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Tanchjim Origin IEM Review

Rate this IEM:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 10 6.5%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 54 34.8%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 81 52.3%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 10 6.5%

  • Total voters
    155

amirm

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This is a review, detailed measurements and listening tests of Tanchjim Origin IEM. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $260.
Tanchjim origin stock nozzle IEM In-Ear Monitor Review.jpg

Everything from packaging and look and feel of the Origin is a huge step up from the budget IEMs we have tested in the past. The ear pieces themselves feel like solid metal and have high polish. Despite the extra weight, I had no trouble keeping them in my ear (stationary position). The cord is soft and seemed to be tangle free. Even the act of inserting the cables into the IEM felt good without excessive force and a final feeling of it being properly seated.

Two versions of the tips are provided. One said better bass and another, better treble. I chose the former for testing.

Three sets of nozzles are provided. There is no documentation on what the difference is. I measured all three (see below).

Company touts low distortion and compliance with their target:
Tanchjim origin stock nozzle IEM In-Ear Monitor Stock Tuning.png


It is good to see them using such a target but alas, it is not what we like to see. Let's measure it with my GRAS-45CA fixture using Audio Precision APx555 analyzer.

Tanchjim IEM Measurements
Let's start with the included nozzle and better bass tip:
Tanchjim origin stock nozzle IEM In-Ear Monitor Frequency Response Measurement.png

We see a response that is very close to the manufacturer. As is however, it has too little deep bass, and slightly boosted upper bass. And maybe some shortfall around 6.4 kHz. Testing with different nozzles is tricky as it requires removal, changing the tip and re-inserting into the fixture. There is no way I can do this consistently but I tried:
Tanchjim origin different nozzle IEM In-Ear Monitor Frequency Response Measurement.png

There appears to be slight change below 1 kHz but not enough to get it compliant with our target. Let's stay with the default (red). Relative response error is thus:
Tanchjim origin stock nozzle IEM In-Ear Monitor relative Frequency Response Measurement.png

Should be easy to dial in filters if distortion is low which it is:
Tanchjim origin stock nozzle IEM In-Ear Monitor THD Distortion Measurement.png

Tanchjim origin stock nozzle IEM In-Ear Monitor relative THD Distortion Measurement.png


Group delay is uneventful in IEMs due to lack of reflections that other headphone types have and such is the case here:
Tanchjim origin stock nozzle IEM In-Ear Monitor Group Delay Measurement.png


Impedance is flat and very low:
Tanchjim origin stock nozzle IEM In-Ear Monitor Impedance Measurement.png

Combined with average IEM sensitivity, it should be an easy drive for many sources:
Best IEM headphone review 2024.png


Tanchjim IEM Listening Tests and Eq
First listen wasn't bad and produced an inoffensive sound signature. I could not tell you the exact issues with doing the EQ:
Tanchjim origin stock nozzle IEM In-Ear Monitor Equalization EQ Filter.png

I dialed in the bass boost first and wow, was this IEM able to produce very clean and substantial amount of bass (for an IEM). Overall though, it was a big boomy so I put in the filter next to it to pull down that 200 Hz hump. That cleaned up the bass. I wasn't sure if I needed treble boost but I put it in (based on the channel needing the least) and it nicely balanced the newly found bass response.

I then ran through my reference clips and the experience was jaw dropping at times. Full range sound with detail to die for and dynamics to go with it. I could have listened for hours. Turning off the EQ, pulled things down substantially, taking out the smile factor. Not terrible mind you but equalization took the Origin to proverbial next level.

Conclusions
I know, I know, I have reviewed IEMs going for $50 that need little EQ and sound great. But they feel quite cheap. While the Origin does need some EQ, once in place, you get both the luxury feel and sound fidelity. Ideally we would not need EQ and I hope the company takes note and changes its tuning to what we like to see. If they had done that, it would have gotten a perfect score from me.

As is, I can only recommend the Tanchjim Origin with equalization.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
 

Attachments

  • Tanchjim Origin.zip
    33.4 KB · Views: 109
The bar for IEMs is very high now even for cheap ones. In the grand scheme of headphone things, this is very good. In the context of IEMs, this is just not terrible IMO. A year ago I'd have a different story to tell. If the mismatch was smaller, I'd rate them higher.
 
My best sounding IEMs after EQ sound quite boring before without EQ, Moondrop Lan and 7Hz Zero, also lean balanced 1DD...

I'm sure Origin would be better as a DSP IEM after Amirs careful evaluation. It seems the market isn't ready for DSP enabled IEMs though, premium range least of all. At best the upcoming Crinacle Dusk 2 will change market perceptions.
 
Last edited:
awesome. i've heard some good things about this iem. sad to see the the bass shelf so low. it follows the IEF target. maybe its time for crinacle to add a bass shelf into the target. personally i tune all my iem's to IEF leaving out the <200 Hz filters. I always avoid the 4k-6k boost in treble in IE 2019 harman curve. Eventually in longer sessions and less well recorded music i find the dip more sustainable/enjoyable. this has worked successfully for my pinna effects.
 
awesome. i've heard some good things about this iem. sad to see the the bass shelf so low. it follows the IEF target. maybe its time for crinacle to add a bass shelf into the target. personally i tune all my iem's to IEF leaving out the <200 Hz filters. I always avoid the 4k-6k boost in treble in IE 2019 harman curve. Eventually in longer sessions and less well recorded music i find the dip more sustainable/enjoyable. this has worked successfully for my pinna effects.
The solution for all of this is simple: develop your own EQ starting with the measurements. Try what I and others produce. Then make small adjustments to taste. There is no solution other than this. It is absurd to chase this and that target, worry about this and that fixture as they are doing in that video.

