DJScope - TekFusion TwinWoofer Review

 
Now I wish I could've put more time into these great earphones, but circumstances at work and home made that very difficult for me and I used every opportunity to give them all the time and attention I could. Alas it wasn't really enough, IMO, to do a full in-depth review. It was just a bad week for me.
 
 

Appearance:

The design is subtle and appealing. The silver accents are great but I would've like them better in fully black. Cable is as "stock" as it gets. Not much else to say on this regard.
 
 

Build Quality/Design:

Aluminium(?) housing is really nice. It's rounded at the edges. Cables are not so exciting but do have good strain relief. The cable has a lot of memory and you get some mechanical noise when using them on the go.
You can get some pretty bad driver flex with some ear tips. I've found that the small triple flange tips to be the best fit for my ears, and have to least amount of driver flex.
 
 

Sound:

Firstly I'd like to say that these sound DARK! Very dark. They somewhat remind me of the Mad Dogs 3.2. The frequency response, to my ears, sounds like it's on a downward slope from 30Hz all the way to 6Khz where it drops off about 10db and stay that way to my limit of hearing. Though clarity is surprisingly pretty good. 
 
 

Bass:

The bass is spectacular. Out of all the cons I can think of with the earphone, I will always forgive them because of how good the bass sounds. It's visceral (when amped) and plentiful, with good control. It stays coherent down to 30Hz, thereafter it fades away. It leaks a bit into the mids, imo, this is why it sounds so dark.
 

Mids:

The mids are nice. Not forward, maybe a little bit on the laid back side. Male vocals sound better than the females.
 

Treble:

Treble, or the lack of, is probably the worst part of the TwinWoofer. The lack of treble beyond 6kHz really hinders the sound. No sparkle or air. The soundstage also takes a hit. Most of the songs sound blunted/muted. I actually got my E17 EQ and raise the treble all the way up to +10bd, and the change was surprising. With the missing treble back, these earphone really open up. The sound stage becomes wider, you start to sense a bit of air between instruments, yet still no sparkle. Female vocals are brought back to life and the overall clarity of the sound is increase dramatically.
 
 
 

Conclusion:

 
What was originally an earphone I didn't like at first turned out to be a really enjoyable listen. After bumping up the treble, these earphone really become worthy contender. IEMs have never actually surprised me, but these did in the end. 
 
For $50, I might look into acquiring these down the line and put the Xiaomi Pistons aside.
 
 
 
P.S.
Thanks to @Brooko & @H20Fidelity for the opportunity of trying these awesome IEMs out. Sorry I couldn't put more time into reviewing them.

 
A big thanks to TekFusion for sending the TwinWoofer in for review and Ibrahim for taking the photo shots!
 
TekFusion is a brand new fresh company based in India. Targeted for consumer priced basshead IEM. While there has been plenty of bassy IEMs in the market priced similarly as the TwinWoofer [$50], TekFusion differentiated their TwinWoofer very well from others by offering a different definition of “Basshead IEM”, more about that later in the sound part.
 
TekFusion offers two types of TwinWoofers, the mobile version and the original version. The mobile version comes with a remote and mic mainly for Windows, Andriod and Blackberry but surprisingly, there is no mention of Apple device support on their website for whatever reason it may be nor am I sure if the remote and mic will work on iOS devices. The TwinWoofer M [stands for “Mobile”] also comes with an extra hard case for extra protection while on the go. Other than that, I believe both will sound and function just the same. There are two color choices available for the original TwinWoofer and they are, black or white color.
 
The box that came with the TwinWoofer that I received is damaged pretty badly for some reason, but the unit and all accessories inside were in perfect condition. The packaging is pretty large, but thin. Nothing fancy, but it comes with a soft carrying pouch, cable clip, and 5 pairs of silicone eartips including 3 single flanged tips [S, M, L] and 2 triple-flanged tips [S, L]. The earphone itself weights 7.5g each side and that is arguably lightweight despite its metal construction.

 

 

 
 
The earpiece construction is great and are made of metal housing, however, the cable itself can be struggling some as it is rather thin and microphonic. The jacks are small enough to fit into any device even with thick case, but do note that, it is a straight headphone jack instead of 90 degrees. Depending on use and preference, some may prefer the angled jack and vice versa.
 

 
 
The bullet design earphone allows insertion to ear canal can be done easily and I am not sure how many times have I told Harry at TwinWoofer how much I adore the design already. The team lead in the design was the CEO of TekFusion, Mr.Jayesh and the designer lead Mr.Darshan along with the other team of designers/engineers. Whoever, the rest of them may be, they, together, did an excellent job with the housing design that appears to the crowd and fits easily into our ears. They do not only look good on the picture, they feel well constructed when on hand as well.
 
