I have just received my new Tanchjim Ones - my first purchase inspired by ASR!
The reason for the purchase was that my existing iems ( Apple Earpod – some years old) do not fit securely and fall out frequently, especially if I move my jaws (eat/drink), although they do not sound bad to me.
My initial setup: using Foobar2000 with no eq, connected via 3.5mm stereo jack on my laptop.
On first listen my immediate response was “where's the music ?” There was no sense of a soundstage and the sound was 'thin'.
I checked to confirm the iems were inserted correctly. They were a good fit and the connections were L->L, R->R, etc.
I ran some sound tests :
phase - up – down – L-R tests
tones down to 45hz and up to my hearing level around 11khz
I ran the same on the Earpods – the results all seemed very similar to me between the 2 iems.
I installed and enabled Foobar Mathaudio PEQ with filters set following the outlines from
@amirm's review. Changes were apparent but there was no particular improvement when using the T Ones.
I then noticed that the Foobar Output preferences were set to “Headphones (Realtek audio)”. I changed this to “Headphones (Realtek audio) Exclusive“ and noted a major improvement.
Swapped back and forth between the 2 headphone settings – the Exclusive one is the keeper.
I changed back to Earpods which sounded more bassy and muddy.
I then removed the peq – the Earpods are better without the T One peq (no eq at all).
Swapping between the T Ones with PEQ and the Earpods with no eq - Earpods still preferred. They present a much more lively mid-bass.
I did my best to equalise volume between the 2 devices but not sure I succeeded.
Can anyone offer comments for further improvement?
Edit – changed the plugs to the largest set, on the basis that the iems need to sit a bit further out from my eardrums. The fit did not seem particularly more snug but there is better bass and the sound is more enjoyable – my foot is now tapping! I will persevere!