Tanchjim Darling Impressions
Traded some more IEMs w/ Super* today - gonna be a busy week going through everything I picked up! For those who might not know, Tanchjim is basically Moondrop's brother that wasn't able to fully capitalize on the hype train Moondrop's IEMs have enjoyed. This is likely attributable to their products being more expensive, effectively relegating them to another price bracket. Nonetheless, they've been on my radar for some time, and I'm particularly interested in their Oxygen IEM. For now, though, the Darling will have to suffice. It's a 1DD/2BA bullet-style IEM. Unusual, but definitely cool to see something eschewing tradition.
Bass exhibits strong presence on the Darling, pushing through into the lower-midrange. I cannot deny the slam and density of the Darling's dynamic driver; however, it does seem somewhat slow at times, smearing macro-detail more than it should on quicker, bass-centric tracks. Here, it does seem like the in-your-face clarity of the midrange that comes from such an aggressive ear gain exacerbates the usual coherency issues of a DD contrasted to a BA. Thankfully, I do find decay in the midrange to be cleaner, more natural than something like the B2. And speaking of which, let's address the tonality of the midrange: Contrary to what it might look like on the graph, I don't think it sounds all that shouty in practice. Perhaps it's the bass shelf balancing it out some, or maybe it's the quick slope after keeping things from getting out of hand; I think it works even if it's pushing it. Like a more in-your-face midrange? The Darling's your, well,
darling.
Treble on the Darling is something of a sore spot, though. It sounds like mostly crash with a small peak somewhere from around 8-10kHz; it follows that it's lacking in about equal parts impact and extension. However, I say this in a more "in-practice" sense. The 17kHz peak on the graph is real. I hear it running sine sweeps; still, it's so high up that I mainly hear it as a slight zingy-ness to the decay of instruments. It doesn't help that it dips strongly right after and is rolled-off by 17.5kHz. This is not unlike the 64A Nio's peak - only stronger and minus the extension - and I'd wager that a large demographic of listeners won't even hear it. YMMV and all that; to the contrary, some might find it fatiguing.
Either way, this pseudo air in the treble likely benefits the Darling's imaging to some extent. Imaging seats itself in "above average" territory as some others have noted. Staging is neither exceptional nor is positional incisiveness; however, the Darling does have some solidity to the image it projects, particularly when it comes to left-right separation. The center image also exhibits more height and diffusal than something like the Monarch. The Darling resolves sufficiently, perhaps just a tad behind some other IEMs in its price bracket. Dynamics are satisfactory.
In short, the Darling's a pretty decent IEM. Is it $419 decent, though? I'm inclined to say no. Competition is tough at this price point, and stuff like the Dusk, B2, and SA6 are all more than happy to play ball. I see what Tanchjim was going for, and yet, I do think the tuning of the Darling leaves something to be desired, particularly in the treble. And really, that's a bummer because the build, accessories, and presentation of the Darling are all top-notch in my opinion.
Score: 5/10
