Panasonic RP-TCM125 Review (Budget IEM)

[phoenixsong]

I got 2 sets of Philips Fidelio S2 IEMs for $20 or $25SGD each (USD$15 or $18.50) a few years back- really curious how they'd compare

To be honest though, I found the stock tips muffled the sound a little, and the 2 units seemed to sound somewhat different too. Maybe a QC issue?

 

[phoenixsong]

Hmm the distortion graph seems to reflect the cleaner sound I tend to get from IEMs compared with headphones in the similar price range too

 

[Nango]

Could someone close to @crinacle pls pass these to him? I bet this is Class A if not A+ on his ranking. Find these better than Final Audio E1000 which @crinacle called "surprised"!!!

 

[Lunafag]

Could someone close to @crinacle pls pass these to him? I bet this is Class A if not A+ on his ranking. Find these better than Final Audio E1000 which @crinacle called "surprised"!!!

He ranks on tonality without EQ and with behemoths like qkz vk4 around this won't score above C. The IEM field is very heated right now, everything made before 2019 is basically obsolete.

 

[Ata]

He ranks on tonality without EQ and with behemoths like qkz vk4 around this won't score above C. The IEM field is very heated right now, everything made before 2019 is basically obsolete.

I am unsure how Crinacle manages to independently rate tonality (FR) and technical ability. Most of the people on this thread and this forum believe that Harman FR and low THD should translate to great technical ability, hence the tonality is not independent of technicalities...

 

[Ata]

Could someone close to @crinacle pls pass these to him? I bet this is Class A if not A+ on his ranking. Find these better than Final Audio E1000 which @crinacle called "surprised"!!!

I am having trouble getting good sound out of the TCM125s using the EQ suggested in this thread. No matter what I do, and even with manual tweaking by ear (I have no measuring equipment), I cannot get the TCMs to sound as good as the ER2XRs -- not even close. Subjectively, there is some "mushiness" in the upper mids that wrecks clarity and resolution for me...

 

[amirm]

Could someone close to @crinacle pls pass these to him?

He can't afford to buy one himself???

 

[crinacle]

Could someone close to @crinacle pls pass these to him? I bet this is Class A if not A+ on his ranking. Find these better than Final Audio E1000 which @crinacle called "surprised"!!!

He can't afford to buy one himself???

I could, but honestly the FR looks mediocre and not worth the hassle. Hell, the THD characteristics don't seem particuarly excellent within the realm of dynamic drivers; I doubt these would outperform the Samsung EO-IG955 (AKA "those freebie Samsung earbuds") which is my benchmark for super-budget IEMs.

Personally if anyone's looking for a sub-$20 or even sub-$10 IEM with "Harman-like" tonality, you can't go wrong with the Sony MH755/750. While fakes and QC issues are significant, that's just a common risk for these kinds of cheapo stuff.

 

[BrEpBrEpBrEpBrEp]

I am having trouble getting good sound out of the TCM125s using the EQ suggested in this thread. No matter what I do, and even with manual tweaking by ear (I have no measuring equipment), I cannot get the TCMs to sound as good as the ER2XRs -- not even close. Subjectively, there is some "mushiness" in the upper mids that wrecks clarity and resolution for me...

https://medium.com/@jaakkopasanen/make-your-headphones-sound-supreme-1cbd567832a9

You can try following this tutorial and equalizing to the Harman in-ear target, then tuning by ear. Amir's EQ is done by ear and might not necessarily be to your preference.

A member in this thread also calculated EQ for the Harman target. See below post.

Check this post.

 

[Ata]

https://medium.com/@jaakkopasanen/make-your-headphones-sound-supreme-1cbd567832a9

You can try following this tutorial and equalizing to the Harman in-ear target, then tuning by ear. Amir's EQ is done by ear and might not necessarily be to your preference.

A member in this thread also calculated EQ for the Harman target. See below post.

I have tried both Amir's and Maiky76's EQ settings and both sounded off.

Thanks for the pointer to the AutoEq guide! After a 3GB git checkout I was able to follow the guide and arrived at a different set of PEQ settings:

Preamp: -6.5 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 77 Hz Gain -5.7 dB Q 0.44
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 343 Hz Gain -5.3 dB Q 0.38
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 871 Hz Gain 6.0 dB Q 0.55
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 15868 Hz Gain 6.6 dB Q 0.22
Optional:
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 240 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 6.13
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 2471 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 2.69
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 5084 Hz Gain -6.2 dB Q 3.11
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 6201 Hz Gain 3.9 dB Q 1.76
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 15324 Hz Gain -0.8 dB Q 1.30

and the following result:

Subjective thoughts: Much better sounding, more balanced FR than the other EQ I tried. Still not as good as my ER2XR overall, there is noticeable smearing of complex transients, such as the sound of violins, but definitely listenable to. Some things are same or even better than ER2XR, such as the bass depth. Perhaps a C+ or B- in terms of technicalities, after EQing?

