[slowpickr]

I just picked up the Tin T2 for around $34. It's been a long time since I purchased sub-$50 Chi - Fi. Expecting big improvements from a few years ago.

 

[Wiljen]

I just picked up the Tin T2 for around $34. It's been a long time since I purchased sub-$50 Chi - Fi. Expecting big improvements from a few years ago.

Perhaps the biggest improvement of the last two years is that Chi-fi has developed a lot more variation of signatures. A couple years ago the big V was very much the norm. The T2 and a few others are now showing up with much more neutral tunings, while a few others have started appearing with slightly warm signatures rather than the overly bright that was so common in the past.

 

[tripside]

The T2 is definitely still good. Other good recs are: Artiste DC1, BQEYZ K2, TRN V80 and DEAT Hifi Small (plus a bunch of others I forget at the moment). We're spoiled for choice at the moment and what's best for you will come down to what shape/style you like and what sound signature you prefer.

I looked up Deat hifi small as its the only name I hadn’t heard of before. And to my pleasant surprise, it turns out to be a micro driver. Can you share some impressions of it ?

 

[Lurk650]

Shanling ME100 is a Single 10mm DD with nanocomposite materials, priced under $150 coming end of September.

Shanling ME500 is a 2 BA x 1 DD (10mm). No info on release date or price.

 

[crabdog]

I looked up Deat hifi small as its the only name I hadn’t heard of before. And to my pleasant surprise, it turns out to be a micro driver. Can you share some impressions of it ?

The DEAT Hifi Small is a real surprise. It's got a punchy but sensible bass, some nice rumble going on as well. Clear mids that are on the warm side with good resolution and body. Treble is really smooth but still has good detail and a bit of energy to it. Very coherent and lovely analogue sound, unlike all the current hybrids. It's actually a really solid little performer. I'll have my review done in a couple days.

 

[Otto Motor]

CHANGE OF THE CHIFI GUARDS?

I recently had the pleasure to review three new sub $50 earphones in a row: the TRN V80, PHB EM-023, and the BQEYZ KC2. I only started reviewing in the spring as a spontaneous thank-you to the seller, who had exchanged my faulty Tinaudio T2 1/2 year after purchase. There are some excellent reviewers/qualified commenters here on Head-Fi already specializing in Chifi who have a much better ear than me - and way more experience. @HiFiChris (where is he these days?) gave me a lots of invaluable advice, privately.

I tried to school my ears and improve my technical knowledge and grow my expertise during these reviews. And I am working on my own measurement rig with all ingredients in the drawer - and lots of fear of reading the software manual. Recently, I have also compiled a robust database of reliable test tracks.

When I first listened to the TRN V80, I could not believe how good they sounded, considering the disappointing V60. In my review I wrote that I did not use them for a day in order to confirm my impression - and they sounded as good as before. Yesterday, I dedicated quite some time A/B-ing them with the iBasso IT-01 and running them through Chesky Records Audiophile Tests...and voila..they are still as good as I thought. Leonard Cohen's "in my secret life" sounds simply mind blowing. Even at their $38 list price they are a steal, and right now, people report to have gotten them on sale for $25. O tempora o mores!

The TRN V80 are just an example of the hybrid progress and the competition in the BQEYZ K2/KC2 and PHD EM-023 as well as some unmentionable others is probably on par.

Knowledge Zenith (KZ) have started the low-priced hybrid trend not even two years ago and have produced a lot of hit and miss (because they produced A LOT of models). They always had credit because of their excellent earlier-generations single DD earphones such as the EDR1/2 and HDS 1/3 but I feel they are have lately received a bit too much of a bonus here on Head-F, for example for the ZS10. I once received lots of criticism for "blasphemy", that is for mentioning "buried vocals" in the context of KZ hybrids [take the beautifully built ZSA: I live in Canada and the vocals are in Nebraska]. Some took personal offence when their personal favourites item received criticism. In the meantime, some bloggers take more realistic positions which I quite enjoy to the point that I find them funny, for example:

http://audiofool.reviews/2018/07/13/kz-es4/
https://www.soundphilereview.com/reviews/kz-zsa-review-2393/
http://www.antdroid.net/2018/08/kz-zsa-improved-zs6.html

While I am waiting for the AS10 to arrive, the ZS10, ES4, ES3, and ZST will go to my nieces and nephews when travelling to Germany this fall - but never my EDR1 or HDS3. KZ has to deliver and they may have already done so - and possibly even more - with the AS10.