The easily perfected fit resulted in a huge amount of isolation even with the single flange tips. While the silicone eartips is not the highest quality I have ever seen, but it is definitely of standard quality. The wide choices of eartips allow the user to find the perfect tips for sure and the triple flange tips for extra isolation. It is one of my best isolating IEM under $100 including the RockJaw Alfa Genus.
 
When I first received the TwinWoofer, I was slightly disappointed by its bass, but after giving it a fair amount of burn in, I started to like them more and more. This review is done after more than 100 hours of burn in.
As its name suggests, “TwinWoofer”, the “Woofer” itself says it all but please don’t mistake the name, the TwinWoofer is a single dynamic driver earphone on each side not double as the name may have suggested, but it does feel like there’s “Twin Woofer” built into it when it comes to the sub-bass. It goes so deep that it does not feel like just a single driver doing its work; truly a miracle for a sub $50 IEM.
 
Not only does its bass goes deep, they are huge and very well textured. With burn in, they will sound tighter and bleeds less to the midrange. Although there is still slight bleeding in bass to the midrange, I still find it enjoyable with EDM music or anything that requires deep and huge sub bass. Not only does the massive bass makes music more enjoyable, it helps in complimenting the sharp upper midrange by making the spikes less obvious. Similar to what the silver filter did to the RockJaw Alfa Genus.
 
Most of the IEMs with such gigantic bass usually have a very V-shaped sound with the midrange being recessed to the state that it can’t be heard. Surprisingly, it is not the case for TwinWoofer, the midrange is not at all recessed in fact, there’s quite a bit of them present in the music. While it can be slightly dry at times at the bottom with certain tracks but not all. Drum kicks hard when called and the aggressive upper midrange makes it great with Rocks and Aggressive genre of music.
 
There is an obvious sharp roll-off at the high region after the upper midrange spikes which resulted in the lack of details in comparison to other sub $100 IEMs but at the same time, very forgiving to bad recordings. Some instruments can feel rather bland as some may have preferred. Instrumental separation and soundstage are decently done as an in ear.
 
I simply prefer the TwinWoofer better than the Jabra Vox, A-Jays Five in terms of every aspect without exception in terms of sound, build, isolation and fit. If anything, TekFusion should take to improve the cable quality into deep consideration. It’s real competition comes when put against the RockJaw Alfa Genus.
 
Both, to me, are excellent at its own price. The RockJaw Alfa Genus will be featuring 3 pairs of filters in the future, according to Bob at RockJaw. To be fair, I compared the TwinWoofer to Alfa Genus with silver filter which is the bassy filter, but even with that filter, I still find the TwinWoofer’s bass to be more enjoyable, deeper and bigger. Alfa Genus is more detailed and more spacious in soundstage than the TwinWoofer.
Both have upper midrange spikes, but the Alfa Genus’s are more sparkly than the TwinWoofer. However, the TwinWoofer’s highs are brighter than the Alfa Genus. Alfa Genus are, overall, more refined as well. Keep in mind, though, the Alfa Genus costs more than the TwinWoofer, I wish I could compare the TwinWoofer to other IEM at its own price range but I doubted if they are worth the comparison.
 
The TekFusion TwinWoofer definitely scales better than its price may have suggested. For basshead, they will appreciate the massive amount and deep bass it offers. Travelers will appreciate its great isolation and for $50, I can’t think of anything else better. Again, if TekFusion could improve the cable quality without affecting the price, that will be perfect at its own price already!

PREAMBLE

Tekfusion (http://www.tekfusiontechnologies.com/) is an audio company founded in 2011 in Bangalore, India. They are pretty ‘new on the block’, and it was only recently that they appeared on Head-Fi looking for reviewers of their Twinwoofer IEMs. I expressed an interest, and along with four others was chosen to be on the panel of initial reviewers. As the name suggests, Tekfusion’s Twinwoofers were designed with serious bass impact and resolution as a focus. Their website notes this about the Twinwoofers:
“Every beat is important”. This is the principal that lead to genesis of the Twinwoofers®. Their built-in HD dynamic speaker systems yield dynamic bass and a high level of audio precision that gives you a topnotch music-listening experience.

The Twinwoofers arrived a little under a week ago, and since their arrival, I’ve concentrated on getting as much “ear-time” as possible with them – averaging around 5-6 hours a day. For the burn-in believers (I’m not one), when I haven’t been listening to the Twinwoofers, I’ve given them 3 x 8 hour overnight burn-in sessions – playing a random variety of tracks at slightly louder than my normal listening period. So between the actual listening and additional “burning” – they’ve had at least 50 hours use. In that time, I’ve noticed no appreciable change – apart from me becoming acclimatised to their signature.

