TRN Conch

Today, I'm talking about the TRN Conch, a delightful surprise from TRN that I bought for just 89 reais (less than 20 dollars) plus taxes on Aliexpress. I had noticed a small and discreet hype around the model, as few people knew about it, but those who bought it absolutely LOVED it, not to mention its packed unboxing, which makes it worth trying. After over a month of use, I can say that I'm a strong proponent of the Conch cult, recommending it to all my friends.

As mentioned, it comes with a generous and well-crafted box, including the earphones, a convenient modular TRN cable with three types of plugs, three pairs of simple silicone tips, one pair of foam tips, three pairs of the lovely TRN T tips, and a sturdy oval case. These items alone justify the earphone's price, and the TRN T tips are simply wonderful! In my opinion, they're the best tips on the market in terms of value, comfort, and seal. I'm using them on most of my earphones.

The earphones have a shell-like design, made entirely of shiny metal, very compact, with a fit that reminds me of the Shure SE215, and will surely please those with small ears who often feel excluded. They also fit well in larger ears.

With one dynamic driver, it features interchangeable nozzles that can alter the earphone's sound. There are three options, marked by blue, black, and red colors. In this review, I'll focus on the black and red nozzles, as I haven't used the blue one much, which is almost identical to the black.

The black nozzle, pre-installed on the earphone, offers a cold and analytical sound, with extremely discreet bass, thin mids, and prominent treble. For those very sensitive to treble, this nozzle might disappoint. It provides the most neutral characteristic of the earphones. The bass is almost non-existent, which may be uncomfortable for many. However, it offers extremely detailed and spacious soundstage, especially considering the price range. The mids sometimes bothered me, as they sounded too thin, and instruments like guitars, acoustic guitars, and pianos lacked life. Female voices SHINE with this nozzle in an unparalleled way. Despite its few flaws, it pleased me greatly. It’s not the most exciting and passionate sound in the world, but it’s a very interesting option. This version is extremely unforgiving with bad mixes and a blessing with well-recorded ones.

The red nozzle, which I use the most, adds warmth and musicality to the earphones. The mids gain life, the bass becomes more present. It's not bass-heavy but sufficient for almost any track. The treble is toned down, and there’s a loss in detail and soundstage. In my opinion, the loss in technicalities is well-compensated by the gains, making the earphones more enjoyable. I'm sure most people will prefer the red nozzle. Despite the mentioned effects, the technicalities remain well above average for the price range. You just move from an abundant mode to a slightly more discrete version. The instrument separation in both modes is impressive. Among everything I've heard, especially under 50 dollars, these earphones stand out in technicalities. It’s astonishing to often find them below 20 dollars. The cost-benefit ratio of this model is incredible. Even if it cost 50 dollars, it would be worth it, but at 20 dollars or less, it’s a complete bargain and a must-have in any collection. Its tonality is quite unique in some aspects. In summary, it’s neutral/cold (analytical) with the black nozzle and neutral warm (still with doses of coldness) with the red nozzle. Its shape is almost a U. The Conch is not my favorite tuning style nor the best IEM in my collection, but I often find myself listening to it or curious about how a song would sound with it. It has become my favorite earphone for listening to classical music due to its coherent tuning and extreme technical refinement. Its small "defects" are actually differences in personal taste, principles, and perception. I'm sure the Conch could be many people’s favorite IEM.

Another important point is that the Conch scales with amplification, gaining a lot of dynamics and authority with a better source. The balanced plug (4.4mm) included is not for nothing. Despite this, it's possible to have a good experience directly plugged into a simple source. I noticed an improvement in sound maturation (and also read the same from other users) with the burn-in process, concluding that its driver isn't fully ready right out of the box.

Synergy: (impressions with the red filter)
The Weeknd's voice in "Sacrifice" seems to come from inside my brain, giving me chills. In Coldplay's "Paradise," I can close my eyes and feel Will Champion's drumming as if I were on stage with him. In Milton Nascimento's "Tudo o que você podia ser" (Clube da Esquina), feeling the instrument details and the percussion whispering in my left ear makes me thank God for the gift of hearing. Listening to one of my favorite albums "United We Stand" (2005) by Hillsong United with these earphones was a true delight, one of the most pleasurable experiences I've ever had, a true rediscovery. "September In Montreal" gave me chills, from the drum cymbals, the delicate piano accompaniment, to the vocal dynamics nuances jumping to my eardrums. Arthur Maia's bass orchestrates "Laranja" by Maria Gadu beautifully, and John Frusciante's restless guitar in "Snow" by RHCP brings a smile to my face. In Moby's "Last Day," I have a real trance, with a sense of liveliness and brilliance.

thaslaya's star rating system:
☆☆☆☆☆ - Fantastic!
☆☆☆☆ - Recommended
☆☆☆ - There are buyers but not for me
☆☆ - Can't see the appeal
☆ - Product is a failure

Disclaimer:
This set was provided by TRN in exchange for my honest and impartial review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Gear used:
●LG v30+
●Samsung Galaxy s22 Ultra
●Samsung dongle
●Hiby FC4
●Kiwi Ears Allegro

Source:
●Listening was done through Amazon Music HD or Ultra HD.

Introduction:
TRN has been a player in the budget iem market for a few years. The Conch is one of their more recent sets and features an absolutely crazy amount of accessories for the low price of $35. It utilizes a single 10mm DLC dynamic driver. The ultra-budget tier is growing everyday with releases from companies like KZ/CCA and newcomers alike. Let's see how the value of the Conch stacks up in today's market.