In the big picture, the future is bright and I wonder what we will get for our money two years down the road.

 

[aaDee]

Does anyone have v80 and tfz king both to compare?

 

[B9Scrambler]

Does anyone have v80 and tfz king both to compare?

King all the way. Not as stupidly bright. More balanced low end. Just in general a more balanced sounding product. V80 is fine, but the King is worth the extra cost.

 

[zazaboy]

@crabdog hi bro do the deat hifi have some soundstage or is it average?

 

[crabdog]

@crabdog hi bro do the deat hifi have some soundstage or is it average?

Soundstage is not bad at all. It's not huge but gives a good sense of space in width and depth and even some height. Despite its warmth, it doesn't feel confined or crowded.

 

[aaDee]

King all the way. Not as stupidly bright. More balanced low end. Just in general a more balanced sounding product. V80 is fine, but the King is worth the extra cost.

Thanks for saving my money buddy. I'm quite happy with my KING.

 

[tripside]

The DEAT Hifi Small is a real surprise. It's got a punchy but sensible bass, some nice rumble going on as well. Clear mids that are on the warm side with good resolution and body. Treble is really smooth but still has good detail and a bit of energy to it. Very coherent and lovely analogue sound, unlike all the current hybrids. It's actually a really solid little performer. I'll have my review done in a couple days.

That sound signature reminds of Yamaha EPH-100, another micro driver and one of my favourite IEMs.

 

[B9Scrambler]

Thanks for saving my money buddy. I'm quite happy with my KING.

You're welcome. The V80 is a nice earphone, but I'm surprised they're getting the feedback they are. It's even brighter than the "treble death" ZS6, performs no better, and TRN stole their physical design from Dunu's Falcon C. Many parallels between the two, yet only the KZ is getting backlash. Hum diddly hum.

 

[Otto Motor]

Not as stupidly bright.

I was scratching my head about the general brightness reports on the V80...which I cannot confirm...and I am really treble sensitive and have issues with the ZS6 and the SEAHF AWK-009. One possibility is that I am near deaf, the other is that I am ignorant - I put my full trust into B9's ears. In response to Larry P.'s Head-Fi review I was just asked to let people know that he had received a BETA unit for testing, that his criticism of the overemphasized treble is 100% correct, and that the production units sound different. So, maybe not all of us received the same tuning.

Also, the bass texture on mine is outright amazing.

TRN stole their physical design from Dunu's Falcon C. Many parallels between the two, yet only the KZ is getting backlash. Hum diddly hum.

I wrote the first Head-Fi review of the V80 and mentioned the Dunu Falcon C ripoff. I also mentioned the Andromeda ripoff in my PHB EM-023 review...and I praised BQEYZ for their "in-house design" in comparison to the other two...fair treatment of all of them. KZ have been leading the pack since their ZS5, though .

 

[crabdog]

I was scratching my head about the general brightness reports on the V80...which I cannot confirm...and I am really treble sensitive and have issues with the ZS6 and the SEAHF AWK-009. One possibility is that I am near deaf, the other is that I am ignorant. In response to Larry P.'s Head-Fi review I was asked to let people know that he had received a BETA unit for testing, that his criticism of the overemphasized treble is 100% correct, and that the production units sound different. So, maybe not all of us received the same tuning.

Also, the bass texture on mine is outright amazing.

For me, the V80 doesn't sound bright but every now and then (very track/instrument dependent) a sound will leap out and stab your ears with glass shards. It's the one weakness that makes the V80 "very good" instead of "great" (IMO).