I’ve listed price at USD $49.99. I understand that this will be the list price for international sales. However this is not what I paid for them (they are a review sample). After completion of this review, I do intend to contact some fellow Australian Head-Fiers so that they also can try these and leave their own impressions.

DISCLAIMER

I was provided the Tekfusion Twinwoofers as a review sample. I am in no way affiliated with Tekfusion - and this review is my subjective opinion of the Twinwoofers I have been sent. I would like to thank Harry from Tekfusion for making this opportunity available.

PREAMBLE - 'ABOUT ME'. (or a base-line for interpreting my thoughts and bias)

I'm a 47 year old music lover. I don't say audiophile – I just love my music. Over the last couple of years, I have slowly changed from cheaper listening set-ups to my current set-up. I vary my listening from portable (Fiio X5, and iPhone4) to my desk-top's set-up (PC > coax > NFB-12 > LD MKIV > HP). My work set-up is the Beyerdynamix A200p (DAC/amp) + whatever fullsized headphones or IEMs take my fancy for the day. My main full sized headphone at the time of writing is the Beyerdynamic T1 (after recently selling my other full sized cans – HD700, HD600 and DT880). Most of my portable listening is done with IEMs - and up till now it has mainly been with the Dunu DN-1000, Altone200, Brainwavz S5 and RockJaw Alfa Genus. A full list of the gear I have owned (past and present) is listed in my Head-Fi profile.

I have very eclectic music tastes listening to a variety from classical/opera and jazz, to grunge and general rock. I listen to a lot of blues, jazz, folk music, classic rock, indie and alternative rock. I am particularly fond of female vocals. I tend toward cans that are relatively neutral/balanced. I am neither a bass nor treble head (you could argue that I do like clarity though). I am not treble sensitive (at all), and in the past have really enjoyed headphones like the K701, SR325i, and of course the DT880.

For the purposes of this review - I used the Twinwoofers straight from the headphone-out socket of my Fiio X5, and iPhone 4. I did not amp them, as IMO they do not benefit from additional amplification. In the time I have spent with the Twinwoofers, I have noticed no change to the overall sonic presentation (I do not believe in 'night and day' burn-in). I will respect others choice if they believe in physical burn-in, but I am yet to experience it.

This is a purely subjective review - my gear, my ears, and my experience. Please take it all with a grain of salt - especially if it does not match your own experience.

THE REVIEW

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES

The Tekfusion Twinwoofers arrived in a black retail outer box (13.5cm x 22 cm x 2.5cm) with clear window. Inside the box is a moulded clear plastic hinged container housing the Twinwoofers and accessories.


For a budget IEM the packaging is quite smart – black, orange and chrome. I do apologise for the condition of the retail box shown in the photographs. Unfortunately it arrived in this condition (slightly ‘bruised/creased’). Luckily there was no damage at all to the contents – which were securely housed.

The retail box has a very simple front – the name, “Black Chrome Edition” (they are also sold in white), and the phrase “Powerful Bass , Audio Accuracy”. The rear of the box has generic descriptions of the main features of the Twinwoofers along with a description of the accessories.


The accessory package includes a manual and warranty (foldout booklet) – which also includes the published technical data (see table below). Also included is a shirt clip, soft carry case, and 5 pairs of silicone tips – 3 single flange (S,M,L) and two pairs of triple flange (one narrow and one larger).


The carry case is a velour type fabric expandable opening snap case which will offer minimal protection, but is handy for storage and carrying the IEMs when not in use. I personally don’t like these cases because over time the cables tend to get stuck/wedged in the opening. I had the same thing happen with a case for Monster Turbine. A far more practical soft case would be something like the zipped case used on the Altone200s I bought recently.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
(From Tekfusion)


FREQUENCY GRAPH

I have requested this information from Tekfusion – but have been advised by their engineers that it is not available for publication at this time. If it becomes available, I will re-edit the review and add the information later. For the record – I’m expecting a V shape with bass emphasis (both sub-bass and mid-bass), relatively flat lower mid-range, slightly forward upper mids and lower treble, and relatively quick roll-off in the upper treble.

