TRN V90 Review (2): Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?

Pros — Smooth, balanced sound; superb build and haptic; great value.

Cons — Underaccessorized.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The well-resolving TRN V90 is a 4+1 hybrid that is characterized by a warmish to neutral balanced tonality, which is well extended yet smooth at either end.

A version of this review was silently removed from head-fi.org.

INTRODUCTION

You find some photos of the TRN V90 HERE, and some earlier impressions THERE.

TRN is the daughter of the Chinese Dongguan Zuodu Acoustics Technology Co., a company established by two passionate engineers and audiophiles in 2017. The company specializes in R&D and production of high-quality earphones, headphones, and audio accessories. I reviewed the TRN V80 [HERE] last year, an acclaimed 2+2 hybrid that is characterized by its well textured, punchy bottom end and a rather forward upper end. My interest in the TRN V90 was generated through the ongoing correspondence with KopiOkaya, a Singaporean audio engineer who, in his spare time, helps TRN and others with their tuning. He solicited me to have a look at the new V90.

SPECIFICATIONS

Brand: TRN
Model: V90
Type: in-ear
Driver Unit: 4BA+1DD hybrid
Impedance: 22 Ω
Sensitivity: 110 dB/mW
Frequency Range: 7-40000 Hz
Plug Type : 3.5mm straight plug
Cable Length: 1.25 m
Colours: blue, black
Earphone Interface: 2-pin connector
Tested at: $49
Product Page: does not exist; find the TRN V90 on aliexpress

TRN T1 cable: 2 pin, 8-core
Tested at: $9.60

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

Unxboxing aficionados may be disappointed: the content is rather spartan and pragmatic, as you see on the photo. It appears that the money was put into the earpieces and technology rather than into bling bling. The TRN V90 is optically somewhat “undercabled”: yes, the cable sounds alright but it doesn’t live up to the classy CnC-machined earpieces with their smooth, soapstone-like feel between your fingers. Great haptic. The build of the earpieces is flawless for any price category, and I am so glad they are connected via reliable 2 pins to the cable.

Fit and seal (and therefore isolation) strongly depend on the eartips used but are in no case great with my ears. I did not reach a seal with any of the included eartips so that my first sound impression was not good. Tip rolling was required and I first settled for some bulbous/short, fat wide-bores that were included with another budget earphone. Ergonomics worked with these. Subsequently, I used JVC Spiral Dots that added air and tightened the bass: it was like opening a window. The TRN V90 are operated easily with my iPhone SE (with and without the AudioQuest Dragonfly) and also with the Shanling M0. All of these have low output impedance. My description of the tonality below is being based on the use of the Dragonfly and the JVC Spiral Dots as this combination sounded best.

An earphone should not only judged by its sound but also by the overall fun to use it, which includes handling…and looks. I do really like handling the classy, smooth-feeling earpieces, and that particularly with the “tiger” “upgrade” cable TRN T1. I consider the extra $10 on this very supple 8-core cable well spent — and that rather on “jewelry” than on sound improvement.

TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

JK’s tonal preference and testing practice

The TRN V90 is a well-tempered, warmish, and homogenous sounding earphone with a tendency towards neutral…and with good air (with Spiral Dots). It is NOT clinical or fatiguing but rather inviting and seducing. I do like its sound signature a lot, also in comparison with more expensive earphones.

The Frequency response graph (that depicts the sound quantity) is sheer horror and does not reflect the sound quality. I would not even look at this earphone based on the frequency response…which is sometimes deceiving, obviously. OK, the bad news first: the weak point of the V90 is the degree of recession of the midrange. The good: it it not that bad and better than the V80 or similar hybrids in this price category. The recession does not take away much of the overall enjoyment.

