The Katana is pretty much only midrange.. the bass and treble work as a support to the mids - I am crazy about mid-centric IEMs but even the Katana is a bit too midcentric for me
Mostly pairing it with cables that boost its treble response so I can get a bit more frequencies in the mix, but I'm hoping the custom fit will bring out both the treble and the bass in it
When I went to buy the Encore the Katana was the only other IEM I used as a side by side reference. But the Katana was a little straight laced for me, BUT, there are definitely people who hate the Encore due to hearing the bass come up and cover stuff. Where the bass and treble made the Encore for me with what is does with lower treble.
My point is, I purchased the Encore still with not having optimal fit. I would like to imagine the Katana with the extra bass and treble closeness will take it and “sparkle” it up a little? Fit seems to bring everything forward and expand the soundstage and imaging making what you though was close to lifeless...more involving. IMO
When I went to buy the Encore the Katana was the only other IEM I used as a side by side reference. But the Katana was a little straight laced for me, BUT, there are definitely people who hate the Encore due to hearing the bass come up and cover stuff. Where the bass and treble made the Encore for me with what is does with lower treble.
My point is, I purchased the Encore still with not having optimal fit. I would like to imagine the Katana with the extra bass and treble closeness will take it and “sparkle” it up a little? Fit seems to bring everything forward and expand the soundstage and imaging making what you though was close to lifeless...more involving. IMO
It very much depends on what you're coming from. The Encore and the Katana have many similarities, so if you've listened to one of the two extensively the other ends up sounding odd to you.
Definitely though, super hyped to get it back this week
hi, did you got to try the QDC uranus? I'm a beginner in the audio world and i'm exited for it to reach my country. If you do, what do you think about it? Are there any more convincing options around that price range?
hi, did you got to try the QDC uranus? I'm a beginner in the audio world and i'm exited for it to reach my country. If you do, what do you think about it? Are there any more convincing options around that price range?
Heard the Uranus at Shanghai, wasn’t impressed. Very generic chifi V shaped hybrid. Not sure what the price of it is, but if it’s around where I’m guessing, anything in the $100-$500 tier on my recommendation list would run circles around it.
Heard the Uranus at Shanghai, wasn’t impressed. Very generic chifi V shaped hybrid. Not sure what the price of it is, but if it’s around where I’m guessing, anything in the $100-$500 tier on my recommendation list would run circles around it.
Tin HiFi T4:
And people ask me why I hate Chifi FOTM hypetra- hey, wait a minute.
The Tin T4 is the new flagship from Tin HiFi, replacing their P1 planar IEM which I strongly disliked. As it currently stands, I don’t really like anything they make. But the Neutral On A Budget™ types hail their T2 and to a lesser extent their T3 as two of the best IEMs you can buy for their dollar. Now the T4 is here to up the ante from $50 to $100. Let’s see if it’s worthy.
Similar to the other offerings from Tin HiFi, the T4 has no bass to speak of. And yes, this is coming from a self-admitted basshead. My bass quantity preferences will vary from most others. Though on top of raw bass quantity I also need good amounts of slam, which the T4 fails to deliver in equal parts. Aside from that, the decay is a little too fast, affecting whatever little rumble there is on the T4. Bass texture exists, as is generally the case with DD IEMs, though the resolution and detail retrieval is a little poor. But as with all Tin HiFi IEMs, the T4 has a front vent, which can be sealed by the mere act of deep inserting the T4. Doing this increases the midbass and gives it the tiniest bit of slam, though every other flaw of the T4’s bass response is still there. Just an option though.
The Tin T4’s midrange is fairly neutral with minor upper midrange emphasis. There is a bit of edge to it with guitars and the like, but it’s not egregiously offensive. It performs about average with most things, without too much offensive shout or shrillness. Vocal timbre is mostly spot on without any oddities, save maybe some occasional coldness. You might see where I’m going with this. It’s a pretty alright midrange tuning. Few people will hate this, save the most ardent of vocal enthusiasts.
The same cannot be said about the T4’s treble. While it doesn’t personally affect me, the T4’s treble peaks at sibilance points for some people, which can make it a slightly tough recommendation. That aside though, the T4’s treble tonality is lower-mid treble based, which I like a decent bit. It doesn’t have as much stick impact as the Z1R, but it does feel satisfactory. Extension is not nonexistent, but could do with maybe a little more air up top. In either case, the T4’s treble is definitely the type that will swing from incredibly offensive to pretty alright depending on who you ask.
Technicalities wise the T4 uses treble to force out resolution, though not in an excessively unnatural way. Staging is in the head, as is the case with most budget IEMs, and transients generally lean towards the faster side of things. However, what I like most about the T4 is that it’s lively and energetic. It has the dynamics to back up its midrange and treble tuning, it really just needs a smidge of bass to make things work properly. And by a smidge I mean a 7dB low pass filter under 100hz. Just a little, I swear.
I initially thought that the T4 would have been good enough to beat out my previous sub-$200 favorite the ER2XR. Upon further listening however the lack of bass and slam really annoys me. I feel like I may have jumped the gun on it, and ultimately prefer the less energetic but more well-rounded ER2XR. It seems like Etymotic’s latest release is here to stay on my recommendations wall.
But that’s in the $100 bracket. In the sub-$100 bracket, which is where the T4 really belongs, it’s a no brainer. I cannot think of a vaguely neutral IEM more worth my time for that dollar. And that’s what Tin HiFi set out to do, and successfully accomplished. Well done.
All listening was done out of the WM1A’s 3.5mm port.
The T4 certainly deserves a recommendation as a neutral budget IEM with enough liveliness to not be boring. But it certainly does not punch above its price, not enough to beat the current $100 bracket champion. I eagerly await Tin HiFi’s next release and pray that it is not another botched attempt at an asinine driver type no one asked for.
Might happen in the future. At the moment I refrain from doing so because my daily driver is fairly source insensitive, in my opinion. However, once I get my Viento-B reshelled and ready to go, it might be a suitable benchmark to do source comparisons on.
The Luna is the one thing at Shanghai I didn’t try, due to... complications at Dunu’s booth. Let’s just say I wasn’t too pleased with how the reps were running it.
The Luna is the one thing at Shanghai I didn’t try, due to... complications at Dunu’s booth. Let’s just say I wasn’t too pleased with how the reps were running it.
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