It is also completely wrong to state that IEMs are objectively worse. There is no such thing. IEMs create a different experience but that is it. Their ability to produce high fidelity music at times is superior to any other transducer at any price.
 
@amirm surely you don't need that to say how this are very boomy in mid and uper bass and how also the low mids suffer from it out of the box of course and it stays like that disreging of SPL. But you did say that, I just elaborated.
 
No more Asano Tanch in Tanchjim earphones?
That's really sad...
 
I stopped reading at happy panther and $260 price tag. Don't get me wrong, we have now state of the art performance IEM for $25, and, that+ good build quality + good looking for $50. Whether Tanchjim brand demands such high price for less performance is up to debate. For me, not
 
I stopped reading at happy panther and $260 price tag. Don't get me wrong, we have now state of the art performance IEM for $25, and, that+ good build quality + good looking for $50. Whether Tanchjim brand demands such high price for less performance is up to debate. For me, not
You mean for the same price tag you can have a pair of excellent IEM and also an excellent DAC+Amp headphone? And a pizza?
 
Thanks for the review @amirm, looks I will be sticking with my Crinacles. Funnily enough, I recently had the time leisure to have a listening session with my DCA Aeons, and what a difference to in ear headphones. So much more comfy and such an improved experience.
 
I stopped reading at happy panther and $260 price tag. Don't get me wrong, we have now state of the art performance IEM for $25, and, that+ good build quality + good looking for $50. Whether Tanchjim brand demands such high price for less performance is up to debate. For me, not
Like their own budget IEM?

 
Another IEM that measures well but has absolutely no innovation in terms of fit or isolation which for me and many others is the raison d'être for IEMs.
 
This is a review, detailed measurements and listening tests of Tanchjim Origin IEM. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $260.
View attachment 353863
Everything from packaging and look and feel of the Origin is a huge step up from the budget IEMs we have tested in the past. The ear pieces themselves feel like solid metal and have high polish. Despite the extra weight, I had no trouble keeping them in my ear (stationary position). The cord is soft and seemed to be tangle free. Even the act of inserting the cables into the IEM felt good without excessive force and a final feeling of it being properly seated.

Two versions of the tips are provided. One said better bass and another, better treble. I chose the former for testing.

Three sets of nozzles are provided. There is no documentation on what the difference is. I measured all three (see below).

Company touts low distortion and compliance with their target:
View attachment 353864

It is good to see them using such a target but alas, it is not what we like to see. Let's measure it with my GRAS-45CA fixture using Audio Precision APx555 analyzer.

Tanchjim IEM Measurements
Let's start with the included nozzle and better bass tip:
View attachment 353866
We see a response that is very close to the manufacturer. As is however, it has too little deep bass, and slightly boosted upper bass. And maybe some shortfall around 6.4 kHz. Testing with different nozzles is tricky as it requires removal, changing the tip and re-inserting into the fixture. There is no way I can do this consistently but I tried:
View attachment 353867
There appears to be slight change below 1 kHz but not enough to get it compliant with our target. Let's stay with the default (red). Relative response error is thus:
View attachment 353868
Should be easy to dial in filters if distortion is low which it is:
View attachment 353869
View attachment 353870

Group delay is uneventful in IEMs due to lack of reflections that other headphone types have and such is the case here:
View attachment 353871

Impedance is flat and very low:
View attachment 353872
Combined with average IEM sensitivity, it should be an easy drive for many sources:
View attachment 353873

Tanchjim IEM Listening Tests and Eq
First listen wasn't bad and produced an inoffensive sound signature. I could not tell you the exact issues with doing the EQ:
View attachment 353882
I dialed in the bass boost first and wow, was this IEM able to produce very clean and substantial amount of bass (for an IEM). Overall though, it was a big boomy so I put in the filter next to it to pull down that 200 Hz hump. That cleaned up the bass. I wasn't sure if I needed treble boost but I put it in (based on the channel needing the least) and it nicely balanced the newly found bass response.

I then ran through my reference clips and the experience was jaw dropping at times. Full range sound with detail to die for and dynamics to go with it. I could have listened for hours. Turning off the EQ, pulled things down substantially, taking out the smile factor. Not terrible mind you but equalization took the Origin to proverbial next level.

Conclusions
I know, I know, I have reviewed IEMs going for $50 that need little EQ and sound great. But they feel quite cheap. While the Origin does need some EQ, once in place, you get both the luxury feel and sound fidelity. Ideally we would not need EQ and I hope the company takes note and changes its tuning to what we like to see. If they had done that, it would have gotten a perfect score from me.

As is, I can only recommend the Tanchjim Origin with equalization.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
the reference of the frequency response is a hi-fi curve?
 
amirm you should try fiio jade jd3, costs 16eur and its really great, in my opinion far superior from other things I own that are x4 or x5 more pricey like starfield and a4000
 
Their ability to produce high fidelity music at times is superior to any other transducer at any price.
I could not agree more with this statement. Headphones for me were always just OK. Nothing special and I would rather listen to my Speakers. But low distortion and well made IEM’s were a complete wake up call. The fidelity they are capable of is incredible and creates a new journey listening to music that you know and love, but all of a sudden, via the IEM’s you start to hear details and dynamics that are not present in headphones. I don’t even use my Headphones anymore. Maybe I will sell them here soon.

Again thanks for the Review Amir. Sunday is not a Funday for the Amir “Automaton”. :D
 
Like their own budget IEM?

or from 7hz
it's crazy how much performance can be had with that little money. it's probably crazier to think that with very little to no performance gain (in this case, less) demands that much (10x) more money
 
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