SuperTFZ Crown Universal IEM

TONALITY: 8.2/10
TECHNICALITIES: 8.8/10
TIMBRE: 8.2/10
SOUNDSTAGE: 8/10
IMAGING: 9/10
MUSICALITY (subjective): 8/10
CONSTRUCTION: 8.5/10
ACCESSORIES: 8.5/10
SOUND VALUE: 8.5/10

Intro

SuperTFZ is another IEM branch of TFZ company. I’m not sure to understand the reason of this side branding. From company description, it’s aiming stage musician and monitoring IEM, but the Force1 I’ve review is a basshead V shape which I don’t find appropriate for this purpose.
One thing sure, TFZ is a IEM company from China that specialize in dynamic driver technology for about 10 years, and this show even with very bassy Force1 that impress me with it’s speedy attack and high resolution.

Today I will review their flagship IEM call SuperTFZ Crown.

Priced 220$, the Crown is a single Dynamic driver IEM with dual impendance switch offering different dynamic loudness balance. The DD used is a special one and is describe as follow:

‘’Ultra /ow distortion, pure audio quality

The Crown flagship adopts a newly developed Tesla dynamic driver, with ceramic suspended edges and a blue film dome, as well as a strong magnetic flux of N52 magnet, ensuring that it always operates at ultra- /ow distortion levels. Whether it is total harmonic distortion, transient distortion, or phase distortion, it is controlled at a remarkable level, and the sound is clean, clear, and pleasant to hear, pure and durable.

Ceramic suspended edge+ blue film dome architecture, flagship level acoustic driver

CROWN adopts a new generation of acoustic technology, equipped with a ceramic suspended edge and blue film dome structure, a 12mm dual magnetic circuit Tesla magnetic pack, and a CCAW voice coil. The blue film dome adopts physical vacuum DC magnetron sputtering technology, which has the characteristics of high rigidity and light weight, making high- frequency beautiful and smooth.

The 12mm oversized dynamic unit can provide better large dynamic performance, as well as strong /ow- frequency volume and texture.

It is also effortless in achieving high- definition resolution, not only achieving reference level stage monitoring performance, but also in music appreciation.’’

All of this is certainly promising in term of performance sound value, but let see how it sound in this review.

CONSTRUCTION&ACCESSORIES



The craftmanship of the Crown is very impressive yet the design will not be for everyone in term of look. I'm not sure to understand the need to show electrical compenent since it might make it more vulnerable to shock impact. As well, the metal lining will be hard to clean and do collect dust easily.
Nonetheless, the built is very good. Housing is all made of thick glossy metal, i love the crown logo carved in housing too.
The 2pin connector aren't recessed but feel well embeded in metal body and quite durable, it mean any cable apart QDC 2pin will work.
The shape dont have spiky angle and is ergonomic, as well the nozzle is long enough for versatile deep or shallow fit.



The included cable is a modular of decent quality. Its a 4 core silver plated cable and im happy it include 3 plugs type (2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single ended). It's not an end game cable and worth being upgrade if you want to exploit full potential of the Crown. I enjoy the ISN S4 cable as well as Penon Quattro cable and Simgot LC7 more than stck cable which brighten tonality a bit too much to my taste.



The packaging was elegant and number of accessories is good enough. We have 3 different model of eartips. The very welcome modular cable, a nice carrying case and cleaning too....as well as switch too that I loose. All in all, we have good price value accessories.

SOUND IMPRESSIONS




Let’s begin by saying that the only other SuperTFZ IEM I’ve tested is the Force1, which is an intense basshead banger with hard V shape bright balance...so I was expecting at least a quite bassy IEM with the Crown which….
Isn’t the case at all.
It’s a mature and neutral sounding one, with impressive technical performance, but not something I would call fun sounding for sure. So I was a bit s underwhelmed first by the dynamic heft it deliver, I was seeking the bass engagement to finaly conclude: this IEM is quite well tuned and can go from near monitor neutrality to a lush and warm one that is fatigue free and immersive in the long run.

Yes, the Crown have to sound flavor due to the switch that offer 2 impedance level: 20ohm when ON and 68ohm when OFF.