Build, fit, ergonomics:
The Conch has a pretty great unboxing experience for the price. Once opened, the iems can be seen seated in the foam insert and the puck style case contains the modular cable. Under the foam, you'll find 7 sets of tips, the modular terminations for the cable, and the metal holder with attached tuning nozzles. That's a lot of accessories for a set costing less than $100 and almost unheard of for a set under $50. The shells are made from machined stainless steel and have a very hearty build quality. They are shaped like a Conch shell (ingenius) and have a nice weight balance. My only complaint is that the mirror finish is prone to fingerprints and scratches. The stock cable is great and the fact that it's modular and comes with 3 terminations is quite surprising at this price. It is well braided, soft, and doesn't tangle easily. I do wish that it utilized a standard 2 pin connection over the QDC style though so it could be used with a greater number of iems. The Conch come equipped with the "Reference" nozzle and the other 2 pairs are attached to the metal card for easy storage. The metal hockey puck case is not my favorite carrying solution but even having a case at this price is an added bonus. One pair of tips is foam, three pairs of the tips are the generic silicone style, and the other three pairs are TRN's own T-Ear tips, which are really great for getting a good seal. There is really nothing to complain about when it comes to the fit for me either. The insertion depth is adequate and the large T-Ear tips provided a good seal. Overall the quality of everything in the box is exceptional.

Sound impressions:
My listening impressions were made using the "Reference" tuning nozzle, a U-shaped frequency response with elevated bass and upper mids/ lower treble. This is the nozzle that I found most enjoyable for my preferences, if not a little on the bright side. I'll briefly describe the other 2 nozzles as well. The "Transparency" nozzle is mostly the same as Reference but with a touch more brightness, which was too much for me. The "Atmospheric immersion" nozzle sounded a bit boring and flat due to the reduced upper mids/lower treble but still exhibited some sibilance from the upper treble which I definitely didn't like. Using the "Reference" nozzle, I found the soundstage to be average in width with nothing sticking out of place or congested. The note seperation and detail retrieval are just OK, falling behind some other similarly priced sets like the Simgot EW200. Things can get congested on busier tracks. The note weight is a bit on the thinner side but not too bad overall. More warmth would have been welcome but again that aligns more with my personal taste.

●Lows - Bass won't jump out and grab you but it's definitely present when called for. The bass does extend fairly deep but the mid bass is missing thump leading to a more sub bass focused presentation. There is a fairly fast attack but the decay lingers a bit too long in my opinion and has a somewhat unnatural reverberation. This can lead to the timbre sounding odd and the bass presenting as unkempt and messy with at times especially on busy tracks. I was really missing that mid bass weight in a lot of testing. There is no bleed but the midbass just doesn't have enough presence for me and sounds a bit anemic.

●Mids - Vocals have enough separation to be clearly heard but I wouldn't say they are necessarily pushed forward nor are they recessed. To my ear they sound on the same level as the bass and treble and everything has a great balance. Guitar, piano, and other instruments have a realistic timbre and sound correct. Both male and female vocals sound great overall but are slightly on the thinner side. Some more lushness and warmth would help here in my opinion.

●Highs - My main complaint with the Conch is that the treble can be a bit hot and fatiguing. To be fair I consider myself more sensitive than most in this department so YMMV. To my ear, there is some slight sibilance on "t" and "s" notes as well as snares, high hats, cymbals, and claps. It is definitely not the worst offender I've ever heard in this department so I can forgive the tuning a bit. The treble does seem to roll off earlier than I'd like and it loses a bit of airiness but not too much. Because of this, some of those higher notes (cymbals, high hats, and snares) can sound a bit blunted. Overall the treble is well done if not slightly bright for my preference.


Summary:
If you can find the Conch on sale for ~$25, just hit the buy button! The overall value here is pretty insane. A modular cable and 3 tuning nozzles for under $50 is already unheard of but for half that price? It's a no brainer. The cable is nicely braided, supple, and doesn't tangle easily. Buying the Conch for the modular cable alone is worth it and you could consider the iem itself to be an added bonus. My only real complaint is the QDC connectors which limits the other iems that you can use the cable with. There are also 3 tuning nozzles but realistically only offering 2 distinct tunings. However, for only ~$25, it's worth it just to have an ultra budget set that offers tuning variety. The "Reference" tuning is no slouch though. It's has a nice musical balance and is really great for those that listen to a bit lower volume to avoid any troublesome treble peaks. I give the Conch a very strong recommendation! They are worth a purchase just to have a decent set for traveling, commuting, taking on walks or to the gym, really anywhere you wouldn't fret losing more expensive iems.

Disclaimers

I bought this iem with my own money. This review is completely subjective.



Accessories

Conch comes with a hard carrying case, modular cable, tuning nozzles, eartips and iem itself. Really really good accessories for 35 dollars!

Build

Conch is fully made out of metal and comes with a pretty good quality modular cable. Thumbs up for build quality.

Sound-Tonality and Technicalities

Man, i just love this IEM's sound! highs sometimes fatigue but it's ok for the price. Conch's detail production is fantastic for the price and midrange is really clear. Lacks sub bass for my taste but again, it's ok! Mid bass quantity is pretty good but bass texture is sadly really bad. Conch comes with a single note mid bass and a dull sub bass. This pair of iem's really not for bass heads. But quantity is allright. Soundstage and imaging is good for price. Pretty good overall sound for the price. Best sounding nozzle is the red one for me. Because other nozzle's have too much upper mid energy.



Conclusion

Overall, this is a really good iem for the price. But you have better options like Simgot ew200. Keep that in your mind. There's nothing else I can say.