BUILD QUALITY


The Tekfusion Twinwoofer has a cylindrical hourglass shaped body made from an aluminium alloy. The body has no obvious seams and appears extremely well machined and quite smooth. The body measures approx. 20mm in length from the bass to the filter at the tip, and has a diameter of approx. 11mm. Tekfusion says that the housings only weigh 7.5g each, so they are very light in weight. The printing on the body of the IEM is very clean and clear (white against black), and it’s pleasing to see L and R marked so that it is easy to read. The rear plate with the logo is actually a brushed aluminium plate - which has a plastic coating for protection. This can be removed if it's starts lifting (mine was) - thanks Harry for pointing this out to me


The nozzle stem is approx. 6mm in length, and the lip is well designed - I’ve had no issues with the included silicone tips, or my preferred foam tips.

The strain relief from the IEM housing actually looks reasonable sturdy, and has some “give” in it. The Y-split is rubber, but does include a sliding cinch. There is no real strain relief at the Y split – but I can’t see this being a problem as they Y split itself is hard but flexible rubber.


The cable is a 1.2m copper cable in an outer TPC sheath. It feels relatively fragile, and is still displaying kinks from the original folding. It is also very tangle prone, and is microphonic. For me it is the weakest part of the overall build of the Twinwoofer, and I hope Tekfusion do review the cable for any future IEMs they develop. The microphonics from the cable can be negated by wearing over ear (my preferred method), using the cinch, and tucking the cable under clothing.

The 3.5mm plug is a standard 3 pole, straight, gold plated for conductivity, and has strain relief. The plug itself is very skinny, and you should have no issues plugging this into a full cased smartphone or DAP.

Overall the build quality of the IEM is very good for the price point, but I personally think the cable could be a lot better.

FIT / COMFORT / ISOLATION

I have one ear canal slightly different to the other one (my right is very slightly smaller) - so I tend to find that usually single silicon flanges don't fit overly well. However, I initially tried the included large silicone tips, and they fit very well. They were also reasonably comfortable. However I switched to a pair of foam tips (very similar in shape to Comply’s Ts-Series tips). These actually came initially with my Altone200s (but did not work well for me with those IEMs). With the Twinwoofers they provide a good seal and comfort. All of the tips I tried gave me reasonably good sonic results with only small changes to the overall sound. I also tried the Twinwoofers with genuine Comply T400 tips, and the fit and isolation was also very good.

Isolation with the A200 foams or T400 fitted is very good, and I think they’d be good enough for long distance air travel. Comfort overall is very good – and I have actually slept with these in. They are relatively flush with my outer ear when worn though, so sleeping can put some slight pressure on the outer ear (YMMV).

There is noticeable driver flex when first inserting the Twinwoofers – but it isn’t an issue after insertion. This is something that I have noticed from other sealed dynamic drivers in the past – primarily those without a vent or port.

So what does the Tekfusion Twinwoofer sound like, and did they deliver powerful bass with audio accuracy ……… ?

SOUND QUALITY

The following is what I hear from the Tekfusion Twinwoofers. YMMV – and probably will – as my tastes are likely different to yours (read the preamble I gave earlier for a baseline). Most of the testing at this point (unless otherwise stated) was done with my Fiio X5 as source.


Tracks used were across a variety of genres – and can be viewed in this list http://www.head-fi.org/a/brookos-test-tracks.

Thoughts on General Signature

If I was to describe the signature in a sentence – I’d say “very big bass impact, but surprisingly clear (but warm) vocal presence”

I’m finding the Twinwoofers to have a big emphasis on both sub-bass and mid-bass, but the surprising thing so far has been the ‘relative’ clarity of the vocals (especially upper mids). They are a very warm IEM, and although there is enough detail to allow cymbals to be heard, the emphasis (when bass is present in a track) is firmly at the lower end of the frequency spectrum.

There is a definite V shape here, and I guess Tekfusion are aiming at a distinct segment of the market here (for modern music with bass emphasis), so I can see the reasoning behind the voicing.

Overall Detail / Clarity

For this I always use both Steely Dan’s “Gaucho” and Dire Strait’s “Sultans of Swing” as there is a lot of micro detail in both tracks, and the recording quality for both is excellent.

First playing Dire Straits, and the Twinwoofer’s detail retrieval is what I would term as ‘polite’. Cymbals are there, but muted. Mid-range generally is pretty good but tends to get a little smeared by the bass guitar constantly being in focus. Knopfler’s guitar is nicely represented and actually sounds pretty good. But I am noticing micro detail that is present on my other IEMs is being hidden by the bass line.

Moving to Gaucho, and the sax intro is pretty good, but again overshadowed by drum and bass guitar. It’s just not the usual presentation I know from my other IEMs. Cymbals are once again in the background. Midrange is again very good – smooth and clear.

Separation of instruments overall is average, mainly due to some smearing from the bass.

Sound-stage & Imaging

For this I use Amber Rubarth’s binaural recording “Tundra”. I use this because it’s a pretty simple way to get comparative data on sound-stage.

