[baskingshark]

Toneking has a new flagship - Toneking EA (Electrostatic Alpha) - $600ish USD on amazon and AE

Apparently each unit is handmade. Couldn't find any info on FR, impedance and sensitivity, but driver configuration is hybrid (2 electrostatic units, 2 knowles BA drivers for Treble, 1 Knowles BA drivers for Mids, 2 Sonion BA drivers for Bass).

 

[Lohb]

New tech, new price-point...probably cost just the same to make as a BA.
Should start to see better pricing in about a year I guess, from upstarts.

 

[baskingshark]

New tech, new price-point...probably cost just the same to make as a BA.
Should start to see better pricing in about a year I guess, from upstarts.

Gear is generally more expensive at launch, yeah it will probably be cheaper a few months down the line. Hot on the heels of releasing their P10 and 1Q (the latter wasn't very well received for initial reviews and I think few folks have tried the former).

The drivers they use here in the EA look to be of generally better quality (Knowles/Sonion) than the usual CHIFI Bellsings. Though of course even TOTL sets use Bellsings nowadays (https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/cxqlje/knowles_files_claim_with_us_trade_commission_to/), so I think tuning is more important than driver number, transducer type or brand.

Though I had the chance to audition a $1200 USD electrostatic hybrid a month back, it had outstanding clarity, details, instrument separation and imaging compared to some expensive multi BA sets, so this new technology may not be a total gimick. Would be interested to see FR and reviews for the Toneking EA, though $600 is out of my budget.

 

[Carlsan]

Toneking P10 up on Massdrop.
https://drop.com/buy/toneking-p10-iem#overview

 

[Lohb]

E1DA PDV2..supremo with Toneking BL1.....

.....while E1DA9038S had better imaging and separation, I could not fully get at the low-end without things getting a bit shouty in mids and treble...Not even got to PDV2s EQ functions on the "HPToy app" yet. Really brings out full potential in planar IEMs...crossing over to a full-size cans presentation.

 

[Lohb]

I find BL1 better than P10...IMO ....(all comments WRT electronic music...and fed FLAC in Audirvana, balanced after-market pure copper cable from E1DA PDV2).

BL1 planar magnetic IEM - excellent imaging, very fast and clean...great mids after damping nozzle, treble dominance removed....nice natural tonality.Audiophile sub-bass..when its there, its there...otherwise, nothing excessively boosted in bass through mids.
P10 planar magnetic IEM - imaging and separation not as good...its kind of warm (elevated bass) and cold (elevated treble) at same time with that V-shaped tuning...and hence mids pushed back, slightly veiled also. The only thing P10 has going for it is a smaller and more ergonomic shell fitting in the ear and the vents on rear vs front to avoid wind noise..

I think that 14mm BL1 driver over 10mm P10 driver is making all the difference. It's all highly subjective this hobby - so "pinch of salt".

EDIT: Need a stack of tips to unlock full potential of these TK planar IEMs..stock tips not cutting it at all. Cavernous subs, solid imaging and decays become more prominent with the right tips.

 

[Lohb]

I think Toneking needs to get touring units going..lot of these new hybrids languish as no-one wants to sink $500 on a mystery tuning.
Case in point this new E-stat hybrid...

 

[thejoker13]

I think Toneking needs to get touring units going..lot of these new hybrids languish as no-one wants to sink $500 on a mystery tuning.
Case in point this new E-stat hybrid...

I agree 100%. A tour would be great to help get their name out, as well as get a chance for people to audition their higher end models. I am really curious about the new e-stat Alpha, as well as the new 10ba model, but can't blind but at those costs.

 

[Lohb]

I agree 100%. A tour would be great to help get their name out, as well as get a chance for people to audition their higher end models. I am really curious about the new e-stat Alpha, as well as the new 10ba model, but can't blind but at those costs.

How does your LZ A6 stand-up to your best TK IEM ?

 

[baskingshark]

I think Toneking needs to get touring units going..lot of these new hybrids languish as no-one wants to sink $500 on a mystery tuning.
Case in point this new E-stat hybrid...

+1 to this.

Thanks for the P10 review, I'm gonna give it a miss as per your advise.

Toneking does quite good tuning but their marketing is not very good I gotta say. They stealth released their recent 1Q, P10 planar, Estat hybrid flagship (Alpha) and 10 BA models without much fanfare, nobody knew much about them LOL. I don't think they even routinely give out gear to prominent reviewers too, so they will remain as a mystery tuning indeed.

