been applied to previous products such as OLA, and PRISM - has been upgraded to 'DMT4 Ultra' driver.

Tanchjim began designing the 4U as the first product to feature the new 'DMT4 Ultra' driver. and in the process, they added a 'circuit filter system' with 4 different sound tuning options to set it apart. Interesting!

Let's see how it goes.

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Huge thanks to HiFiGo for providing a sample unit for this review.
However, this review fully reflects the my honest opinion without anyone else's interference.

Btw, are you more familiar with Korean?
So am I, and If that's the case, I think you'd be better off reading my review written in Korean here.

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Here's everything that comes in a box.

• Tanchjim 4U unit
• 0.78 2pin to 3.5mm able
• 3 pairs of silicone eartips
• 3 pairs of wide bore silicone eartips
• carrying pouch
• user manual

There are two types of eartips available, and they differ significantly in shape and geometry, not just in hole width.

The wide-bore eartips have a shorter stem, which naturally encourages deeper insertion of the earphones.
By varying the depth of insertion, you can make some changes to the sound.

The cable, which is said to be made of silver-plated copper wire, shielded with platinum, is pretty to look at, but the quality is also pretty good.

I like that it's thin, lightweight, and flexible, so it's comfortable to wear for long periods of time.




Tanchjim 4U unit is made of zinc alloy and has a mirror-like faceplate.
The design is pretty nice IMO.

The units are also quite small in size, so they should be easy to fit for those who have smaller ears.

The 0.78 2-pin socket is slightly recessed, so it's worth noting if you're using a custom cable.

Looking at the inner side of the unit, it has a minimalist design - stripping away everything but the driver and circuitry where it needs to be. In terms of fit, I think it's a shape that everyone will be happy with.



If you look a little closer, you'll see the 4U's signature 4-way filter knob.

It can be turned in four different directions - up, down, left, and right - each with indicator line of different thickness.

Rather than saying “up, down, left, right,” it might be more appropriate to say “up, down, forward, and backward,” as the left and right units each have a different direction of rotation for increasing the bass.

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Measured with IEC 60318-4 (711) while maintaining 94dB@500hz.
The sample used for the measurement does not represent the characteristics of the entire product.

Following Measurements are available at dchpgall.squig.link



Measured with the default setting (with the arrow pointing forward).

Tanchjim describes this setting as 'Atmosphere'. I feel this setting gives the best sense of presence.

Overall, this is a setting that follows the Harman target very well, resulting in a clean and tight bass. If you listen to electronic music that makes extensive use of the bass range, you'll notice that the driver's bass reproduction is quite good.

As expected from a Tanchjim product, the vocal and treble handling is also quite good. Vocals, both male and female, sound great. Together with a generous amount of treble, I can feel a transparent, natural sound, with a bit of airiness.



Nevertheless, the 4U is tuned a bit safely that sibilance is quite imperceptible, so when listening to female vocals, I sometimes find myself wishing I had a bit more of a sparkle in it. In these cases, using a wide tip with a larger bore helps a bit.

On graph, it may seem like the treble is slightly lowered with the wide bore tips.

However, since they have a shorter stem than the regular tips, the earphones are inserted deeper into the ear, which can make a difference in 'sharpening' the sound a bit more.

Of course, this is a personal preference, so I strongly encourage you to experiment with alternating eartips and see what you like best.



As mentioned earlier, the 4U is equipped with a '4-way switch' for bass control, where the amount of bass decreases as you turn the switch from “forward” - “up” - “back” - “down”.

This is quite impressive, as it has a much wider adjustment range than almost every other IEM with switches I've ever tried in the past.

It's a truly unique experience, as the 4Us produce a generous amount of bass upto the Harman target, but when you turn the dial all the way down, they sound more like open-back earphones.

Personally, I found the bass performance of the 4U to be better than I expected.

That said, I would have liked to see a bassier setting for bass-heads by increasing the overall amount of bass, rather than just pulling the bass all the way down to the such level.

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So far, we've taken a look at Tanchjim's new single DD IEM, the 4U.

In a market that is flooded with high-performance single DD earphones, U4 is a product that reflects the company's struggle with how to differentiate itself.

From the cheap 'Tanya' model, To the 'Oxygen', which is still considered as a 1DD masterpiece to this day, Tanchjim has earned the title of '1DD master' (at least in Korea).

They must have had a lot to think about. And it seems that they found the answer in the tuning switch.

Of course, that's not to say that there haven't been other products that allow you to change the sound with the flick of a USIM pin - in fact, there are more and more of them now - but only handful of them can change the sound as dramatically as the 4U.

If you're going to add a tuning switch, you should at least be this bold.



I'm sure there are some people like me who think it's a “fun element” - while others may think it's a “pointless gimmick”.

As an entry-level product with only one, single dynamic driver, '4U' is limited in what it can do to change the sound in analog way. This is why you can only tweak the sound in the low-end range, which can be a bit disappointing.

Especially since competitors have acknowledged the limitations of analog tuning, and are working hard to bring DSP into the tuning scene (even if it means taking a lot of flack), there's a growing concern that the tuning switch will never really take off.
Honestly, once you're done with the switch, you never touch it again...

However, I, Personally, would like to see Tanchjim to take this feature a bit further.

Maybe they could increase the overall bass volume to satisfy both 'bassheads' and 'trebleheads' - like I mentioned earlier, or maybe they could apply this switch to hybrid IEMs to make a more dramatic change in sound.

I can see the possibilities.
Good luck with it!

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[Non-Affiliated Links]

https://hifigo.com/products/tanchjim-4u (HiFiGo Store)
https://aliexpress.com/item/3256806810664645.html (AliExpress)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4QWBY4M (Amazon US)
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0D4QM3CZG (Amazon JP)