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The Fragrant Zither (TFZ) Reviews and Impressions Thread

Feb 6, 2021 at 8:47 PM Post #2,086 of 2,252
Still waiting on the TFZ Essence I ordered through Drop. :unamused: I promise I'll let you guys know what I think, and how they compare to 2 other IEMs - the TFZ No.3 and Thieaudio Legacy 3. The suspense is unbearable. I hope it'll last.
 
Feb 7, 2021 at 9:22 AM Post #2,088 of 2,252
saldsald said:
Have you ever played the aeroplane chess? The tequila 1 doesn't look like a bottle of wine but a wooden aeroplane chess piece to me -_-'. I would definitely like to try it myself instead of a blind purchase because of this TBH. HA.
boardgame.jpg
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With recent price drop on AMAZON $40 Tequila is a must have IMO
 
Feb 17, 2021 at 11:31 AM Post #2,090 of 2,252
So I said I’d review them when they arrived... and Drop says the order is delayed. So I cancelled. Sorry guys. No Essence for me.
 
Feb 18, 2021 at 12:01 PM Post #2,091 of 2,252
Mar 2, 2021 at 11:45 PM Post #2,094 of 2,252
Mindstorms said:
guys i just recieved my TFZN3 im not enjoyng it as much on my WM1A sony walkman you guys think it needs burning?
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Yes...burn in is pretty much mandatory. They rec about 200 hours if you read the information pamphlet included in the box. And they're not kidding. When I originally bought my No.3's two years ago; I can honestly say I hated them ootb, and initially regretted my purchase.
I found their bass powerful, but slow and muddy. Mids and highs were recessed and very dark sounding. Totally not what I was looking for. But I kept playing them with music (at medium volume, with my computer's 5 day music library) and they eventually opened up.
Don't give up on this set. That Tesla DD driver is excellent, once it's been fully broken in. Now, my No.3 is still in my top 5 of all the iems I currently own. Make sure that you also explore tips (they are most important to get the best fit and the most SQ from any iems); after that, you can further tweak the sound with cables or by using a source with a balanced output.
I've been greatly rewarded for my patience with them. They went from a set I initially hated, to one of my favorites.
 
Mar 3, 2021 at 12:16 PM Post #2,095 of 2,252
courierdriver said:
Yes...burn in is pretty much mandatory. They rec about 200 hours if you read the information pamphlet included in the box. And they're not kidding. When I originally bought my No.3's two years ago; I can honestly say I hated them ootb, and initially regretted my purchase.
I found their bass powerful, but slow and muddy. Mids and highs were recessed and very dark sounding. Totally not what I was looking for. But I kept playing them with music (at medium volume, with my computer's 5 day music library) and they eventually opened up.
Don't give up on this set. That Tesla DD driver is excellent, once it's been fully broken in. Now, my No.3 is still in my top 5 of all the iems I currently own. Make sure that you also explore tips (they are most important to get the best fit and the most SQ from any iems); after that, you can further tweak the sound with cables or by using a source with a balanced output.
I've been greatly rewarded for my patience with them. They went from a set I initially hated, to one of my favorites.
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Thanks for this friend!
 
Mar 25, 2021 at 6:00 PM Post #2,096 of 2,252
Hey guys,

I have ordered the TFZ No. 3 b/c I am looking for a Starfield with a lot more bass. Starfields going back to amazon after 3 wks of auditioning. My other iEM is the CCA C12, which has good bass quantity, albeit slightly one notish if i don't EQ it down a couple of DB. Plus the mids on the C12 are a little hot for me, with some instruments and voices sounding artificially uplifted. Sort of out of left field, but I also ordered and really enjoy an extreme basshead IEM called the Audiofly AF100 Mk2 (this based on the youtube review by The Honest Audiophile). Love the bass and mids, with highs quite recessed and pulled back. And finally, my other IEM I received a few days ago is the Simgot MT3, which I also ordered in search of a more bass heavy Starfield.

Funny thing though, as I watched reviews, it looked to me like the cable from the Simgot MT3, and the TFZ No. 3 were very similar, including identical 3.5mm connector. And they're both well regarded, bass emphasized single DD driver units of similar shape.

Here's my question... are there really a couple dozen ChiFi IEM manufacturers, or is there ONE big ass ChiFi IEM maker, with a factory as big as Cleveland that churns out thousands of IEMs each day, for a dozen or two brands? Is Simgot and TFZ really the same people?
 
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Mar 25, 2021 at 10:30 PM Post #2,097 of 2,252
DunninLA said:
Hey guys,

I have ordered the TFZ No. 3 b/c I am looking for a Starfield with a lot more bass. Starfields going back to amazon after 3 wks of auditioning. My other iEM is the CCA C12, which has good bass quantity, albeit slightly one notish if i don't EQ it down a couple of DB. Plus the mids on the C12 are a little hot for me, with some instruments and voices sounding artificially uplifted. Sort of out of left field, but I also ordered and really enjoy an extreme basshead IEM called the Audiofly AF100 Mk2 (this based on the youtube review by The Honest Audiophile). Love the bass and mids, with highs quite recessed and pulled back. And finally, my other IEM I received a few days ago is the Simgot MT3, which I also ordered in search of a more bass heavy Starfield.