Maybe they might be more focused on their local Chinese market as there's quite a lot of reviews there in Chinese on stuff like the P10 and Toneking stuff on taobao seem to be selling better than on AE/Amazon. I spoke to a CHIFI tuner before and he said the local Chinese market is larger than the international market, so it won't be surprising which eggs they will put their basket in.

 

[thejoker13]

How does your LZ A6 stand-up to your best TK IEM ?

The T88k and A6 are totally different animals. I love them both for what they're though. The A6 is the aggressive, and exciting one, while the T88k is the smooth, relaxing listen. I feel they both are excellent though and compliment each other. I use the A6 WAY more though, for my preferences. To me, the A6 is my favorite iem that I own or have even auditioned.

 

[Lohb]

.

 

[larry piencenaves]

I find BL1 better than P10...IMO ....(all comments WRT electronic music...and fed FLAC in Audirvana, balanced after-market pure copper cable from E1DA PDV2).

BL1 planar magnetic IEM - excellent imaging, very fast and clean...great mids after damping nozzle, treble dominance removed....nice natural tonality.Audiophile sub-bass..when its there, its there...otherwise, nothing excessively boosted in bass through mids.
P10 planar magnetic IEM - imaging and separation not as good...its kind of warm (elevated bass) and cold (elevated treble) at same time with that V-shaped tuning...and hence mids pushed back, slightly veiled also. The only thing P10 has going for it is a smaller and more ergonomic shell fitting in the ear and the vents on rear vs front to avoid wind noise..

I think that 14mm BL1 driver over 10mm P10 driver is making all the difference. It's all highly subjective this hobby - so "pinch of salt".

EDIT: Need a stack of tips to unlock full potential of these TK planar IEMs..stock tips not cutting it at all. Cavernous subs, solid imaging and decays become more prominent with the right tips.

Really tempted to buy the bl1 for a long time, but always ended up not buying it coz it might be a downgrade to the sw iii...

 

[Lohb]

Really tempted to buy the bl1 for a long time, but always ended up not buying it coz it might be a downgrade to the sw iii...

SW 3 had recessed mids if I remember...if sub-bass is your thing SW3 may be better as I think it was epic in that region...going back to any BA treble at same price or lower price is horrible now (not sure of TK BA treble though, never heard it) ....planar treble rocks once its dialed down.....I really wish I could get sound of 1060C (open-back) in planar form....perfect for electronic music....I was going to get 1Q pure dynamic but waiting on another dynamic being released...if only the Chinese could bring out a Sony MDR-EX1000 grade pure dynamic around $150 or less.

Edit : My impressions were based on electronic music only and some may not like the way they present the mids for "organic" music...but taming the treble peak does lift the sub-bass up more in balance with mid-bass..and BL1 SQ quite changeable with tips and source - SE/Bal.. I did see one review where they were slated 5/10 in stock form.

 

[larry piencenaves]

SW 3 had recessed mids if I remember...if sub-bass is your thing SW3 may be better as I think it was epic in that region...going back to any BA treble at same price or lower price is horrible now (not sure of TK BA treble though, never heard it) ....planar treble rocks once its dialed down.....I really wish I could get sound of 1060C (open-back) in planar form....perfect for electronic music....I was going to get 1Q pure dynamic but waiting on another dynamic being released...if only the Chinese could bring out a Sony MDR-EX1000 grade pure dynamic around $150 or less.

Edit : My impressions were based on electronic music only and some may not like the way they present the mids for "organic" music...but taming the treble peak does lift the sub-bass up more in balance with mid-bass..and BL1 SQ quite changeable with tips and source - SE/Bal.. I did see one review where they were slated 5/10 in stock form.

I had the fixed cabled version which the mids arent recessed by any means, I would described it to be U-shaped sound signatured tho since it have a few bumps on both ends. also changed the tips to further reduce the higher end frequencies, so its basically much closer to neutral now. I just really wanted to know if theres an advantage in listening tru a planar driver like is it better in speed, detail retrieval etc. the FR graph of the bl1 looks good tho amazingly dead flat except for that treble which I think could be fixed But Ive seen many buyers saying negative about quality control of the bl1, mainly those who bought from drop.