The good: nothing much to bicker about the rest which makes up for that shortcoming. It is a balanced earphone overall with an reasonably organic sound (for a hybrid) that might make you think it is a well resolving single dynamic driver. Both upper and lower ends are approaching “sugar” qualities. The slightly boosted bass is well controlled and extended without a mid-bass hump, it is well dosed and creates a tasteful, never overbearing punch to my ears….and it adds warmth. The upper bass adds weight to the deeper vocals. In rare cases, the low end can appear borderline boomy. In most cases, it is silky smooth, comparable to denim jeans with a bit of stretch..and it makes me cry for more.

Yes, the lower midrange is recessed but voices do sound surprisingly realistic and natural, they are well sculptured, and they fit well in the context of the highs and lows. Voices can be borderline overenergetic, but this is a rare occurrence. The excess energy stems from a boost in the upper midrange, which constitutes a smooth plateau rather than a group of spikes. Upper midrange and bass peaks balance each other and there is never any congestion in the upper midrange, a common problem with cheap hybrids. Another reason why the upper midrange is not annoying is the relative natural transients…fast transients add sharpness. Higher piano notes are firm and clear. The good voice definition is mirrored by the well-resolving, well extended, and smooth treble. Cymbals have an amazingly realistic decay…can’t think of similar quality treble in this price range. There is no fatiguing element for sensible ears towards the upper end, as recorded by the, let’s say, Simgot EM2 and the Ikko OH1.

Technicalities are also quite impressive: the soundstage is wide, has a good depth, and is reasonably high. Transients are surprisingly realistic, for example the attack/decay of bass and the aforementioned cymbals. Spatial cues is particularly noteworthy, it goes towards “cavernous”, and so are vocal/instrument separation. Quite remarkable for a $50 earphone. Tonal accuracy is quite good but not as good as a good dedicated dynamic driver such as the Blon BL-03. The TRN V90, like most hybrids, has its dynamics boosted relative to natural which makes it most appealing to music that is generated electronically. It also works quite well for classical but a good DD is preferable.

SELECT COMPARISONS

TRN V80 ($30): Punchier at the low end and more piercing in the treble. The TRN V90 is overall quite a bit more refined and smoother sounding. Full review of the V80 HERE.

NiceHCK M6 ($85): The V90 is more youthful and exciting with a better bass kick than the M6 with its thick, lazy bass, but it is behind in smoothness and intimacy in the vocals department. The less energized midrange makes the M6 darker, smoother, but overall more static/less dynamic. The M6 will appeal more to mature people, age wise. More on the M6 HERE.

Blon BL-03 ($40): The V90 has more bass kick, the BL-03 more of a natural dynamic range and also the more natural timbre and a taller stage, which makes the Blon better suited for classical music and jazz, and the V90 better for (hard) rock and electronic music…that have an artificial bass push. A full review of the Blon BL-03 is HERE.

NiceHCK NX7 ($75): Is discussed in detail HERE. We also offer two reviews of the NX7 (by Loomis and me).

VALUE

Yes, the price is right imo. If you appreciate a fancy cable to complement the looks and haptic of the V90, I recommend the yellow-black 8-core TRN V1 at below $10. It is very pliable. Whether it sounds any better than the stock cable remains debatable, but it certainly looks and feels better. And since I put my money where my mouth is, I just ordered three more “tiger” cables.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

This is a really good, enjoyable earphone, but it needs work to function properly. On one hand it is incredible that this is another earphone that does not work ootb for many, on the other it is incredible what you get with a little bit of tinkering: it is all or nothing at all. But it cannot be an ongoing trend that the buyer needs to provide their own accessories: tips and a fancier looking cable. What I appreciate of the TRN V90 is the complete package: look good, feel good, sound good. They go on my list of favourite earphones.

Keep on listening!

You find an INDEX of all our earphone reviews HERE.

DISCLAIMER

This is a very personal and therefore subjective review. Unleashing the earphone’s full potential required a dongle dac/amp and third-party wide-bore eartips. As always, I recommend to read the broad body of reviews. I was solicited by TRN through KopiOkaya to analyze the TRN V90 earphone and I thank them for the review unit. KopiOkaya also supplied the measurements used above, and I think him for the ongoing discussion.

We have another review of the TRN V90: