About me-
I enjoy nice things, and most times nice things are expensive. I also enjoy getting things that seem way more expensive then they actually cost. This philosophy is what got me started in the chifi realm in the first place, and at times an iem comes along that transcends perceived value. How much are you willing to spend to find your audio nirvana? For me, it took thousands of dollars in buying the wrong iem's, before finally spending 400.00 on the right one for me.
I enjoy music, I breathe music, and I listen to all styles of music, so finding an iem capable at being an all rounder is very important to me. I also am a vocal lover, and so mids are HUGE to me and my enjoyment of my music.
Let me tell you about the iem that has changed my life and made me enjoy my music in ways I didn't know were possible, the Toneking T88k.



My T88k were purchased from Hotfi and can be found at various other stores from $325.00-400.00. Here's the link for the ones that I purchased from the Hotfi store on aliexpress.
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bmBI8Sus
The T88k I am reviewing is the newest model with the same nozzle material as the shell.

SPECIAL NOTE-
There are 2 variations (batches) for sale. The older and cheaper variant has a medal nozzle and a slightly larger shell. The new version has an acrylic nozzle with 3 votes and a smaller, more ergonomic shell. The newer version is more expensive, and justifiably so. You can message the seller and ask which nozzle version they're carrying, before purchasing. The T88k that I am reviewing is the latest batch with the matching nozzle to the shell.

PACKAGING-
You get the exact same accessory package as the T4 and T66s, which consists of 2 pairs of foam tips, and 6 pairs of silicone tips. You also get a cable clip and a very nice round, hard case.
Lastly, you get a very nice quality 8 core copper/silver plated cable. The cable is super soft and tangle free, and is one of the absolute best I've ever seen or received with an iem.

ABOUT THE IEM-
The T88k is a custom made iem, that is beautiful and of very high quality. I honestly do not see how it would possible to make it any better. They are the most comfortable iem's I've ever wore and they can be worn for hours at a time without any kind of war fatigue. Did I mention they're comfortable??? In case I didn't mention it yet, they're extremely comfortable and isolate better than any iem I've used yet. Somehow they are even more comfortable than their little brothers, the T4 and T66s to my ears, but of course your mileage may vary.
The T88k are an 8BA per side own, using all high quality knowles drivers. The T88k uses dual 31618 BA's for the lows, and dual 30265 for the kids, as well as quad 30017 for the highs, and also utilize a 3 way crossover.


SOUND-
Bass goes deep and has great impact for an all BA iem. The subbass is rumbly and textured, and it has more emphasis than the mid bass. The midbass has good punch and is very controlled and never bleeds into the mids. The bass has a quicker decay, but actually holds the note long enough to feel almost dynamic like. I feel the bass in the T88k is exceptional for a balanced armature bass.

MIDS-
I am a midshead so it takes alot to impress me, when it comes to the mids. Ummm, the mids are the star of the show here folks. The mids are breathtaking and silky smooth, with a forward staging. They're very detailed and rich and both male and female vocals shine with a full bodied sound. I turn up the volume and close my eyes and am transported to my own room with the artist and get my own personal concert. I lose track of time as the hours pass as I'm lost in the seductive sounds filling my head. The mids are something truly special to listen to and only get better and better the longer I listen to them.

HIGHS-
The highs are smooth and non-fatiguing, but yet very detailed. The quad knowles BA's create the icing on the cake here and help complete what I feel is a beautifully tuned sound. The T88k never bring out any sibilance in a track, even of I know it's there in other earphones. What I find hard to explain is how the highs are so smooth, but yet I hear details in the high frequencies that I miss on other brighter iem's.

SOUNDSTAGE-
The staging is wide and very deep, with great height. I'll give the songs that I use to track soundstage later in this review. The T88k are extremely accurate and image very well and again are some of the best I've had the pleasure to own, let alone listen to.

SOUND OVERVIEW-
The T88k are big sounding, and very natural, as well extremely coherent, with a reference tuning. There is a lack of a coloration and you get to hear the song as the artist intended. If I could use simple adjectives without context, I would use natural, silky smooth, creamy, and velvety, warm and with a full bodied musicality. Except that would be selling them short because I also would have to use more to adequately do them justice, like detailed, balanced, luscious, and natural. Also very lifelike and NATURAL!!

OVERVIEW-
I have owned these for about a month now and have used them extensively every day since their arrival. I wanted to spread the word about them as I've been in absolute bliss since acquiring them, but it's been a struggle. This honestly has been one of the hardest things I've done and it's only because I feel so passionate about them and want to accurately portray to you the readers, just how good they are. Toneking is known for their solid tuning and their flagship is the pinnacle of their achievements. The T88k is truly the chifi TONE KING. They're the most natural and life like iem's I've heard in this price range and compete with iem's way more expensive. I've had the privilege to audition many 800.00-2k iem's recently at an audio store in New York City and the T88k stood toe to toe with ALL of them. Keep in mind, I only briefly had each one in my ears so I can't accurately compare them, but they didn't immediately make me feel like I'm missing anything by listening to the T88k.
Sources used-
I listen to the T88k mainly straight out of my LG V20, but also use it alot with the es100.
I tried it out of my ipad air2, as well as straight out of my LG Stylo 4 phone as well.
The T88k is very easy to drive and sounds great out of all sources, but does scale well with better quality sources.

TRACKS USED-
Male vocals-
Thrice- black honey
Grateful dead- Althea
Ryan Adams- when the stars go blue
Todd Rundgren- it wouldn't have made any difference
Slipknot- vermillion pt. 2

Female vocals-
Sia- I'm still here
Melanie Martinez- play date
Melanie Martinez- carousel
Lake street dive- rabid animal
Lake street dive- better than

Staging/imaging-
Supertramp- school
Joywave- destruction
Max Young- die young
Toadies- send you to heaven
Toadies- beside you
Daft punk- motherboard
Daft punk- The game of love

Bass bleed/depth-
The blaze- virile
Melanie Martinez- carousel
The Weekend- prisoner
Daft punk- fragments of love

Comparisons to other iem's-
T88k vs Toneking T4-
The T88k has more extention down in the low frequencies, with more emphasis on the subbass than the T4. The T88k has more sub impact as well. The T88k has the better bass in every category in my opinion.
The mids on the T4 are thinner than the T88k. The T88k has more note body overall and a far smoother midrange, with equal details. This comparison is what cemented the T88k as a top tier midrange performer for me. I find the T4's mids to be their strength and yet the T88k again takes the strengths of the T4 and tops them in each category. The T4 is brighter with more upper mid emphasis, while the T88k is darker and smoother but again just as detailed as the much brighter T4.
The treble on the T88k is more natural than the T4, while the T4 is again brighter. Both have a similar air and treble extention, but the T88k pulls it off in a smoother manner.
The staging on them is very different, with the T88k having a little more width and depth with an almost 3D presentation.
Overall, the T4 is a leaner and brighter sounding iem, while the T88k has the larger note shape, with thicker and bigger sounding tonality. The T88k sounds more lifelike and natural when compared side by side with the T4.

Toneking T88k vs Toneking T66s-
This one is more difficult to compare as they're more similar than different. The short of it would be if the T4 and T88k had a baby, the result would be the T66s.
The biggest differences between them are that the T88k has more subbass emphasis and bass impact, which helps give the overall tonality a little additional thickness and smoothness. The T66s is just a TAD brighter from the upper mids to the upper treble. The T88k comes across as the more refined iem when compared side by side. The T66s sounds more colored and less lifelike snd natural in comparison to the T88k.
Staging and imaging is very similar between the 2 monitors.

Toneking T88k vs Flc8s (red, gray, gold)-
The T88k digs far deeper and with more subbass quantity. The 8s has more midbass than the T88k. The T88k is more textured and has better bass layering. The 8s is alot thinner and brighter in the midrange, and exhibits glare and roughness in the upper mids.
The treble on the 8s also is more vivid and colored in comparison and comes across as alot less refined than the T88k. I always considered the 8s as the best chifi iem I had heard, until the T66s and now the T88k. Comfort and build quality is another win for the T88k and they aren't even on the same level. The 8s is tunable with the filters, but will always vary it's base tuning, which is thinner and brighter with less refinement than the T88k. This comparison again proves the T88k's worth and value to me, and on my opinion is on totally different tiers.
The staging is actually fairly similar, which surprised me because of how differently they're tuned. I would say the T88k edges out the win in width and depth, with better heighth, but it's not a landslide victory there.

Closing thoughts-
Again, this has been a challenge for me to write about. I don't want to build unnecessary or unwarranted hype. I want to accurately portray the T88k's and in doing that it, I feel like I undersold them and they're actually even better than what I was able to express. I hope you get a chance to audition them for yourselves at some point and see for yourself.

Buy them if.....
Buy the T88k if you value natural and lifelike sound, with a full bodied musicality. Buy them if you enjoy male or female vocal based music, or if you enjoy a reference and non colored sound. They will make any musical genre sound great and will sound just like the artist intended. I give them a hearty thumbs up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Toneking is a relatively unknown chinese audio boutique, who make quality audio products. They are fairly unkown outside of the headfi community and I find that disappointing, as they make great quality products for their asking price. I am trying to do my best to help bring exposure to Toneking and hopefully help others experience what they have to offer.
The Toneking T66s can be bought from Aliexpress for $366.00, but can be purchased as low as $275.00 on sale.
I highly recommend purchasing from Hotfi as they have great customer service and are quick and accurate with responses to questions, and also have fast shipping. Here's a link to purchase the T66s.

http://s.aliexpress.com/e63yiqEb?fromSns=Copy to Clipboard

I recently acquired their newest co-flagship, the T66s. The T66s are a 6 ba per side, and once again use all Knowles quality balanced armatures. The T66s use high end, quality materials for their internals as well as their semi custom shell. They're very solidly built and have a nicely filled shell which feels solid and durable. They're very comfortable in my ears and I can wear them for hours without any kind of discomfort.

The cable is one of the nicest I've ever seen included with an iem. The cable is made up of 8 core silver plated, copper. It's also very soft and supple and doesn't tangle at all and has zero microphonics.

The accessories include the iem's and cable, as well as a cable clip and round hardcase. They also include 2 pairs of foam tips, M and L sizes, as well as 6 pairs of silicone tips, s, m, and l.



Okay, enough with the formalities and let's get into what everyone really once to read about...the sound.
The T66s have a thick and authoritative sound to them. They are big, bold and powerful sounding and FFUUUNNNNN!


OVERALL SOUND-
The T66s have a warm tuning, with fat note shape, while still maintaining detail and clarity. I'm impressed at how they managed to pull off this sound signature and not have it end up to dark. I would say they are slightly V shaped, but not in a bad way in my opinion. The instrument separation is excellent and the staging is another positive of the T66s.

BASS-
The bass is hands down the best BA bass I've ever heard in an earphone. If I was blindfolded and only went by my ears, I would swear it was using a dynamic driver for it's low frequencies. The bass digs DEEP and has great punch and speed while maintaining texture and rumble. It doesn't muddy up the sound though and has a very nice quality to it. The bass pounds and rumbles when the song calls for it, but not when the song wasn't recorded with the bass as the focal point. The bass does give the sound a nice warm tone and really helps set the stage for a toe tapping and head nodding good time. It just doesn't always try to steal the show and isn't afraid to let the mids and treble have their moment to shine. But man oh man, does the bass love to show whose boss whenever bass is prominent in the recording.

MIDS-
The mids are again clear and detailed as is the Toneking house sound signature. The mids aren't ever muddied by the impressive bass and are nicely balanced in the sound signature.

TREBLE-
The highs are crystal clear with no grain or glare and are airy and with great extension. Cymbals shimmer and have a natural tonality. The highs never, ever get sibilant are an absolute pleasure to listen to.

Soundstage-
The stage sits just outside my ears with great depth and above average height. Again, how they managed a warm sound and pulled off great separation and such width and depth, is truly amazing to me. Mr Z knows what he is doing and deserves a nice *slow clap!

Comparisons-
Toneking T4 vs T66s
The T66s has more subbass quantity than the T4, as well as more mid bass.
The T4 has more forward mids than the T66s and more upper mids.
The T4 has brighter treble than the T66s, but both have excellent treble quality and natural tonality.
Both are excellently tuned and would come down to preference. Do you want fun and musical, or neutral and reference?

Toneking T66s vs Flc8s (red, gray, gold)
The T66s digs deeper and hits with more authority than the 8s, while having more texture and layers to the bass.
The mids on the 8s are leaner sounding than the mids on the T66s. The upper mids are also brighter on the 8s and can exhibit sibilance at times.
The treble is fairly similar on both, but the T66s come across as smoother but yet just as detailed.

Final thoughts-
The T66s and the T4 and Flc8s are my favorite 3 earphones right now and all have EXCELLENT performance for their cost. What are your preferences for sound? The T66s are awesome all rounders, but especially excell with music that has bass a focal point. Rap, hip hop and r&b sound AMAZING, but other genres sound good too.
The T4 are best with vocal and instrumental music, but also still sound good with all genres.
The Flc8s are chameleons because of their tuning filters, and are good all rounders as well.
For my preferences, I would take the T66s as my only earphone if I had to. Thankfully that's not the case, and I can enjoy them all.

This is my first ever official review, so please bare with me. Also, pm me with any constructive help you can give me to make my next ones easier to read.
*I edited my review to include some comparisons, as well as better links and pictures.

So, I love music and I love many different kinds of music as well. I don't have one specific type of sound that I look for in an earphone, and enjoy many different sound signatures. I started this hobby just trying to find iem's that made me enjoy my music in a better way, as well as trying to find the best value for performance. Through this journey, I have been met with disappointment at times, but also with surprise and joy at times as well.
Finding the Toneking T4 and buying them was definitely one of the surprise and joyful times.
The Toneking T4 were purchased by me, with no discount or incentive to do a review, from Hotfi store on aliexpress.
The T4 were purchased for $152.00, and can be bought from various stores on aliexpress for around 145.00-206.00.
Here's the link for the T4 from Hotfi.

http://s.aliexpress.com/iuyieiMB

The T4 are a quad BA arrangement, with the Knowles 30265 composite (dual) handling the bass and mids, and the 30017 knowles composite (dual) BA handling the treble.
At unboxing, you would receive an 8 core copper, silver plated cable that is of good quality and soft and tangle free as well as ergonomic. You also would get 2 pairs of foam tips and 6 pairs of silicones.
Also included in the box, is an excellent round case for holding your extra tips, cable and iem's.



The T4 are built as a semi-custom and it's insides are filled, so they have a nice weight to them and feel like they're of extreme quality. I find them to be impeccably built and can't find any seams or blemishes and I really am impressed with the look and feel of them, as well as find them very comfortable to wear for long periods of time. Also, the they're not vented, and have the absolute best isolation that I've ever heard.
The comfort and looks are important, but it's the sound that makes the T4 stand out in the crowd.



Bass-
The bass on the T4 goes deep when called upon by the recording, but never gets out of hand and loose. It has a nice quality to it and has some of the best layering in the bass end that I've heard. The subbass is linear with the midbass, and not much roll off, if any at all,to my ears.

Mids-
The mids are forward and crystal clear with a ton of details, and both male and female vocals sound fantastic. They have nice rounded note shape and aren't thin and tinny, so vocals have a nice sense of realism to them. The upper midrange is elevated creating a nice and vivid vocal range that helps extend the soundstage a little more than what you'd generally expect with a forward mid sound.

Treble-
The T4's treble extends far beyond human hearing (40khz) and has an airy sense to it, that helps extend the soundstage in all directions, as well as the forward upper mids and lower treble in helping create a nice soundstage. It also has a very natural and lifelike tonality and never gets glare and sibilance. The magical part to me, is how forward the treble sounds while staying fatigue free and easy to listen too. The treble to me, is the star of the show and is some of the best that I've heard.
When you put all the frequencies together, you end up with a detailed, reference sounding and balanced signature, that just oozes details, but manages to do it without sounding to clinical and cold.

Comparisons-
Toneking T4 and Brainwavz B400.
Both are quad BA arrangements by Knowles. The B400 is around 150.00- 200.00 depending on sale prices and the the T4 sells for 150.00-200.00 as well.
The T4 wins hands down on build quality, as it looks and feels way nicer in comparison, and seems to cost alot more than it actually does, just based off of the appearance and build.
Both are comfortable to wear and can be worn for extended periods of time without discomfort.

Bass- The Toneking has better extension and more subbass than the B400, while the B400 has more mid bass than the T4. Both have good quality bass, but it'll all depend on your preference of subbass or midbass impact, as to which is "better".

Mids-
Both the T4 and the B400 have a fairly forward mid range, but the B400 sounds somewhat thicker due to the elevated midbass. The T4 seems to have a little better clarity and more details in the mids, in comparison to the B400. Both are excellent though and again comes to down to personal preference.

Treble-
The treble comparison between the T4 and the B400 really shows off just how good the T4's treble is. The T4 has much better extension and way more clear and vibrant treble emphasis. The B400 rolls off way earlier than the T4 and the treble sits behind the mids and the bass on the B400.

Final views between the T4 and B400-
The T4 is almost flat, neutral and balanced accross the spectrum, with great quality bass when the recording calls for it, but the bass never intrudes on the mids or gets loose unless recorded that way intentionally. I love the B400 for it's imaging and layering and nice quality mids, but I would take the T4, 9 times out of 10, if I had too pick one or the other on a given day, for my preferences.

Toneking T4 and LZ A5-
The T4 costs a max of 200.00 depending on the store and the LZ a5 retails for 279.00.
The T4 is a quad knowles BA, while the A5 is 5 driver, with a dynamic driver for bass and 4 BA's for the mids and highs. Also, the A5 has 6 sets of nozzles for tuning the treble etc, and for this comparison I used the new released black filters.
See my above comparison on comfort as this comparison is nearly identical in comfort to my ears.
Bass-
The A5 has some of the best subbass I've heard in an earphone, as far as quantity. The dynamic driver used really helps move air. The T4 has less quantity in sub and midbass, but faster decay and extra layers. The A5 can be somewhat sluggish and slow in comparison. I love both bases very much and your preference and musical interests would play a huge part in what you'd prefer.

Mids-
The A5's mids sit behind the bass and treble and makes the vocals sound more distant. The A5 definitely have a Vshape compared to the flat signature of the T4.
In my opinion, the T4 beats out the A5's mids in every department.

Treble-
The A5's treble is tunable and generally I used it with the black filter. To me, the At is brighter and can show some glare and harshness in some songs. The T4 and A5 extend similarly, but the T4 is clearer and just as detailed but without any sibilance or glare.

Final views of the A5 and T4-
The A5 and T4 have very different signatures and will likely come down to preference once again. The A5 has a wider stage, and more potent bass, but falls behind the T4 in most other categories. If you listen to hip hop, rap, edm, or other bass heavy music, than one could easily prefer the A5. But someone would definitely love the T4 with rock, and vocal music, but still sounds good with modern music.


Toneking have tuned a winner in the T4 and I hope more people get to enjoy them as much as I have been.

*This review was written by using the included cable and tips. I did find the T4 to respond well to comply tx400 tips and a pure silver cable