[SciOC]

The King Pro are incredible. Great linear bass extension, detailed mids, and well-rendered treble. They sound to me very flat through the FR with a lift in the lower and mid treble and remind me of the sound signature (though of course not the overall quality) of the Campfire Audio Andromeda. Very coherent sound, very clear, nicely detailed. If you take a look at my profile, the King Pro is better than any of the IEMs I have except for the DUNU DK-3001 and the Shure 846. Killer IEMs. I would have been happy with them at $250 or more.

That's interesting. I don't consider the king pro to sound much like the Andromeda... the Andromeda has a very thick vivid sound, whereas the king pro is neutral--ish. They are both nicely detailed though.

I'm going to guess that the secret garden 3 is meant to sound more like the Andromeda since it's all ba. I'm tempted to get them and if they hold up, sell my Andromeda. If they don't hold up,. Probably just sell them...

 

[thejoker13]

Thanks for your impressions and recommendations, but what I'm really after is a fun sounding iem that does not have a big v. I don't mind a little reccession in the mids but would not want to comprise on vocals much. The secret gardens bass and treble is very consistent and good in reviews. However I do hear some users stating that these are hot in treble but it was nice to hear that you overcame that. I'm going to wait on a few more impressions of these and see how others are finding the mids and then will make my decision.

Everyone's ears and gear and sources used that people are coming from their previous iem's, but my impressions of these are pretty different than his. I agree about the bass, but the mids are not very recessed at all in my opinion, and the treble is super non fatiguing for me. I'm not very treble sensitive though, as long as the treble is natural and clear. I wouldn't call these V shaped hardly at all, more L shaped. To me, the mids and highs are almost linear, with the bass having a very slight emphasis.

 

[phthora]

That's interesting. I don't consider the king pro to sound much like the Andromeda... the Andromeda has a very thick vivid sound, whereas the king pro is neutral--ish. They are both nicely detailed though.

I'm going to guess that the secret garden 3 is meant to sound more like the Andromeda since it's all ba. I'm tempted to get them and if they hold up, sell my Andromeda. If they don't hold up,. Probably just sell them...

Hmm... Perhaps I should mention that I swapped the cable for a silver-plated copper cable and run it balanced out of the Onkyo DP-X1. If those things make a difference in FR. I still hear the King Pro as having a more than neutral bass and slightly thinner mids than the Andros. And really, it's a family resemblance and not an identical twin thing. I don't want to make too much of it. No one should think they're getting an Andromeda Jr. or anything.

 

[sino8r]

The Secret Garden 3 is 3 BAs?! I thought it was a combo unit of a BA and DD. That's kind of disappointing but it's not like BAs can't sound very full ranged these days. I understand the higher end companies like CA have been using these for a while but should TFZ try an all BA on their highest end product? Seems like bold move to me.

 

[Nabillion_786]

My issue with the DMG's mids aren't because of mid bass bloat or anything. Actually, the DMG's have pretty good instrument separation with little bloat or bleeding into the mids. My issue is that they're just so darn thin sounding in the mids. They have a strange tuning, because the bass is great and good quality, and also decent clarity snd resolution in the treble. The mids just sound somewhat metallic and grainy at the note edges and that's a huge no for me. I listen to alot of vocal based music and have been watching alot of movies lately, so vocal presentation is huge to me. The secret garden have such a smooth, lush, but detailed sound from bass to treble. They're highly addictive!

I think in terms of mids we have very similar tastes and ever since half a year back I've been trying to find that perfect movie iem for me, which in my case means good bass impact and quantity that doesn't sound bloated and lush vocals that doesn't sound recessed. Thin sounding mids is always a 'huge no' for me aswell as I don't feel that meat in the sound to satisfy, it feels rather incomplete.

Your impressions of the secret gardens so far are very fascinating to me and I hope to hear a comparison with your beloved t4 sometime.

 

[thejoker13]

I think in terms of mids we have very similar tastes and ever since half a year back I've been trying to find that perfect movie iem for me, which in my case means good bass impact and quantity that doesn't sound bloated and lush vocals that doesn't sound recessed. Thin sounding mids is always a 'huge no' for me aswell as I don't feel that meat in the sound to satisfy, it feels rather incomplete.

Your impressions of the secret gardens so far are very fascinating to me and I hope to hear a comparison with your beloved t4 sometime.