Funny thing though, as I watched reviews, it looked to me like the cable from the Simgot MT3, and the TFZ No. 3 were very similar, including identical 3.5mm connector. And they're both well regarded, bass emphasized single DD driver units of similar shape.

Here's my question... are there really a couple dozen ChiFi IEM manufacturers, or is there ONE big ass ChiFi IEM maker, with a factory as big as Cleveland that churns out thousands of IEMs each day, for a dozen or two brands? Is Simgot and TFZ really the same people?
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Please. Tell us what you think about n3 vs starfield
 
Mar 26, 2021 at 5:26 AM Post #2,098 of 2,252
DunninLA said:
Hey guys,

I have ordered the TFZ No. 3 b/c I am looking for a Starfield with a lot more bass. Starfields going back to amazon after 3 wks of auditioning. My other iEM is the CCA C12, which has good bass quantity, albeit slightly one notish if i don't EQ it down a couple of DB. Plus the mids on the C12 are a little hot for me, with some instruments and voices sounding artificially uplifted. Sort of out of left field, but I also ordered and really enjoy an extreme basshead IEM called the Audiofly AF100 Mk2 (this based on the youtube review by The Honest Audiophile). Love the bass and mids, with highs quite recessed and pulled back. And finally, my other IEM I received a few days ago is the Simgot MT3, which I also ordered in search of a more bass heavy Starfield.

Funny thing though, as I watched reviews, it looked to me like the cable from the Simgot MT3, and the TFZ No. 3 were very similar, including identical 3.5mm connector. And they're both well regarded, bass emphasized single DD driver units of similar shape.

Here's my question... are there really a couple dozen ChiFi IEM manufacturers, or is there ONE big ass ChiFi IEM maker, with a factory as big as Cleveland that churns out thousands of IEMs each day, for a dozen or two brands? Is Simgot and TFZ really the same people?
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Dunno about Simgot and TFZ, but there are some bigger CHIFI brands that do OEMS for smaller brands, eg KZ. For example, the Tripowin TP10 was apparently an OEM made by KZ, and there were 2 other OEMs that were identical in tuning (KBEAR KB10 and CCA A10), just with different logos emblazoning the shell).

Check out this post for the graphs of these 3 sets: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chinese-asian-brand-iem-info-thread.820747/page-1668#post-15080690 (post/graphs courtesy of Wiljen)

Other examples include:
- The NiceHCK M6 measures and sounds identical to the BGVP DMG, the former is touted to be a cheaper OEM of the DMG.
- The Tempotec Sonata HD Pro DAC/Amp dongle seems to be the OEM version of Hidizs S8 but at half the price. Some folks in the other audio threads have kindly opened and measured the two and they seem comparable internally and on measurements.

Within CHIFI, some brands are linked as sister companies eg CCA and KZ, Tingker and Audiosense, TRN and CVJ. Well, even if not done as OEM or sister companies, these CHIFI companies probably source their drivers and shells and parts from some common factories/suppliers I suppose. Some of this is insider info, so I think we need someone inside to spill the beans to confirm (plus there are probably non disclosure agreements). So we can just speculate from outside, but I have a suspicion the CHIFI world is much much smaller than we think it is.
 
Mar 26, 2021 at 10:07 AM Post #2,099 of 2,252
DunninLA said:
Funny thing though, as I watched reviews, it looked to me like the cable from the Simgot MT3, and the TFZ No. 3 were very similar, including identical 3.5mm connector. And they're both well regarded, bass emphasized single DD driver units of similar shape.
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Chi-Fi companies may sometimes contract the same parts manufacturers for items like cables and eartips, but that doesn't necessarily make them siblings of one another.
 
Mar 26, 2021 at 1:01 PM Post #2,100 of 2,252
@baskingshark -- You know what would be fun... but I don't know how to do it exactly, would be to go into crinacle's site and find all graphs that look identical. :) The obvious issue is that two identically manufactured IEMs would graph completely differently depending on the tips selected for the graphing procedure, and then whether tested with OCC copper, or silver plated copper (yuck).

But... sister companies isn't really what I was thinking about. I'm thinking about one MEGA factory that has a catalog of 40 or so basic IEM models (DD, Hybrid, and BA) they have already engineered and can quickly produce, plus for a minimum mfg run, custom shell color, that any person, including one of us, could order from and create a "brand". And this MEGA factory would also have a "premium" division with a salesperson and engineer who would create $300 and up IEMs in smaller batch runs.

I think the same concept applies to DACs, dongles, cables, eartips, etc. one MEGA factory that supplies everyone.
 
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