It’s usually difficult to get a reasonable stage size from an inner ear monitor. The stage is often quite small / close – with an average impression of space. The Twinwoofers are a typical IEM in this regard, showing some width and sense of space with this track, but overall imaging and staging is relatively narrow. Directional cues for everything except the opening notes on violin are good. Some of the early picking of the violin strings is once again over ridden by the bass.

I also used Loreena McKennitt’s “Dante’s Prayer” and this time the Twinwoofers gave a much improved performance. There is not a lot of bass line in this track, so all of a sudden clarity overall lifted a notch. The cello in the background was beautiful, and Loreena’s vocals were up front and clear. There was no real sense of the space that I know other headphones can exhibit with this track – but I did enjoy the overall balance. In this track, the applause at the end is so well presented that with some headphones (HD600/T1) I can actually close my eyes and imagine myself in the crowd. With the Twinwoofers, the clapping does take me into the audience – and there is a sense of space. But the presentation is very lateral, and not circumaural as I know it can be presented.

Bass Quantity / Quality

Because Tekfusion are marketing these as powerful bass, I need to make sure I focus on this particular section of the review. The Twinwoofers deliver their promise of powerful bass, and it extends very low as well. What they’ve delivered is indeed two subwoofers (at times) which are really surprising with the bass impact they can deliver. When I first listened to the Twinwoofers, I had to play a frequency sweep to see how low these could go, and they had no issues at all in producing copious amounts of sub-bass at just above 20Hz (the limit of my personal hearing starts around 22-23Hz). If anything (and I know by ear is not accurate), I would estimate that the Twinwoofers actually have more sub-bass than mid-bass – and they have no issues producing mid-bass either!

Listening to Zoe Keating’s “Escape Artist” (Zoe plays Cello – and has a Bandcamp site – definitely worth looking her up!), and the cello is presented really well with great impact and timbre. I really enjoyed this track on the Twinwoofers.

Then switch it up to something with huge sub-bass impact like Lorde’s “Royals” or Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” and the impact hits the stratosphere. Especially with Lorde, the bass guitar actually feels like it’s moving air (there is vibration!). The funny thing here is that Lorde’s voice is still perfectly clear.

One of the tracks I noticed a real sense of impact with was Mark Lanegan’s “Bleeding Muddy Water”. Every hit of the drum was like a thud – these deliver serious low bass.

The only criticism I have of the bass is that it sometimes gets so overwhelming that I find I have to lower the volume. Unfortunately doing this immediately drops the midrange and finer details from the treble. Bassheads will love the impact – I’m just finding it too much.

Genre Specific Notes

Again for tracks, albums, artists – please refer to this list: http://www.head-fi.org/a/brookos-test-tracks

Rock – For me, the Twinwoofers perform relatively well with this genre, but for my tastes it is track dependent. Classic rock without a lot of bass emphasis sounds very good – smooth, good bassline, good vocals – fun and punchy. Hotel California was a great example of this. Slower rock ballads were also very good with Alter Bridge’s “Broken Wings” and Seether’s “Immortality” both being very enjoyable experiences. Where the Twinwoofers tended to struggle a little was on faster music like “Diary of Jayne”, where the more complex passage just became a ‘wall of sound’.

Alt Rock – First up was Pink Floyd’s “Money”, and this was very enjoyable on the Twinwoofers providing a really good mix of contrast between the bass guitar and the finer detail of the cymbals, sax and guitar. Porcupine Tree’s “Trains” is another track that really presents well with the Twinwoofers. The bass is very impactful – but Wilson’s higher voice still comes through clearly.

Jazz / Blues / Bluegrass – Moving to Portico Quartet’s “Ruins” and this track is still very captivating, and smooth – but does not have the crispness of the cymbals that I’m used to. The double bass is pretty good – just a little loose and boomy, but the sax is very good. Switching to Miles Davis “So What”, and the feeling is similar to what I encountered with Portico Quartet. It’s a pleasant presentation – but a little muted – not quite as captivating as I’m used to. Miles trumpet is very smooth, and contrasts nicely with the double bass, but the cymbal work (which is often a highlight of good jazz) is once again muted and distant.

Next up was Blues – so I fired up Joe Bonamassa’s India-Mountain Time, a track that I like immensely. The Twinwoofers perform really well with this – there is a constant rumble of the bass, but it doesn’t detract from Joe’s vocals or his guitar work. Bass does get slightly boomy at times, and there is not the same clarity I am used to from IEMs like the DN1000 or Altone200 – but that’s hardly a fair comment given the price differential. I still very much enjoyed that different presentation.

Rap / EDM / Pop – Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” is up next, and now the Twinwoofers show their strength. Marshall’s vocal are still really clear, and the guitar is also very good – and the bass – I’m not usually a fan of this much emphasis but this is perfect for this track. Switching to EDM – and Lindsay Stirling’s “Electric Daisy Violin”once again just slams! Lindsay’s violin is clear, smooth, perhaps not as forward as I am used to – but the contrast is the bass - thumping, but with good definition – the perfect compliment. I also tried some Little Dragon (Little Man) and some Flashbulb – and it is clear to me, my electronic music does well with the Twinwoofers. I think it’s the quite V shaped presentation. The only negative for my preference is the mount of bass with Little Dragon – for me it gets a little fatiguing after a while. The Flashbulb’s “God is Speaking” is brilliant though – nice contrast, nice bass impact – very enjoyable.

Switching to Norah Jones “Light as a Feather” (a fusion of pop with jazz undertones), and another strength of the Twinwoofers is revealed. The midrange is ideal for female vocals, and these are smooth, and quite alluring.

Classical / Opera – I didn’t know what to expect with my time so far with the Twinwoofers being a mix of the good and not so good. Netrebko and Garanca's portrayal of Lakme’s Flower Duet was pretty good, just lacking some upper register nuance that I’m used to from my other IEMs. It is very smooth though, and because these tracks tend to be more bass light, the mid range is allowed to shine (and it does). Kempff’s Moonlight Sonata was really captivating, and delivered a beautiful tonal balance that only slightly darker/warmer IEMs can do with this piece. Switching to Anne Sophie Mutter and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons – and the magic is still there. The mid range on the Twinwoofers is really quite nice tonally and with orchestral pieces it does deliver.

AMPLIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

The Tekfusuin Twinwoofers are very easily powered straight out of virtually any portable device, and I didn’t experience any issues with the 2 DAPs I tested (iPhone 4, or Fiio X5). Amplification via the A200p did not seem to yield any noticeable benefits. So these really are smartphone friendly.

RESPONSE TO EQ?

I wanted to see if I could lift some of the tracks that I felt suffered with the excess bass, so the track I chose was “The Bad In Each other” off Feist’s album Metals. Most of the track is pretty good – but when the bass is going strong, it tends to ride roughshod over the lower mids. So I gave the bass from 30 Hz to 125Hz a 4-5 dB cut (on the X5), and then gradually shelved the mid-bass in steps back to zero. If definitely helped make the track more enjoyable for me and lessened the fatigue. I also used the “bass reducer” preset on the iPhone4 and this gave some relief without killing the overall presentation. So the Twinwoofers do respond well to EQ and you can allow a more detailed overall presentation simply by dialling down some of the prodigious bass that is present.

COMPARISON OTHER IEMs

I struggled to think of any IEMs that I could compare the Twinwoofers to, as nothing I have at the moment is really as bassy as the Twinwoofers can be. Then it twigged, and I remembered how bassy the RockJaw Alpha Genus could be with the silver filters. I used two tracks – Florence + The Machine’s Howl and Pearl Jam’s “Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town”. FOTM’s track has quite an emphasis on bass

Vs Alfa Genus (silver filter) ($85) – “Howl”

Both have very similar sub and mid-bass impact – the Twinwoofers may be going slightky lower in the sub-bass. But the Twinwoofers are actually a little brighter and more detailed (surprised me). Alfa Genus sounds a little thicker overall. With this track and the Alfa using the silver filter, I actually think I prefer the cheaper Twinwoofer.

Vs Alfa Genus (silver filter) ($85) – “Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town”

This is not a bassy track, and I chose it more for a contrast, and because I know it extremely well. The highlights for this track should be Vedder’s vocals, and the contrast between drum, guitars (bass and standard electric), with the cymbals punctuating the overall mix. Again in this instance, the Alfas have a thicker and slightly darker midrange, and the Twinwoofers are slightly brighter with a bigger contrast between the cymbals and bass presence. Overall I prefer the Alfa’s portrayal of Vedder’s vocals but the Twinwoofer’s overall contrast. Both are enjoyable with this track.

TEKFUSION TWINWOOFER - SUMMARY

The Tekfusion Twinwoofer appears to be a (mostly) well built budget IEM with a V shaped frequency response. The main emphasis is on both sub and mid-bass, but they have a surprisingly clear upper mid range and enough lower treble to retain clarity despite the bass sometimes being overpowering. They have great extension at the lower end of the frequency, but do suffer some roll-off and lack of air at higher frequencies. Mid range is very good – and I suspect that there is a dip in the lower mids in order for the upper mids to shine.

The fit of the Twinwoofers is pretty comfortable, and they offer above average isolation if you get a good seal (tip dependent).

IMO the Twinwoofers are not genre dependent, but rather track dependent – and this comes down to personal preference (for bass quantity) and also speed and complexity of the tracks being played. They can tend to be boomy with bass heavy music, and can suffer smearing of the lower mid range with very fast paced tracks.

My principle critique of the Twinwoofers would be the quality of the cable which I find sub-par with the overall quality of the product (appears fragile, kinks and tangles).

My litmus question is “would I buy these for myself”, and “would I recommend them to my family”. For my personal preference (I am not a basshead), my answer would be no – they are simply too V shaped for my personal preferences. I can see bass lovers enjoying these very much though – especially as the vocals (mid-range) are surprisingly good, and relatively clear.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO TEKFUSION

1. Rethink and redesign the cable for future IEMS
2. Perhaps think about offering a new model with similar midrange, slightly more treble extension, and a little less bass.
3. Consider swapping the current carry case for something a little more practical (cheap fabric zip case would be fine)
4. Keep doing what you’re doing – the voicing on the Twinwoofers may not suit my personal tastes, but I am sure many will find it quite acceptable – especially with more main stream listeners.

Thanks again for the opportunity, and I’ll now see if I can move these onto others in Australasia to sample and review them.

HERE IS MY FULL REVIEW ON THE TEKFUSION TWINWOOFERS

Note: I'm not much of a reviewer, but i had to review these In-Ear Headphones because they are so special to me, and to my collection, so couldn't resist but give you guys some of my views. Hope you like it. Also, if you don't like my review, forgive me for taking your time but i think you won't

INTRO

Tekfusion Twinwoofers is a brand new player in the world of Acoustics. Note that Tekfusion is an Indian Brand, and that it is a very serious & promising brand as such, and I’ll tell you in a moment the reasons why I would go for Tekfusion Twinwoofers, in comparison to most other IEMs in this price range, and why they have a sonic signature like no other Earphones I’ve heard.

Before I continue, I want to list the earphones I’ve experimented and heard:

1. Sennheiser CX series
2. iBeats
3. Klipsch s4 series
4. Bose IE series
5. Skullcandy Inkd
6. The apple In-Ear phones and Earpods

I will be rating Twinwoofers on a scale of 5, in comparison to others.

Box Contents:

Twinwoofers In-Ear Hedphones
5 pair of Eartips - 3 pair regular S/M/L, and 2 pair Tripple flange – M/L
Clip & Cable Slider
Carry Pouch
Manual

Technical details (copied from tekfusiontechnologies.com):

Frequency Response : 19-21 KHz
Impedance : 16 Ohms
Pressure Level : 113 dB
Net Weight : 30g (1.06Oz)
Color : Black Chrome
Cable Length : 1.1m
Cable Type : Symmetric
1 Year Manufacturer’s Warranty

BUILD QUALITY

Okay, once you unbox a pair of these, the very first thing you’ll notice is their weight. They are not as heavy as claimed. They are pretty light-weight but pretty tough. They are fully metal made, and have partial gloss and partial matte finish – a thing of beauty . They are absolutely beautiful and well crafted. It is absolutely true; that they look breath taking.

Below each earpiece is a strain relief that separates the drivers from their cables. This protects them from breaking at the joints I guess. The Y splitter is compact, and surprisingly small in size. There is a cable slider and clip you can use from this point. Great stuff

Coming to the plug – they have 3.5mm gold coated connector, and the plug is not right angled. This may be a red flag for the right angle plug lovers
The cable is all rubber, and not tangle free which could a concern for some, but with me, the sound is more of a reason why I chose these. Anyway, the cable is pretty high quality when you feel it with your hands, you can very easily tell.

Build Quality Rating: 4.5/5

Cons for build quality - Non-tangle free cable & Non-right angle plug

COMFORT

Eartips

The silicon eartips provided are extremely comforting to the ear canals, and you can keep listening for hours without noticing something is in your ears. I personally find the smallest pairs of eartips my best pet. I would say I don’t use the others at all, mostly because I’m not used to triple flange, because they have to be deeply inserted and I find this uncomfortable. So, with enough eartips, you get definitely get some that fits you best! So, you get to choose from 5 pairs, which is pretty great.

Wearing comfort

I would say there is something special about their housing. If you note well, their hourglass shape and body is built to rest at the endings of your ears, and this makes them pretty good for medium to large ears, rather than extremely small ears. So if your ears are too small, these aren’t designed for you! Haha just kidding! My sister has small ears but she finds them comforting.

Here’s a tip that will allow you to freely move your head while listening: They come with a handy clip that you can attach to your shirt or top, closer to your head. You can also manage the cable easily with slider.

Noise Isolation

Someone on Flipkart gave these earphones a 3/10 because there is an extremely good cancellation of noise that he was confused what to do! Well, I couldn’t describe noise isolation in any other way hehe. Very good noise cancellation. You can easily get away with noises such as heavy traffic and flight noise.

Comfort Rating: 5/5

SOUND QUALITY

The biggest and most probably the only reason why I bought these is because of their sound signature. I personally proof tested the already burned earphones at a physical store before I purchased them, just to ensure I’m getting it right! Here’s how I would describe them in one sentence:
“Impactful and boomey bass with exceptional sound clarity”

With the above said, which most of you may not get, here are the full details:

Highs – Highs are very clear. Now “very” doesn’t mean 100% accurate, because there are no earphones that can produce 100% accurate highs (maybe JHA which I heard once from my friend). I would give it a 90% accuracy. Bose IE2 In my opinion would be 95% and Klipsch s4 94%

Mids – Mids are excellent but not outstanding. If you know what I mean. 93% for Twinwoofers, 96% for Klipsch s4, 85% for Bose IE2 – Again, this is my opinion

Bass – Bass is outstanding but not spectacular. 96% for Twinwoofers, 94% for Klipsch, and 96% for bose Ie2. Remember at this point I’m not comparing things like skullcandy and sennheiser (i.e. earphones that fall in this price range) because they don’t simply match the bass of Twinwoofers – Again, this is my opinion. If you hear someone saying that Twinwoofers don’t have bass, it means they have never heard anything before, at least not high end IEMs, and most probably because they haven’t burn-them-in.
I will further describe bass as decent, smooth, clear and accurate rather than harsh, overpowering and muddy. So bass is good, and there’s plenty of it to enjoy the boominess of a Hip Hop Track!

Sound Rating: 4.5/5

Con on sound quality:

Could’ve been slightly better on the Highs/Mids separation, but can’t complain much because of the brilliant price point.

SIDENOTE:

The above ratings are based on mp3 vbr and 192kbps. If you go beyond 320kbps, the ratings above will all change.
Without a good burn-in period of 50-60 hours, you simply won’t get their signature right, so at this point I have to warn the laymen out there before they conclude on their sound.

To burn-in, I use two burn-in players - one created by Tekfusion which can be found in their burn-in guide

http://tekfusiontechnologies.com/tek...n-in-guide.php

And the other one by JLABS audio, which you can found in their website

THINGS TO NOTE:

- Bass will not be punchy at first, until you burn in for at least 50 hours
This may be a big problem for those who are not patient! So, just keep listening to all your music, for 4-5 hours in a cycle, and i think you'll have burn-in properly

- If you are using a low-end music player, like transcend mp3 players, or a zebronics, then these babies are not for you, you will start blaming them while you should be blaming your player, because no IEM will sound good with a bad player. This is just to let you be aware of what you should choose for your playback. I would recommend players such as Cowon and Ipod, or even Walkman, rather than other low quality stuff.

TEST TRACKS FOR BASS

1. Get Low - Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz
2. Beat Dominator - Bass Can You Hear Me

BEST USES:

High quality audio – With flac music or VBR mp3, you can get a rough clue on their soundstage, which I won’t discuss at this point, as I haven’t burn them in for 100 hours

Smartphones with Equalizer enabled – At flat you won’t reveal their full performance, but will tell you the excellence of their vocals and how good they are probably at separating the mids from highs.

BEST MUSIC PLAYED

• Hip Hop
• Trance
• House
• Electro
• Rock/Metal
• Pop
• Jazz
• Indian and Asian music – I guess I’m not the only one here who love some hindi!

CONCLUSION

If you like very crystal clear sound, and Bass that is full of impact, and bass that is free of distortion, noise, and mud, and if you like listening to all sorts of music, with great accuracy, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND them to you.

For me, this was a best buy under INR 1500/-

Thanks.

Hope you guys like my review. Please reply to me, if you got any question.

for iems that are marketed as bass giants (Twinwoofers?!), the entire lower end of the spectrum is extremely poor and the bass lack any punch and pace whatsoever. The overall sound is quite boring which is particularly disappointing considering that they are far from being neutral and flat across the spectrum. I compared them with my old Soundmagic E30s (a fair comparison as they cost roughly the same)- while the E30 is quite blatantly coloured in its sound signature, the crunchy mids and surprisingly controlled bass make them an easy choice over these rather uncomfortable, heavy and oddly shaped earphones which offer absolutely nothing special.