ON is the bright neutral, it’s more edgy in definition and lively and energic in dynamism.
OFF is warm neutral, it’s less clean, more hazy and organic as a whole, thicker and lusher in timbre (more euphonic), less sharp and darker in treble with more sub bass warmth.

The tonality of both is neutral with slight sub bass boost, warm mellow mids bass impact, gently forwards upper mids and upper treble, all balanced in a way nothing really dominate the spectrum. I find the dynamic too lean to be consider U shape even if sub bass and lower treble has greater boost in balance, mids don’t feel recessed enough to be called so. Simply put, upper mids and treble dominate the balance without making it sound too bright, especially with switch OFF that warm it up.

I find the Crown to shine with instrumental music like classical and jazz, folk and indie, not so much with electronic, rap, soul and R&B even if the female vocal in those track will sound very good.

The bass sit behind mids and treble and don’t attrack a lot of attention, yet it’s linear, deep and well controled.
I will focus on ON switch here since it go warmer, darker, thicker and a notch bassier with the impedance at 68ohm, it trade lushness and note weight for clean separation and texture presence of On switch.
To some extend, this is monito like bass presentation, apart the slight warmth we have on kick drum, which just have minimal punch, barely appreciable at normal volume. This is the main nitpick, because the bass is clean and well define and both double bass and electric bass soud full and realistic, it’s not an euphonic mellow boom like with OFF switch.
The sub bass line have natural sustain with well define presence, not too grainy or textured, while not plain thin it will not deliver a lot of grunt or rumble vibrancy, it will extend in a dense airy way, natural in decay, not amplify with unwanted resonance. So, monitoring for bassist will be easier than for drummer unless it’s all toms and percussions since the tom has this natural resonance release too, impressive in realism and openess.
As note, it’s certainly not a basshead nor a headbanger IEM, their no ‘’oomph’’ nor hard thumping here, the rhythm section are rather flat in dynamic but don’t feel distant or plain dull, just...mature, and refined in their balance.
Quality bass which isn’t rolled off nor plain anemic.

Now the mid range is quite impressive in fact and that even if it’s not the fullest or most forwards, most energy come from upper mids but we have enough low harmonic to get natural and rich restitution of a wide range of instrument from female vocal, to saxophone, to piano and so on.
It’s a versatile, clean and open mid range with effortless resolution that doesn’t go too edgy or polished, the ON switch here pull off the macro warmth that darken definition edge. Those sensitive to pinna gain above 8db might find higher pitch instrument a bit too energic or loud since it’s most dynamic part of tuning balance here, but their near zero sibilance unless the track is invade by it, in that regard, you’ll need to go OFF switch to tame the loudness and make it more buttery upper mids wise.
The transparency is quite good too, which permit good tracking of instrument. I don’t struggle to position piano and saxo as well as double bass and percussions in a jazz track, just the kick drum unless recorded in dominative way.
The saxo have a boosted presence which is well define and centered in middle stage, it’s not stretched so some might find it a bit compressed but it don’t affect the tone or concentrate the texture. The attack is fast and agile with energic attack lead and loud but well controlled release, this mean it can deal with very fast saxophonist without going messy.
To be honest, I’m tremendously impress by mid range naturalness as well as the sweet vocal presentation since both male and female vocal are well extract and on front seat, with wide envelopping presence that isn’t shouty nor screamy, this make me conclude that the Crown are vocal specialist and quite a superio one in sub-300$ price range.


Switch OFF note: Mids become lusher and darker, imaging goes one dimension and instrument mix togheter their presence and are harder ton position. Presence seem wider but we can’t perceive the delimitation of definition which is more foggy. Timbre goes thicker euphonic way. Attack weight seem heavier yet hit in a more mellow and diffuse way so fast note will mix togheter. Overall mids feel more forwards but not in an energic way, its due to extra lower mids body, so piano note sustain are more bodied, we can say it goes a bit more mid centric, warm way.

