TRN BA8 Review (2) – Cuts Like A Knife
Pros — Detail resolution and transparency; tight bass.
Cons — Overheated upper midrange, sterile timbre, poor cable and accessory package.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The TRN BA8 is a well-resolving and otherwise technically very good earphone that fails on its overly aggressive sound and sterile presentation.
INTRODUCTION
TRN are a Chinese company that has entertained us with a few hits and misses in the past. The TRN V90 was immensely popular and one of the best visited in our blog’s history. The TRN STM made it on our “Gear of the Year 2020” list. This is approximately the 20th review of a TRN earphone on our blog (you find them all here). I found some of the TRN models very aggressive sounding, such as the TRN VX so that we repeatedly had to offer modding procedures such as this one. The TRN BA, unfortunately, falls into this category.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Driver Type: 8 BA (Customised 30095 high frequency x 3 + 29689 midrange x 2 + 50060 midrange x 2 + 22955 low frequency x 1)
- Frequency Response: 20 – 20000Hz
- Impedance: 20 ohms
- Sensitivity: 100 dB/mW
- Cable type: 2 pin
- Tested at $141 USD
PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY
The package contains the earpieces, a 4-core occ cable (not the one in the photo below), and a set of silicone tips (S/M/L). Baskingshark has this chapter covered very well in his own review. The earpieces are well machined, the cable is substandard – the QDC connectors were loose and the right channel failed after short use. I replaced the cable with the pure copper one on the photo below.
TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES
My tonal preference and testing practice
Equipment used: iPhone SE (1st generation), stock cable, Yinyoo 8-core pure copper cable, Azla SednaEarfit and Spinfit CP145 silicone tips.
To make this short and swift: the TRN BA8 are only for people with metal eardrums or hearing loss in the upper registers. To me, they generated that instant Chi-Fi headache. They are the classic earphone that needs the famous micropore tape mod. The upper midrange is way overcooked which sharpens the vocals/midrange to the utmost. Most western ears find this offensive to painful. At this price, the high risk of buyer’s remorse is too big imo and means too big a potential loss.
Bass is really good, it is dry and tight. It does not smudge into the midrange and keeps it clear and transparent. However this also sucks any warmth out of the presentation and adds to a sterile and clinical timbre. The presentation is technically excellent however entirely unnatural. Like an overpixelated, oversharpened piece of photography. Yes, mids are intimate by piercing.
The other technicalities such as soundstage, separation, and layering are also very good.
The micropore mod (and replacing the small stock tips with Azla SednaEarfit) removed some of the aggression and harshness from the midrange, however the sound remained very digital – like out of an early-generation CD player. This had one advantage: event the oldest 1950s recorded sounded “remastered”.
And suddenly disaster stroke: the right earpiece lost some volume so that there was a strong channel imbalance. I grabbed the next cable lying around – it happened to be an 8-core pure copper cable: and both channels worked again equally well. But as a side effect, the sound characteristics had totally changed: it was was warm not not so digital anymore. And the low end sounded overly thick. I replaced the Azlas with the Spinfit CP145 to tighten the bass…and also ripped the micropore tape off.
The sound remained warm at the bottom but now the vocals picked up energy again. I realized that, apart from the earpieces, nothing was stock anymore. I decided to stop my review here as I felt I was doing R&D, something TRN should have done before throwing the BA8 on the market. Reporting the BA8 in my configuration does not help anyone, not the reader and not the manufacturer either. I therefore refer you to Baskingshark’s review.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
In summary, the TRN BA8 is another promising iem thrown on the market prematurely. It is an unfinished symphony with an aggressive tuning many listeners find torturing, and with a cable that does not harmonize with the earpieces. TRN had ample warnings over and over again from the feedback to some previous models. If I had paid $150 for this, I would be extremely unhappy. Buyers should not be guinea pigs.
Until next time…keep on listening!
DISCLAIMER
The TRN BA8 was sent to me unsolicited by the manufacturer and I thank them for that.
Our generic standard disclaimer.
You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.
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