TRN impressions thread
Nov 9, 2020 at 11:02 AM Post #2,476 of 3,803
Thank you. It feels that these recordings emphasize orchestral sound, with the violin recorded from a distance.
With the violins recorded up close, the sound details can be different, especially with pizzicato.
I do not play violin, but when my children started to play I took some interest in violin acoustics, finding the right strings (sometimes it takes years).

With this hobby, I went to explore what would be the best approximation of violin sound by IEMs, which is for me BAs by far. An overall timbre may suffer, but reproducing the richness of the details listening very close to a violin is definitely worth it for me.
I would not ever claim of exact reproduction or reference sound (there may be several references selected), just the best approximation to my ears.

As for the cables, definitely there is often a difference when upgrading from the high-impedance stock cables, but beyond that no evidence was ever shown that silver, copper and spc cables of the same resistance with the same connectors are any different (and, again, sensitive rigs are out there to back up any claims, as it is convincingly done documenting effects of different tips and venting modification).

I have not bothered to compare EDX with its stock cable. I used 16-core balanced one right away (feeling a bit of irony that the cable is more expensive than the IEM).
EDX are very nice for its price, if it works for the enjoyment of orchestral music - then they are precious for $5-$7 :)

Feeling guilty of off-topic in the TRN thread. I recently got M10 (skipping why), a quite lovely design.
I only could not figure out polarity...

Not surprisingly, I like M10 sound more than EDX - just that cheerful BA in the nozzle.

If you look really close at the M10 connectors, there is a raised area on the cord side, and relief in the IEM side.
 
Nov 9, 2020 at 10:17 PM Post #2,478 of 3,803
Thank you. It feels that these recordings emphasize orchestral sound, with the violin recorded from a distance.
With the violins recorded up close, the sound details can be different, especially with pizzicato.
I do not play violin, but when my children started to play I took some interest in violin acoustics, finding the right strings (sometimes it takes years).

With this hobby, I went to explore what would be the best approximation of violin sound by IEMs, which is for me BAs by far. An overall timbre may suffer, but reproducing the richness of the details listening very close to a violin is definitely worth it for me.
I would not ever claim of exact reproduction or reference sound (there may be several references selected), just the best approximation to my ears.

As for the cables, definitely there is often a difference when upgrading from the high-impedance stock cables, but beyond that no evidence was ever shown that silver, copper and spc cables of the same resistance with the same connectors are any different (and, again, sensitive rigs are out there to back up any claims, as it is convincingly done documenting effects of different tips and venting modification).

I have not bothered to compare EDX with its stock cable. I used 16-core balanced one right away (feeling a bit of irony that the cable is more expensive than the IEM).
EDX are very nice for its price, if it works for the enjoyment of orchestral music - then they are precious for $5-$7 :)

Feeling guilty of off-topic in the TRN thread. I recently got M10 (skipping why), a quite lovely design.
I only could not figure out polarity...

Not surprisingly, I like M10 sound more than EDX - just that cheerful BA in the nozzle.

So which IEM set do you find as the closest approximation of the string sound?

Do you have the TRN T3? I think if you compare it with your T4 the sound difference is more than just subtle. Also, even if the difference is subtle, the musicallity can be quite different. It is often these subtle differences that matter IMHO.

The M10 if cable changeable I would probably have bought it already.
 
Nov 9, 2020 at 10:46 PM Post #2,479 of 3,803
So which IEM set do you find as the closest approximation of the string sound?

Do you have the TRN T3? I think if you compare it with your T4 the sound difference is more than just subtle. Also, even if the difference is subtle, the musicallity can be quite different. It is often these subtle differences that matter IMHO.

The M10 if cable changeable I would probably have bought it already.
To my taste of the reproduction of strings close up, when you can hear the bow on strings in good recordings, all-BAs with a high pinna gain work the best, such as AS16 and for some A10/KB10 (overexaggeration but sometimes so engaging).

I have T3, I like T4 less than even T2, but I am not sure if I can clearly hear T4/T3 difference without the bias that T3 is better.

I bought a couple of T4s to see if there any difference between 0.75 and 0.78 mm - I could not detect any...

M10 has a changeable cable (paragraph C / QDC), it works over ear quite well actually, just figuring out polarity requires efforts (TRN could not be perfect :))
 
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Nov 10, 2020 at 9:49 AM Post #2,482 of 3,803
To my taste of the reproduction of strings close up, when you can hear the bow on strings in good recordings, all-BAs with a high pinna gain work the best, such as AS16 and for some A10/KB10 (overexaggeration but sometimes so engaging).

I have T3, I like T4 less than even T2, but I am not sure if I can clearly hear T4/T3 difference without the bias that T3 is better.

I bought a couple of T4s to see if there any difference between 0.75 and 0.78 mm - I could not detect any...

M10 has a changeable cable (paragraph C / QDC), it works over ear quite well actually, just figuring out polarity requires efforts (TRN could not be perfect :))

Interesting, what exactly is high pinna gain? So you find the sound of the AS16 better than thr also all BAs ASX?

I think the TRN T2,T3 and T4 are vey interesting. Although the T3 is a 4N silver cable, it exhibitis similar sound character as the other two TRN cables. I have cables from other brands/oem factories and they just don't sound as similar. I personally prefer gold plated silver plated copper mix. Mine has a very clear extension at the lower end I think you should give them a try if you come across one. Btw, I also tried those mmcx to 2-pin adaptors and they don't cause any sonic difference either. My goal was to collect cables made of different materials and I might not be getting more soon. My latest cables is a copper core graphene coated 8 core cable. Very aggressive sound and I don't like it, lol.

I didn't know the M10 has changable cable. Definitely getting a pair during the 11.11 sale (also ordered the blon bl-01).:gs1000smile:
 
Nov 10, 2020 at 10:28 AM Post #2,483 of 3,803
Interesting, what exactly is high pinna gain? So you find the sound of the AS16 better than thr also all BAs ASX?

I think the TRN T2,T3 and T4 are vey interesting. Although the T3 is a 4N silver cable, it exhibitis similar sound character as the other two TRN cables. I have cables from other brands/oem factories and they just don't sound as similar. I personally prefer gold plated silver plated copper mix. Mine has a very clear extension at the lower end I think you should give them a try if you come across one. Btw, I also tried those mmcx to 2-pin adaptors and they don't cause any sonic difference either. My goal was to collect cables made of different materials and I might not be getting more soon. My latest cables is a copper core graphene coated 8 core cable. Very aggressive sound and I don't like it, lol.

I didn't know the M10 has changable cable. Definitely getting a pair during the 11.11 sale (also ordered the blon bl-01).:gs1000smile:
The pinna gain is the compensation for direct insertion of IEM by increase of about 10 to 15 dB in a frequency range of 1.5 kHz to 7 kHz.
Elevated treble would be a simpler way to express it.
I personally like it, since it works with most of my recordings (I largely listen to classical music).
For electronic music with its wider frequency and amplitude range, it does not work for many.

So AS16 are my favorite pair, and my regret is only that I got it quite a bit late (back then I still tried to find a grain of truth in different reviews out there... Now I don't)

I am still waiting for my ASX sadly (I ordered the first day, but the shipment was returned, the second one is now in Canada, but our mail is ...royally slow...)
I am looking forward to compare it with AS16, C16 and also AS10 and BA10.

For sure that we can agree about cables - they are great to develop imagination :)
 
Nov 10, 2020 at 10:38 AM Post #2,484 of 3,803
The M10 cable works well over ear, it is flexible and the lack of any ear hook or memory wire works better for small earbud types. I used the M10 cable/connector on a pair of Sony Mh750 with good results. Had to destroy the M10 shell to get it, but drivers are intact for some other future project.
 
Nov 12, 2020 at 9:10 AM Post #2,485 of 3,803
The pinna gain is the compensation for direct insertion of IEM by increase of about 10 to 15 dB in a frequency range of 1.5 kHz to 7 kHz.
Elevated treble would be a simpler way to express it.
I personally like it, since it works with most of my recordings (I largely listen to classical music).
For electronic music with its wider frequency and amplitude range, it does not work for many.

So AS16 are my favorite pair, and my regret is only that I got it quite a bit late (back then I still tried to find a grain of truth in different reviews out there... Now I don't)

I am still waiting for my ASX sadly (I ordered the first day, but the shipment was returned, the second one is now in Canada, but our mail is ...royally slow...)
I am looking forward to compare it with AS16, C16 and also AS10 and BA10.

For sure that we can agree about cables - they are great to develop imagination :)
Intersting, I think I also prefer elevated treble. Call me a treblehead.

I went through my really small collection of IEMs again I still find the EDX most natural for acoustic instruments. :beerchug:

Sorry to hear about your ASX. They actually sound pretty good but too busy sounding for me.

Maybe I should start measuring mine with a multimeter. :)

Edit: I think the reason I like the EDX the best is that it can produce the hollow body sound of the violin and other acoustic instruments while most more expensive IEMs (especially the i3) tend to be too smooth for my liking (I know people prefer smoother sound). I just can't hear that specific range of resonance of the hollow body as much from my other IEMs.
 
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Nov 13, 2020 at 12:44 AM Post #2,486 of 3,803
Hi here is a small review about the TRN BA8: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/trn-ba8.24654/reviews#item-review-24732

e9200634-5f56-4469-baa1-ca21010313e3.jpg

TLDR:

Pros:

Good build.
Very good technicalities at this price range.
2 pin connector – better lifespan than MMCX general.
Good isolation.
Tight bass.

Cons:
Overpriced, many better sets for the same price range.
Harsh and fatiguing due to the overly boosted upper mids/lower treble, not the best option for treble sensitive folks.
BA timbre.
Hollow lower mids, off tonality in the mids.
Thin note weight.
Dearth of accessories.
Not the most comfortable fit for longer sessions.
 
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Nov 13, 2020 at 1:05 AM Post #2,487 of 3,803
Hi here is a small review about the TRN BA8: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/trn-ba8.24654/reviews#item-review-24732

e9200634-5f56-4469-baa1-ca21010313e3.jpg

TLDR:

Pros:

Good build.
Very good technicalities at this price range.
2 pin connector – better lifespan than MMCX general.
Good isolation.
Tight bass.

Cons:
Overpriced, many better sets for the same price range.
Harsh and fatiguing due to the overly boosted upper mids/lower treble, not the best option for treble sensitive folks.
BA timbre.
Hollow lower mids, off tonality in the mids.
Thin note weight.
Dearth of accessories.
Not the most comfortable fit for longer sessions.
You play around with EQ for it☺️
 
Nov 13, 2020 at 1:09 AM Post #2,488 of 3,803
You play around with EQ for it☺

I'm sorry I didn't try EQ on this set, I generally try to use equipment as they are without EQ for review purposes. I've returned the TRN BA8 loaner set, so am afraid I can't try EQ on it now, but I would suppose the 15 dB difference between lower mids to upper mids will take quite a lot of EQ fiddling!
 
Nov 13, 2020 at 11:16 AM Post #2,489 of 3,803
I'm sorry I didn't try EQ on this set, I generally try to use equipment as they are without EQ for review purposes. I've returned the TRN BA8 loaner set, so am afraid I can't try EQ on it now, but I would suppose the 15 dB difference between lower mids to upper mids will take quite a lot of EQ fiddling!
Ohh, that's not one for me without mods or eq then. 10db 2k gain is plenty for me. Finally got my blon 05 non s sounding good with a tape mod. Still a little bass light for my tastes but I can live with them now. Thanks for the review.
 
Nov 13, 2020 at 1:56 PM Post #2,490 of 3,803
I think this year is a major setback for TRN for all of its IEM products compared to their competitors. Their IEMs completely outperformed by other same class IEMs competitors.

Except for their BT20S Pro, this product hits the mark and works as intended...

I think TRN have to think through of their design and stick with one instead of multiple products with low quality and/or quality control.
 

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