Now the treble too is very refined. It’s well balanced enough so you don’t get distract by too much analytical micro details but this doesn’t mean you will struggle to follow the percussions since the resolution is quite crisp here, free of trebly spike so it does offer minimal sparkle and brilliance but not in a very loud way.
In other word, it’s a lean treble with extra upper mids crunch for proper attack lead bite and an extension that isn’t rolled off or dark, which underline the high quality of dynamic driver used.
I know an IEM can extend above 10khz when we have this natural resonance of percussions or acoustic guitar release, I mean the one that is recorded, and the Crown will not boost it to the point of going shrill or splashy, it’s the listener ears curiosity that will find it in proper recording. This was already note with piano note release, it’s the same with percussion, it’s clean, slightly thicken in sutstain with extra crunch from upper mids and very richly resolved without going too upfront.
So we have both spakle and bite as well as good attack control.
Female vocal are more upfront and bright than male vocal, presence is boosted but balanced, their no unwanted texture grain. Sibilance occur but onl with low impedance ON, which mean it become sensitive to amping gain. With low impedance OFF, it become smoother but leaner too. Again, sibilance is rare, not invasive and proper source matching will solve this but I don’t think Crown is appropriate for those very sensitive to upper mids boost.
The resolution of treble is very impressive, it extract great amount of sound info including subtle micro details in background, it’s the type of IEM that will make discover new micro details in you music unless you’ve heard kilobuck IEM like Unique Melody Mest MK3.

Switch OFF tame treble sharpness and make resolution a bit more hazy and sirupy. It's a bit darker treble wise, and we have less sparkle and air on top.

The Soundstage is average wide and tall but quite deep and open and airy. It’s a bit hall like.

The imaging is quite good and I can see people using those IEM for monitoring drum, vocal, saxophone and even percussions. Since the layering is transparent and spatiality is open, positioning is realist and well resolved.



COMPARISONS



VS SIMGOT EA1000 (1DD+PR-220$)

Overall balance feel more V to W shape, crisper and bassier.

The dynamic is more lively, thumpy, rumbly and holographic.

The bass is thicker, rounder, faster and better controlled. It a bit less lean in sub bass extension, but punch notably harder, kick is better define and textured too, separation has less warmth.

Mids are brighter and edgier, more open and transparent, better resolved, cleaner and less lean, while the Crown offer a bit more natural and dense timbre, male vocal are more forward while female vocal are smoother with wider presence, attack edge is more softed.

Treble is way more snappy and speedy, percussions definition aren’t as colored with sustain crunch and warmth, we have greater amount of micro details, more air, brilliance and sparkle, while for the Crown their a bit more texture crunch which can benefit electric guitar or saxophone texture, overall treble is less spiky and leaner too.

Soundstage is just a notch wider with the Crown, whil notably taller and deeper with Simgot.

Imaging is sharper with Simgot, crisper and more open and spacious in multi layering.

All in all, technical performance of EA1000 are from another league here, while for tonality it’s brighter and more energic as well as a bit more spiky, Crown win for vocal and timbre naturalness, making it feel more mid centric than less neutral EA1000.


VS FINAL A4000 (1DD-160$)

A4000 is slightly brighter and more V shape.

Bass is warmer and more boomy, it’s thicker and have more slam. The sub bass is more rolled off and not as well textured and layering since sub and mid bass punch mix up their energy for extra slam. Overall quality is better with the Crown, leaner, deeper and cleaner and while drum kick isnt as punchy, it’s better resolved.

Mids are more recessed and dull with the EA4000, female vocal are darker, less open in presence, quite unpleasant, more prompt to sibilance and odlly balanced in harmonic unlike fuller, more forwards and natural vocal of Crown.

Treble is less sparkly and snappy, percussions are foggy and half cook with the EA4000, it lack air and sens of openess too which make overal macro dynamic more muddy too.

Soundstage is wider, taller and deeper with Crown.

Imaging is notably superior too.

All in all, this time its the Crown that feel from another league both in technical performance and tonal balance. It’s very last time I listen to those A4000!

CONCLUSION




The SuperTFZ Crown take me by surprise and show a more mature aspect of this IEM company I wasn’t aware off.
TFZ show with the Crown that they can tune well an IEM in a refined way that doesn't loose it's balance by pushing resolution higher, as well, the impedance switch is a very welcome idea for those that need smoother more laid back musicality, this can be use when you want to take a break from more energic dynamic of lower impedance and easier to drive ON switch.