I thought of you whenever I started listening to the Secret Garden, as they seem to tick all of the boxes of what you have asked about.I also believe the Secret Garden's are special enough to warrant me writing a review, in my opinion. I buy all of my own gear and don't write reviews to get free stuff. I only will write a review of if I truly think something is special and try to help bring the product some added exposure. I believe the T4 and Secret Garden would be a great comparison to add, as they are at the same price point and quality. Hopefully I can spend quality time with both and have something written up by next weekend.

 

[Nabillion_786]

I thought of you whenever I started listening to the Secret Garden, as they seem to tick all of the boxes of what you have asked about.I also believe the Secret Garden's are special enough to warrant me writing a review, in my opinion. I buy all of my own gear and don't write reviews to get free stuff. I only will write a review of if I truly think something is special and try to help bring the product some added exposure. I believe the T4 and Secret Garden would be a great comparison to add, as they are at the same price point and quality. Hopefully I can spend quality time with both and have something written up by next weekend.

Well, that just gives your impressions more credibility and sincerity as some reviewers probably feel a ton of pressure when reviewing and turn to just over hyping everything they have. This just make me that much more excited for your comparison.

 

[SciOC]

The Secret Garden 3 is 3 BAs?! I thought it was a combo unit of a BA and DD. That's kind of disappointing but it's not like BAs can't sound very full ranged these days. I understand the higher end companies like CA have been using these for a while but should TFZ try an all BA on their highest end product? Seems like bold move to me.

Yep. All Knowles. Kind of crazy. I'm also not sure about the switches....

Really having a hard time resistong the urge to order a pair.

Anyone know if they were planning the secret garden 6 and 12 still?

 

[HungryPanda]

You can guarantee TFZ will release many more iems

 

[Amberlamps]

The King Pro are incredible. Great linear bass extension, detailed mids, and well-rendered treble. They sound to me very flat through the FR with a lift in the lower and mid treble and remind me of the sound signature (though of course not the overall quality) of the Campfire Audio Andromeda. Very coherent sound, very clear, nicely detailed. If you take a look at my profile, the King Pro is better than any of the IEMs I have except for the DUNU DK-3001 and the Shure 846. Killer IEMs. I would have been happy with them at $250 or more.

Thanks for that. I have many iem’s, my latest which was recommended to me by penon were the Anew U1, they said they are better than the ibasso iT01, I had to buy them after he said that, even though they are white. And I hate white iem’s.

Everytime I goto the Penon website, I drool over the king pro’s, but I always end up buying something else instead. Not because of price, this year alone I’ve spent over $1500 on penons site, it’s just, I get carried away with myself when I start looking at what they have for sale.

I will go grab a pair now, Thanks again.

 

[zazaboy]

@thejoker13 which source are you using the bgvp dmg may I ask?

 

[thejoker13]

@thejoker13 which source are you using the bgvp dmg may I ask?

I mostly use my LG V20 for all of my iem's. I travel alot and enjoy the convenience of a decent phone/dac combo.

 

[Nabillion_786]

I mostly use my LG V20 for all of my iem's. I travel alot and enjoy the convenience of a decent phone/dac combo.

I can appreciate another phone user. My axon 7's are really good for running iems. I don't see a need for me in spending a lot of money for a better source or portable amp right now. There's no hiccups whatsoever. Even at the store there was minimal difference in sound between their stuff and my phone. Just maybe a bit more airy. I think people get a bit mislead sometimes when they think reviewers using a phone are not reliable. It all depends on how good the phone is.

 

[thejoker13]

I can appreciate another phone user. My axon 7's are really good for running iems. I don't see a need for me in spending a lot of money for a better source or portable amp right now. There's no hiccups whatsoever. Even at the store there was minimal difference in sound between their stuff and my phone. Just maybe a bit more airy. I think people get a bit mislead sometimes when they think reviewers using a phone are not reliable. It all depends on how good the phone is.

I agree. I have tried my better iem's with my buddies mojo and ak daps and could definitely notice an improvement. But, I don't think the improvement was that extreme at, and maybe eked out the last 10% of my iem's capabilities. I like to stream tidal and spotify and be on the move, so an "audiophile" phone is sufficient for my needs. I'm considering adding the fiio q5 here at some point, but I'm in no rush. This hobby is supposed to be about personal satisfaction and v20 etc does it for me for now.

 

[Fawzay]

This hobby is supposed to be about personal satisfaction

True that, quite a lot of people fail to grasp this concept.
Moreover, to me; The Secret Garden 1 is a small significant upgrade to King Pro.
however, the Secret Garden 3 cost around $480 Singapore dayum!