Introduction:
When Tanchjim first anounced OLA, I took an instant liking to it because of its unique shape and small size. In the world of iems, the offerings from Tanchjim are generally held in high regard - Oxygen, Hana 2021. Did not hear much noise regarding the Darling or the Prism, but may be because of the price points. I have experienced the Hana 2021 and took an instant liking to that. However, I did not have much hope for OLA regarding the sound given the rather weak low end response, as seen on various measured graphs. And yet, when
@shenzhenaudio reached out to me for a review of OLA, I could not turn it away simply because of my curiosity. Who would have known how I would fall for it...
Specification:
Sensitivity: 126dB/Vrms
Impedance: 160± 10%
Frequency range: 7-45kHz
THD: < 0.3%
Driver: 10mm dynamic driver
Cable: 1.25M 3.5- 0.78PIN
Technology: DMT 4
Cable Material: Double-Core OFC Core sandwitched with Kevlar fiber
Diaphragm material: polymer graphene
Disclaimer:
I was provided this unit by
Shenzhenaudio for free in return of my honest opinions. My opinions recorded here are not influenced by any means and are completely of my own.
In the Box:
The box of Tanchjim OLA is a compact one with an anime girl photo on top (that seems to be the trend nowadays.) Inside, there are the iems, the stock SPC cable (with mic in my case), a soft cloth carrying pouch, two sets of eartips - one for bass enhancement one for treble enhancepment, or, in simpler words, one narrow bore and one wide bore set.
Build and Fit:
I have not yet encountered another more lightweight iem. The aerospace grade aluminium looks sleek and premium, without addind almost anything to weight. The PVC shell does not look cheap either, and clear view of the inner DD really improves the aesthetic. The bright silver cable adds to that. Everything together certainly creates an elegant visual impression.
Point to be noted here is, there is a general misconception that the cable is a Silver Plated OFC cable. However, as per the description provided by Tanchjim:
Which means the cable is essentially a OFC cable, and the outer silver plated OFC wire is just for aesthetic purpose and strengthening of the cable as it
"does not participate in electric conduction."
Fit is another story. For my ear, only the L size Narrow Bore tip gave me a somewhat secure seal and somewhat comfortable fit. The nozzle, even though having the impression of being long, because of the unique shape of the shell, does not reach very deap, and hence getting a comfortable fit with secured seal becomes almost difficult. For the other record, my other usual aftermarket tips failed to give a secure fit.
Source:
Straight out of phone (Samsung Galaxy M31S)
Laptop>L&P W2
Sound:
The whole focus here seems to be on producing a vivid and open sound while preserving as much body as possible in the low end to preserve the naturality at bare minimum satisfaction level. Tanchjim has achieved this with exemplary finesse. Tonality is decidedly neutral, however, still quite pleasing.
Talking about the
Low End, well, the subbass isn't anything to write home about - it's not very well extended, does not have much pressure hence not much tactility. And yet they do not sound lanky and thin. How to say it...I could clearly hear the subbass rumbles, and the note weight was just ok, but I did not feel any aversion to it for sounding thin or unnatural. Yes, I could not feel that pressure, but that was a trade off I readily accepted. The textures are well reproduced though, so props for that. And frankly, while going through my test tracks, I found that while on some tracks the subbass roll-off DID bother me, on other tracks I simply did not notice - which might be the way my brain adapted to the whole sound signature.
I would like to focus on a few tracks here:
Battlestar Galactica Season 2 OST: - Prelude To War In this instrumental track, the bass drums digs deep with long decay and they really need that subbass focus to sound natural and have that body. However, OLA failed to capture that due to the rather limited extension. The drums can be clearly heard, but not felt. That thick body from each note sounds missing. While the slams do not sound that much lean or lanky, they do sound a bit cut short, due to the fast decay. And also, that sheer force behind each slam also sounds rather restrained.
But now I come to
Massive Attack - Teardrop, and suddenly, I do not feel that much discontent any more. The electronic bassline is very much enjoyable with very good texture and sufficient body, although the pressure cannot be felt, as it cannot be felt in
The Dark Knight OST - Why So Serious?
And then, the bass guitar pluckings in
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah and the bassline in
Evanescence - Imaginary and Red Hot Chilli Pepper - Dani California does not sound weak at all, rather they struck a very nice balance between having a nice weight and staying just north of neutral. Sure, they do not touch the inside of your soul, but they move you nonetheless. What's more, you can clearly distinguish the textures because of the clean reproduction.
However, all of the shortcoming stated above are compensated by the brilliant midbass, which has a very nice amount of slam and, most importantly, body, not to feel weak or unnatural. Kickbass hits are just enough full not to sound hollow, while not being overly fat either. Most of all, it does NOT sound like a BA, the goodness of natural DD timbre is very much present throughout this spectrum. Tanchjim truly has tuned the low end incredibly well - while most certainly not given the highest priority, not compensated in the presence either. A masterfully tuned low end that is fast yet impactful, sounds natural, and absolutely stays out of the midrange's way.
My go to track here are
Metallica - The Four Horsemen and Red Hot Chilli Pepper - Dani California. The fast kickbass in the former and hard slams in the later sound quite impactful and enjoyable. However, when I played
Eluveitie - Inis Mona, I felt the kickdrum hits were may be a wee bit hollow, but it may be the recording.
Coming to
Midrange, well, it's the very definition of neutrality at this price. This is where the whole focus lies. What will make you instantly go WOW is the sheer transparency the midrange boasts. The insanely open and clean presentation is nothing short of cathartic; there's not even a hint of congestion anywhere! The tonality is neither warm nor cold. Guitar, violin, piano, snare drum - everything sounds clean, crisp, natural, well separated, and most of all all of them seem to have an evenly distrubuted emphasis so that there is no infighting going on for grabbing the focus. Notes are crisp and has a certain amount of bite that helps in capturing the attention, and yet there is never any uncomfortable peaks throughout the upper mids and lower treble region. Notes are so cleanly separated that the sense of airiness just takes your breath away. Especially on busy tracks OLA shows its prowess.
For e.g, in the track
Poets Of The Fall - The Ballad OF Jeremiah Peacekeeper, the brilliant ensemble of violin, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, snare drum, and backing vocals is rendered so beautifully that it simply made me awed
Male vocals won't certainly make you weak in the knees, and yet doesn't sound lean and pale - just the right amount of fullness is there for the natural tonality. They do not sound lean, just the right amount of fullness, and still have the bite to grab the attention. Female vocals are brilliant and captivating, soaring high with energy. The occasional peaks that are presented in the recording are hinted at, but never emphasised, so they never become uncomfortable.
My staple track for checking the body of male vocal is
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah, and OLA passed that test with flying colours - Leonard Cohen's voice sounds deep and full bodied and very well textured. A very similar experience I had while listening to
Poets Of The Fall - The Ballad Of Jeremiah Peacekeeper, Mike Saaresto's voice sounded throaty, textured, and emotional.
For female vocals, I went to
Yao Si Ting - Scarborough Fair. Yao Si Ting's already brilliant voice sounds even more ethereal and dreamy, while having a distinct spicy sizzle that might prove to be sibilant on other bright IEMs, but not on OLA, no, OLA reproduced those sizzles and yet kept the sibilance at check. When Amy Lee sings the track
Evanescence - Hello, the pain in her voice comes alive through her voice, and as her voice soars upwards goosebumps rises.
The
High range certainly isn't overlooked to focus on the midrange, and yet, to my utmost surprise, it is not unnecessarily boosted to create the sense of airiness either. No, the airiness is already so prevalent that Tanchjim only had to tune the treble in a way to maintain the brilliance at an acceptable degree while making sure not to cross over to the uncomfortable peaky regions - and they passed the test with flying colours. High frequency notes have quite the sparkle - sounds crisp with a tad bit less energy than the midrange (which isn't a deal breaker for me.) The fact that it doesn't compete with midrange to be in focus of the presentation, and yet makes its presence distinctly felt, is what makes it a masterful tuning. Upper treble extension is quite good, while trebleheads might long for a bit more energy there. Lower treble, as stated above, sound crisp and clean, has the right amount of bite and energy, while maintaining a presence slightly behind the midrange.
I played
Steely Dan - Do It Again, and the constant background light cymbal hits were brought into notice very nicely by OLA. The crash cymbal rolls also sounded brilliant and extended well with a nice decay.
Red Hot Chilli Pepper - Dani California has some aggressive cymbal and hi-hats at play which sound brilliant but never overbearing.
Now, let's come to the
Technicalities. Regarding the
Soundstage, well, I was dumbfounded. The stage is W-I-D-E for its price, if not the widest at this range. A quite out of head experience, it is. While it does not extend that far in the depth region, it still does to some extent. The height is nice, helping to create a quite well rounded soundstage. Most importantly, as the instruments are not fighting with each other to gain focus, a very nice headspace is created with precise imaging. The brilliant
Separation between the notes aided into this even more.
Conclusion
If it's already not very obvious, I'll say it again: I freaking love it! Tanchjim has literally hit it outta the park with OLA. They have my confidence now, and I'll surely follow them closely from now on. Anyone who knows me knows I love my bass, especially subbass that reaches deep and vibrates in the chest, coupled with juicy midbass slams. OLA has none of those traits - the bass is rather on the fast side, with just enough midbass body that the slams do not feel hollow. However, the other aspects have blown my mind so much that I am not missing anything, anything at all! It's at the peak of neutrality and balance under $50, and I just get lost in the music without having to think about the bits and pieces.
Ola have good detail production for price, but comes with a narrow and claustrophobic soundstage. It does not feel airy for me. Dynamics are ok for price too but bass response is just below average and feels lifeless sometimes. Unfortunately. texture is bad too. Ola is only good for me in vocal part.