The Crown offer very competitive technical performance even by today standard, but if you seek for fun bassy tonality, better choose other IEM from its vast catalogue like the Force1 which will make your brain shake with it's intense slam.

All in all, this IEM is a good choice for stage musician that want to be able to enjoy music out of stage in a more relaxed way.




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PS: I want to thanks Penon for sending me this review sample. I don't participate to Affiliated program nor get any $ compesation for the IEMs I review (and collect for comparisons purpose)

You can order the Crown for 219$ here:
https://penonaudio.com/TFZ-CROWN.html

SuperTFZ Crown TOTL Flagship IEM


The Fragrant Zither
It seems that The Fragrant Zither company has slightly changed their focus and name. For many of us TFZ was the gateway to China made IEMs. While I did listen to many of the TFZ products back in the day 2018-2019, I never purchased any of them. The TFZ products were not bad to me, it was just that you can only own so many IEMs, and I guess others were more what I was into? With that said TFZ must have updated their name and style just to keep-up with the times. The other new SuperTFZ product I have heard was the Force 1. Really in so many ways the Force 1 is special, at least to me it is. And in designing the Force 1, you can tell so much of it was about noticeability. The box presentation was and still is something I have never before come across. The Force 1 cable had this giant block of metal (lol) (on the end) which use is……..I have no idea other than to get stared at while using your IEM in public. Hello, yes……this is me, listening to my Force 1 IEM and the music is traveling through this giant block of metal before it reaches the IEM, and into my ears. And again we have a stand-out feature with our Crown faceplate circuits here………………more on those Frankenstein’s Monster looks and function later on. But probably my favorite part of this review is the fact that the added circuits do something, they do something completely noticeable and add a warm musicality to the signal, one that with-out the circuits would be very bright and edgy.





Comparaisons:
Here we primarily look into the sound differences between the SIMGOT EA1000 and the SuperTFZ Crown. Both are TOTL Flagships for their respective companies, both are single full-range drivers. Both have rear radiators, with the SIMGOT EA1000’s being fitted with a diaphragm. The Crown a 12mm dynamic and the EA1000 a 10mm driver. Of course there is a heavy dose (by both companies) regarding the description nomenclature regarding driver builds. Meaning these buzz words seem to find a way between science and verbal marketing. Where there is definitely a truth inside there somewhere in the descriptions, with how a company uses technology to design and create a driver unique unto themselves. At the end of the day it is the resulting sound character which enables us a window into the music. This comparison sequence following concerns itself with sound and not speculation regarding driver builds. Though I will say that both IEMs offer a noticeable openness, maybe due to the actual encasements being wildly vented? With the backside of the Crown offering 7 openings in a circle formation, and the EA1000 offering a two sided round port with a screen of vent openings, having R or L become designated in the center. As a subject of interest these new open back rear IEMs seem to showcase a faster and more open stage……..so (in fact) part of these new ideas are real and give results. Also while priced close to the same, the Crown comes in 99 cents cheaper, and provides a modular cable, where the SIMGOT simply supplies a 3.5mm jack. On my kitchen scale the SIMGOT EA1000 comes in at 11 grams weight, and the Crown at 7 grams. It may be a truth that one IEM in the test may be for one set of listeners and the other IEM for another? Though it is safe to say the SIMGOT EA1000 is a phenomenon both in sales and sound, with many climbing aboard the EA1000 hype-train…………….finding a surprisingly technical and balanced EA1000 replay.



Crown v EA1000:
To be fair I used both with included cables, switching the Crown to 3.5mm to be equal to the EA1000 in using the same amplifier. I used the Sony WM1A with MrWalkman’s firmware and my favorite wide-bore regularly used silicone ear-tips. Music used was a wide range of OST’s and Rock, New Age and EDM.

