TANGZU Princess Chang Le

Low Frequency
It can be said, low frequency is one of the key features to consider this IEM, in addition to its charming look and shape. The Tangzu Chang Le has an energetic, warm, tight with a rich bass quantity that is certainly doesn't match its diminutive appearance. It is suitable for those who want more bass than the Harman neutral curve. In fact, for those bassheads out there, they might probably also like the quantity that was being presented in this cute package.

In terms of sub-bass, rumbles and vibration effects are presented significantly although this was only limited to macrodetails only. For example, in the track Hollow (16 Bit Remix) – Björk. The sub-bass rumble within the first 30 seconds into the track was very well replicated. Meanwhile, the sub-bass vibration which is a micro detail in this track were weak and poorly defined.

Moving on to mid-bass and upper-bass, Tangzu Chang Le presented it very well, unexpectedly energetic and exciting for a 6mm micro dynamic driver. Every bass punch were solid, combined with a deep bass extension with a clearly emphasized weight that sometimes, will sound a tad boomy. Mid to upper-bass slam resembled much to a tight "thud" sound compared to a boom or chesty bass slam with fairly decent speed giving the bass on this Tangzu Chang Le a vibrant and energetic bass presentation. However, that’s said this IEM has a significant bass bleed and muddiness up to the lower-midrange, causing tracks like The Warmth - Incubus, bassline rendition and kick drum sound in this track was blurry and meld with each other which results to a rather overwhelmingly bassy and muddy experience.

Middle Frequency
Tangzu Chang Le exhibits a slightly muddy midrange, the effect of bleeding in the upper-bass to lower-mids area. Nevertheless, this IEM still sounds musical with a number of colourations that provide a warm tonality and a relaxed character. Every note that is played, for example the sounds of instruments, percussions and vocal tones seem heavier and richer which benefitted in both male and female vocals.

For example, in the track Whiskey Lullaby (ft. Allison Krauss) - Brad Paisly. Raspy and deep vocal grains that can be heard in Brad Paisley's voice was emphasized and the guitar passages in the background also sound fuller and softer. Also, in the track Mediterranean Sundance – Al Di Meola. Tangzu Chang Le was able to provide a fairly modest timbre quality for an affordable set. The sound of the guitar notes are separated well enough although, sometimes the tone of the two guitars are almost impossible to tell apart, fine details in the track such as reverb and tapping on the body and strings of the guitar were also less defined in this pair.

For vocal performance, this IEM has a fairly relaxed presentation that is well separated from the various elements in songs with the vocals that are slightly recessed, synonymous with the Harman Curve tuning. Apart from that, there's not whole a lot of macrodetails let alone microdetails that Chang Le could display and in terms of articulation of the lyrics are still fairly clear and audible although occasionally in some songs it can sound slightly blurry and muddy that might have been caused by the bass bleed. For instance, in the track A Poem Titled You – Taeyeon, where Taeyeon's voice on some certain parts can be quite intense, slightly shouty and muddy as well.

High Frequency
As for the treble part, Tangzu presents you with an IEM that is able to present a relaxed and fairly crisp treble in this small package. For some audiences, it may sound a little dark, lacking in air and veiled, especially past 10kHz area which can be heard quite obviously less emphasised. In addition, the treble on this Chang Le in terms of timbre is fairly artificial and natural. For example, in the track Ignorance – Paramore, the sound of the tambourine being hit in the background of the track sounds oddly similar to twigs being placed in a plastic container and then shaken forcefully.

Although, this Chang Le was a semi open-back IEM, it sounds a little narrow and closed or in other word it has a lacking sense of airiness due to the less emphasised treble extension. Furthermore, even though this IEM is driven with enough power, on some occasion it can sound a bit rough and sharp which can cause ear fatigue for prolounged listening. This depends on the genre construction of your playlist, psychoacoustic tolerance and the types of eartips being used.


Technicality
From a technical standpoint, there are not many attributes that could left us feeling admired with the Tangzu Chang Le. Nevertheless, it is highly understandable because of the price category and Tangzu’s main goal and hopes with the Chang Le.

Hence, now turning your attention directly to the soundstaging capability of this IEM. Tangzu Chang Le has a relatively narrow sounstage on both horizontally and vertically despite being a semi open-back design. This results to a limited and intimate soundstage that is only within inside the head. Its ability to present exhibit macrodetails and microdetails in track was also quite poor, its quite blurry and could only be compared with other IEMs within its price range.

In addition, spatial imaging and layering abilities are also another addition to the cons list of this IEM. It can identify movement limited within a flat two-dimentional plane only, from left to right quite accurately but not as effectively if it is for something that are much complex such as binaural recording. For example, the track War - Jammie Haddad where the elements in this recording such as drum beats, gongs, cymbals and etc were being hit from various directions and different distances.

Even so, this IEM has a fairly good sound separation, it can isolate a limited number of elements and will sound quite congested and narrow in busier tracks. Finally, in terms of dynamic range. This Tangzu Chang Le honestly exceeded my expectations for a budget category IEM. For example, in the Ultimate Headphone Test sound sample - ABYSS Headphone. Where, the sound of drums and bells are played simultaneously as many as 7 times, but only the sound of the bells becomes quieter. From a scale of 7, Tangzu Chang Le was able to produce 5 out of 7 sounds clearly. Surprisingly on par with something that was 10 times its price, which I reviewed quite recently.

Tangzu Tang Sancai Advanced Eartips, are they any good?​

As I promised to comment a little about the choices of eartips that you can use to get a little more performance from your Tangzu Chang Le. In simpler word, if you prefer a much balanced sound across the spectrum, softer low frequency punch without sacrificing the lush and warm tonality, with better separation in the midrange, tamer smoother treble and greater soundstage witdh. The Tang Sancai might worth to be in your consideration for an additional $12 for a pack of these eartips, they're apparently very comfortable, with fairly grippy texture and soft as well.

In addition, for the stock eartips which came along inside the box. I personally found the coloured core eartips were also an alternative to the Tang Sancai. However, these eartips creates a leaner mid-upper bass punch to the Chang Le. Whilst the bass slam results into a much softer/polite impact, with thinner mids but with the same treble and soundstage upgrade as you have with the Tang Sancai. Meanwhile, the clear stock eartips focuses more on bass quantity due to their narrower bore. As a result, the IEM will sound a lot bassier, with thicker note and weight but slight more recessed mids with sharper and sibilant treble.

Other eartips such as TRI Clarion is also a good pairing for those who prefer a less bassier approach, much forward vocal, indirectly shifting the sharpness slightly away to a much tolerable spectrum and greater enhancing the treble extension on the Tangzu Chang Le which to me felt it really needed.

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