 

[Nango]

If this Panasonic is only B- I would see those Blon B-03 more towards G or H !!!!!

 

[Ata]

If this Panasonic is only B- I would see those Blon B-03 more towards G or H !!!!!

Before or after EQ? Never heard any BLONs, with ER2XR going for about 70 USD the case for entry level Chifi is not very compelling for me. With EQ they have ruined my appreciation for much more expensive sets as well; as @crinacle puts it very well, they are an anomaly in the market. I recently auditioned about a dozen sets and of those I heard, only Sony M9s and Campfire Andromeda 2020s had a convincing sound advantage over the Etymotics.

 

[BrEpBrEpBrEpBrEp]

I have tried both Amir's and Maiky76's EQ settings and both sounded off.

Thanks for the pointer to the AutoEq guide! After a 3GB git checkout I was able to follow the guide and arrived at a different set of PEQ settings:

Yeah, if you look at the readme in the repo, @jaakkopasanen did quite a bit of work on how the EQ is calculated to avoid potential pitfalls in headphone measurements. See the section on technical challenges. I'm a big fan of AutoEQ, really nice project.

If you want to save some disk space, by the way, he has a repo which includes only the program itself.

 

[Nango]

I have tried both Amir's and Maiky76's EQ settings and both sounded off.

Thanks for the pointer to the AutoEq guide! After a 3GB git checkout I was able to follow the guide and arrived at a different set of PEQ settings:

Preamp: -6.5 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 77 Hz Gain -5.7 dB Q 0.44
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 343 Hz Gain -5.3 dB Q 0.38
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 871 Hz Gain 6.0 dB Q 0.55
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 15868 Hz Gain 6.6 dB Q 0.22
Optional:
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 240 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 6.13
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 2471 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 2.69
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 5084 Hz Gain -6.2 dB Q 3.11
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 6201 Hz Gain 3.9 dB Q 1.76
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 15324 Hz Gain -0.8 dB Q 1.30

and the following result:

View attachment 131870

Subjective thoughts: Much better sounding, more balanced FR than the other EQ I tried. Still not as good as my ER2XR overall, there is noticeable smearing of complex transients, such as the sound of violins, but definitely listenable to. Some things are same or even better than ER2XR, such as the bass depth. Perhaps a C+ or B- in terms of technicalities, after EQing?

Post EQ. Never tried Etymotics because of that deep insertion but always heard only good in the reviews.

 

[Ata]

Yeah, if you look at the readme in the repo, @jaakkopasanen did quite a bit of work on how the EQ is calculated to avoid potential pitfalls in headphone measurements. See the section on technical challenges. I'm a big fan of AutoEQ, really nice project.

If you want to save some disk space, by the way, he has a repo which includes only the program itself.

I have been using AutoEq as a user for a while, too, for all my headphones and all of them benefit noticeably, especially with the generated convolution filters. Today I had used the tools for the first time, and like the results...

I know I can do a shallow clone of the repo, just did not expect it to be so large...

 

[Ata]

Never tried Etymotics because of that deep insertion but always heard only good in the reviews.

Unless you have known IEM fitment problems, you are not likely to have an issue. I also hesitated, luckily these fit like a glove with the default triple flange.

Given Etymotic has been around for a very long time, and aim at professional use, I'd say the deep insertion / fitment problems are probably overstated.

 

[outerspace]

I have been using AutoEq as a user for a while, too, for all my headphones and all of them benefit noticeably, especially with the generated convolution filters. Today I had used the tools for the first time, and like the results...

I know I can do a shallow clone of the repo, just did not expect it to be so large...

Try this method. All you need is Y-splitter. You can get amazing result, potentially much better than any preset (because this method include your individual perception of sound). You can even copy sound of your full-sized headphones including some of their "spatial" effects to cheap in-ears. I was a little bit shocked when did this first time. But you need to be careful, especially with phase difference and sometimes good result can take several attempts.

 

[Ata]

This looks promising!

 

[markanini]

He ranks on tonality without EQ and with behemoths like qkz vk4 around this won't score above C. The IEM field is very heated right now, everything made before 2019 is basically obsolete.

QKZ VK4 has a treble overshoot and the tips are subpar. I'm awaiting delivery of a Blon BL-01, but Sony MH750 remains the leader of the price range for the foreseeable time IMO.

 

[Nango]

Anyone here knows Sony MH1 or MH1C ? I managed to buy some which are definitely not fake (tips delivered in a cotton bag, not plastic bags). Are they better than Sony MH750 ???