While the Crown was noticeably less efficient by about 25% - 20% in the down position. That may read like a lot, but really they are closer to the same as far as drivability with DAP power fully capable to get them loud enough. The Crown “ON” mode is approximately 20Ω, and the “OFF” mode switch down is approximately 68Ω. So to simplify things the down mode is with the additive circuits in action, which gets you slightly less efficiency, and less treble. Interestingly enough the SIMGOT was slightly brighter in the treble compared to the Crown in the down position, yet the Crown was brighter than the EA1000 and had even more aggressiveness in the midrange and treble in the “UP’ position.

So to summarize here going from levels of brightness down.

ON Crown = most bright
SIMGOT EA1000 = middle bright
OFF Crown = lesser bright

This actually was surprising and occurred with all styles of music. Though keep in mind that music with simply more treble and midrange playback got enhancement more as there was simply more treble and midrange to accentuate. What also was surprising is many have commented about the EA1000 having a bright intensity which could be addressed with the SIMGOT filter kit. Such a filter kit can be obtained directly from SIMGOT. Though the relaxing thing was with the Crown we could easily switch a switch and find smoother playback in an instant. Now, when I say smoother I don’t mean dark, not at all, as the midrange and treble boost is still noticeable just taken down a notch or two by the regulating……….circuits which we can see emblazoned across the Crown faceplate. What about the rest of playback in comparison?

The rest:
Interestingly the Crown in the “off” position was my favorite and had a comparable bass while simply less though (than the EA1000) yet more detailed. This Crown bass detail may occur due to a tighter lower midrange and middle bass, where the Crown advances here due to sub-bass orientation. Everyone knows the EA1000 has an added mid bass and lower midrange emphasis which helps warm it up, yet at the expense of bass detail in the end. In the Crown “OFF” position I personally found a more linear and pleasant listen, minus the heat, and less heat than the EA1000. As far as staging and technicalities both IEMs tested today were very very close to the same. Sure the volume differences were different with both IEM the same when the Crown was in the “ON” position. SuperTFZ promotes the use of the ON position as a studio sound with the OFF position being warmer and more musical, and that is how it works.

Cables:
I hate to say this but the SIMGOT cable is nicer than the 3-in-1 used by SuperTFZ. This is just my opinion in working with it. While visually there has been tremendous effort put forth by SuperTFZ to add this cable we have here today. It is just that the included SIMGOT cable is thicker and more ergonomic. Yet to inspect the SuperTFZ included cable we are met with surprising quality and sound, only the thinner cable can end-up slightly tangly at times but it sounds wonderful! Note the 3-in-1 system with how the barrels of the plugs fit onto the cable………perfect. Also everything else about the included Crown cable seems to work really well, the ear-hooks, the slider mechanism, and the actual quality of the plugs themselves. Nice! Though there was somehow some cable noise transference in regular use, I especially noticed this when using the Crown with a regular phone.





From a phone:
The playback from a phone is remarkably honest. Meaning it sounds exactly like the phone sounds, no extra bass boost, yet an added feature is forward vocals which helped me get a handle on just how the Crown personality is. Meaning at times reviewers need a source which is simple an uncolored, and while technicalities such as stage width is simply normal, we are gifted with just enough bass and incredibly correct timbre, where as always the Crown has decent note-weight, but not totally thick or of an overly thick style of weight.

Build:
The build it quite nice and represents just how far budget CNC IEMs have come. And while part of the build may seem different than any IEM you have ever laid eyes on, once you get acquainted with the Crown it starts to seem totally normal. The nozzle length is totally correct and even the fit seems totally correct. Not too low weight or heavy the Crown is medium in size and seems to blend with a large number of cables and ear-tips.




Packaging:

Additional photo supplied by Penon Audio.

Music testing:
This is by far the easiest section of the review. And if you were interested in the possibility of the Crown, very informative. Here I’m using the included cable in 4.4mm, my standard wide-bore silicone ear-tips and the Sony WM1A with MrWalkman’s firmware. The music of choice for testing has been music that I often have used to test other IEMs, so I know it fairly well. I have tried to included a range of genres, but also the most important thing is I feel the music has been well recorded, thus showcasing the attributes here. Here with DAP playback we are truly seeking entertainment and enlightenment. While no IEM is perfect, there are examples of the art which go ahead and demonstrate a fairly good technical range of skills, and make the over-all musical tone enjoyable. With-in such parameters normally an IEM will still be able to be itself. Meaning really we want different IEM abilities and character, as that is the spice of life. Yet when an IEM like the Crown performs its best is when both the Crowns intrinsic character gets displayed as well as (somehow) the musical tone and technicalities of the music find splendid replay. This can all come together as part of heard synergy can be from the song file too. Still also we will attempt to find music which challenges the extremes of Crown playback. Such difficult files may give clues as to any drawbacks such an IEM like the Crown may have. And to kind-of summarize the music testing section at the start, I have to emphasize timbre. DD timbre is like no other, no other IEM methodology in the world has this gift of such accurate timbre. Not Planar, not BA IEMs, not Hybrid configurations. So while no IEM is perfect, there are attributes which are found to be naturally occurring within playback. Such key features are found within music that has already been heard before and noted to contain examples of good or great timbre playback. Examples of timbre can be all across the range found in music. Meaning there is treble timbre which is the actual function of an IEM to display instrument characteristics in that realm, bass timbre, and midrange timbre which could be how vocals are heard and felt. Obviously the function of timbre is only a part of the IEM playback feature, as also note-weight comes into play. As we have found out, this note weight is a deal breaker at times, especially with brighter IEMs. But if the note weight is good and timbre is fine, really many other elements of playback are of lesser importance. What I’m trying to say is I have an affinity for many different styles of tonal response, I in-truth don’t have a target curve. As if realism is found inside of playback due to timbre and note weight, many different examples of realism can be heard, I feel. With that said we can explore different levels of bass playback, different levels of vocal forwardness and wildly differing levels of treble replay and each showing a different take on musical involvement due to correctness of sorts. Obviously different tunes go along with different styles of music, the Rock listener may need slightly extra lower midrange to give the rhythm section authority and groove, the vocal music listener finding enhancements possibly due to what it leaves out. Yep, if we lower the amount of bass the midrange naturally comes forward, and we find a style of altered focus with still the rest of the playback still being considered correct. Yet music like electronic or EDM using bass drums into a character of authority which would sound thin and un-involving if such styles were attempted at a closer to ruler flat response. Same as singer songwriter material will all-of-a-sudden come alive if the guitar harmonics are pushed into focus along with a vivid vocal style of playback which in reality can downplay the bass emphasis to allow a style of clarity to be perceived. Though what we want to know is if the Crown can play it all. With the 2 variations of tonal response SuperTFZ are trying to make an IEM for all uses. Yet with-in that ability I found out they also made an IEM that was incredibly transparent. Such ability means the Crown can be swayed to replay by just which cable you have in use, just which DAP character you have in use, and even which ear-tips are in your set-up. Such abilities can make it difficult for a review to learn exactly what character we have to work with. Still I would much rather own a transparent IEM, one that can relay all the properties of whatever is upstream, than to try and deal with an IEM that stays with-in a certain character all the time. So in reference to such abilities I have purposely used the included cable as to not confuse matters. Such the DAP has its own character which will be transferred, but it is the lesser of issues here, as it sounds correct. And finally it must be noted that I have the “ON” setting turned off on the IEMs. Such performance ability allows for less treble and midrange, allowing for more musicality. At least that’s how I hear the Crown. And truly this switch set-up is fully functional, meaning you can’t help but notice vibrant results. The “ON” switch allows (SuperTFZ says) to engage the Crown into a more monitor style of IEM, where with the added circuits in use does the opposite, I found a smoother less contrasty, less bright and less intense Crown listen, which ended up being my favorite way to go. So to restate the set-up, the “ON” switch is not engaged for the musical tests.



Kaveh Cohen, Michael Nielsen
Forza Motorsport OST
Brotherhood
44.1 kHz - 24 bit
This is one of those songs that can make any IEM sound special. Yet still Brotherhood has its demands and needs. And really there is no better song in my library to help demonstrate the style of bass that’s going on here. And while the bass here is clear, it is also tight and controlled, never overstepping its boundaries. The beauty is the sub, the way it finds itself fully separated from the mix, in its own zone. While sure there are other ways to accomplish this bass, yet somehow this bass simply cleaner and in-order the way it holds its stance. Gone are any of those bass frequencies which creep-up into the midrange, this here, the way it's done is both fast, deep and correct. There is also a beat metronome which exists as a thump, really through-out the whole song. Starting at 00:08 seconds this drum beat allows for a continuous pace which the song holds……..and it in itself is so uneventful, it just sits there doing its job, and slowly falls from your listening focus. Now when first heard, as with many new instrument introductions in a song, this thump will get analyzed for a moment. In fact it is the timbre of this drum that is super important. As when playback is correct this thump has a sound like a drum, of course it is a drum, but where its tone is in some all BA IEMs and even some Hybrid IEMs, will provide more of a slap sound instead of the thump realism. So right off the Crown is making points of progress here. Though I have often heard it more thick and of more density in IEM replay, still the actual tone is totally correct. Where the Crown excels is being able to separate stuff and throw out a big stage here, full of musical involvement and attitude. Yes, the Crown has attitude, come-on it’s named the Crown for Pete’s sake!



Lorne Balfe and Andrew Kawczynski
Grand Turismo OST
Academy Race
44.1 kHz - 24 bit
By the cover of this record you may think its going to be like the first song, though here we are on a much bigger scale as it is a blockbuster movie OST. Where the previous song was a game soundtrack. Bigger sounding on all levels, with real-life renditions of choruses and big orchestra instruments. So now timbre and note-weight have even more importance being many of us know how these instruments are suppose to sound. And that is a big part of IEM judgements, to be able to have heard this music enough times (and enough ways) to kinda know when playback is on the better side of correct. The bass here is a matrix of events, a layering of synth bass like the above song had, but then added real bass added on-top. At 00:17 there is a drum sound way off to the left, yet it is again so many layers of instruments, more than we can mentally take apart. Yet the main sound we can identify as a kettle drum (timpani) and all is well both with tone, timbre and note weight. HA, I’m laughing as at 00:23 seconds there is this synthesizer effect that is also processed to sound like a race car. The sound truly starts at 00:16 and becomes a winding big sound. Just the contrasts with-in the stage and the transients obtained here make this special. Yet there is something going-on that is far greater than anything I have described so far. Yep, the transparency going on with the Crown is totally letting the differences in recording quality in contrast to the previous song show through. This is the biggest event so far in my music testing. Why….....it is the true nature of the technicalities held with-in the Crown. That’s right, the ability to show the second song was recored on a much larger scale, holding size, and layers……sonics that are just too evident here. Sure we have note weight, and timbre, but more than that we have an actual stage size that is revealing of the ability of the Crown to dedifferentiate. It is in-fact this difference that is a clue that we have an IEM of far greater worth than the $219.00 asking price.



Gdanian
Induction
Shield Emitter (feat. Tineidae)
44.1 kHz - 24 bit
I have to laugh again, as now we are entering a bass laden, ambient soundscape. A song that at first reading about the Crown, you may guess didn’t have the (deep-end) ability to replay? And that’s why I’m writing this, and the very reason you’re reading this, to find if the Crown can handle these bass textures and come out a winner. When really in so many ways the Crown has it all. 9 years TFZ have been perfecting DD playback, do you really think they would short change us at this place in time? They simply took all they knew about making a good IEM and put it into action. In simple terms it means we can listen to pretty much the full gambit of music reproduction. And while this song sounds totally correct and natural, there are treble itemizations that for whatever reason sound new? Right at 00:10 I hear this high pitched synthesizer, and I’m sure it has always been there, but I’ve never heard it exactly sounding like it does today. And that’s the beauty of owning a few IEMs, as most of us don’t have the luxury of owning multiple home speaker set-ups which would allow a slightly different window into our musical replay experience………yet with a few IEMs we can do that. And I want to make one thing very clear here, that there are actually many different ways to replay correctness. And just like different home speakers in a room, we have replay that can sound slightly different and still be considered correct. Does the Crown sound like an IEM I’ve heard before? No it is slightly different, yet totally correct and natural.



KMFDM
HYENA
In Dub We Trust
44.1 kHz - 24 bit
This is a tough song to use. I told you I would challenge the Crown, so here it is. Reason being that Dub music uses bass authority to delineate itself, to separate itself from all other styles of music. Now at times extra bass will make an IEM sound more natural, but no not here……..this is simply too diminished in bass to work out effectively.



Theater of Tragedy
Assembly (Remastered)
Episode
44.1 kHz - 24 bit
This here is a super important song in testing because it is one of the single brightest recordings I own. Yep, it does not fear to go there. Literally right from the get-go at 00:00 we have a multiple deluge of sonic (read bright) musical instrumentation. Trebly guitars, cymbals, drum hit, I could go on, but you get the message. And sure the Crown is on the brighter side of the street as far as IEM playback, there is bass but there is also a midrange and treble intensity even with the “ON switch” turned-off. And sure this style of playback could be considered an acquired taste, or simply not doable to some. We always have to ask ourselves, how well rounded an IEM is, as some IEMs can play everything and some only part of our library in the end. And of course here I’m looking for trouble, trying to dig it up. And while the vocals are great, there is a stance here that is telling me it’s all simply too much. I can tolerate this at a reduced listening volume, and with-in that playback level all is well, but no way can I crank-it. Who’s fault is this……….it’s not the IEMs fault, the song is simply crazy bright, that’s all. And once again the Crown is going about its day being transparent that’s all. Yes, the treble details are there, but more than that the Crown is providing this clarity window where treble elements are both expanded out into the stage, they are clear and formed……..and that is an area where some need this brightness, they crave it. Such listeners may find darker more forgiving IEMs boring and dull. And to tell you the truth, I can listen to this whole album, even though much of the mix is crazy bright…..I simply lower the volume a notch. Yet the treble highlights both own rhythm accents and show cymbals fall off way out to the side when crashed. And much of this extra detail I simply don’t ever remember hearing, I mean of course it must have always been there, but never bought into focus, like the Crown does, these sparkling highs are real and exist, all the while still existing with a formidable bass kick.




Conclusion:
SuperTFZ has made a competitive introduction with the Crown. The Crown is as good sounding or better than the current introduction of IEMs. The innards are somehow on the outside with this one. And just like a muscle car that seems to go faster with the hood taken-off…….the Crown really does sound great. Maybe SuperTFZ has to put the circuits on the outside just to prove they were there? I’m no expert at building IEMs, I only listen to them, but I’m pretty sure the ones I own don’t have these circuits inside, and I know I have never seen them before outside. First glance would have you believe the circuits don’t do anything, that they are all show, and no go. And I forgive you for guessing that, as we see so much hype on a daily basis. But I’m here to tell you this trick of changing the impedance really works. In fact it made an IEM that pretty much would have got a low score into a masterpiece. The Crown would have got a low score simply by being too bright and too intense, otherwise……for me anyway? Also with these added new circuits SuperTFZ is staying with what they know, perfecting and improving the single full-range DD. After 9 years of DD work they are presenting their DD TOTL Flagship IEM, simply the best they know how to make. This in itself means all the IEMs TFZ has produced before have been stair steps to this final product…….the Crown.

$219.00
https://penonaudio.com/TFZ-CROWN.html

Disclaimer:
I want to thank Penon Audio for the love and for the SuperTFZ Crown review sample.

Disclaimer:
These are one person's ideas and concepts, your results may vary.

Equipment Used:
Sony WM1A Walkman DAP MrWalkman Firmware 4.4mm and 3.5mm
Sony WM1Z Walkman DAP MrWalkman Firmware 4.4mm and 3.5mm
Sony TA-ZH1ES DAC/AMP Firmware 1.03
Electra Glide Audio Reference Glide-Reference Standard "Fatboy" Power Cord
Sony Walkman Cradle BCR-NWH10
AudioQuest Carbon USB
Samsung Phone 3.5mm output


Bonus cables rolls:

Remember how I said the Crown is incredibly transparent? Due to such abilities we can use cable choices to try and help align the character of the response to our liking. A cable like the ISN GC4 uses a gold additive to enhance note-weight and thickness. With an IEM like the SuperTFZ Crown we still have a margin of room to gain access to extra note-weight, while at the very same time using the additional smoothness to gain better acceptability into tone.

Cheers!