TRN-VX Review (3) – Technical Ecstasy
Pros — Small shells; great ergonomics; very good technical abilities.
Cons — Tuning (glassy vocals/harshness from boosted upper midrange needed tape adjustment); design lifted from Meze; sub-standard cable; boosted upper midrange causes light note weight.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The TRN-VX earphone is a 6 BA +1 DD hybrid that excels by its superb build and its (in this class) unparalleled technical abilities. But it does not work right out of the box and needs a different cable and some 3M micropore tape on the nozzle to work well.
INTRODUCTION
TRN is a relatively new company that had attracted many fans last year, mainly with the very popular 4 BA +1 DD TRN-V90 and the 5 BA TRN-BA5. You find several reviews of these two on our blog. In order to keep up with the Chi-Fi progress, TRN just released the 6 BA + 1DD, which is actually their best earphone yet in my opinion.
Two reviews of the TRN-VX exist on our blog already – as well as a video on our YouTube channel. I keep myself therefore short.
TRN-VX review I by Loomis Johnson
TRN-VX review II by Baskingshark
SPECIFICATIONS
Driver unit: 6 BA + 1 DD (10 mm)
Impedance: 22 Ω
Sensitivity: 107 dB/mW
Frequency range: 7 – 40000 Hz
Connectors: 2 pin
Tested at: $72
Product page:
Purchase Link: TRN Official Store
PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY
TRN appear to have put all their money into the earpieces and the sound. The box’s content is rather sparse: apart from the two shells, there is a cable, 3 pairs of silicone eartips (S/M/L), and the usual paperwork. The cable is basic and non-descript – and it does not live up to the beautifully CnC machined aluminum earpieces. Nicely enough, TRN also included their $14 TRN-T4 8-core occ copper cable – which caused the TRN-VX to sound overly sharp. It was therefore not used in the review.
OCC: Ohno Continous Cast! What is it?
The earpieces are rather small for hosting 7 drivers, and they are somewhat unique in comparison to your typical Chi-Fi fare. But before I gave kudos to TRN for their design, some similarities to the Rai Meze Penta became obvious. Not good. The earpieces just feel great between my fingers and the green colour is very appealing to my eyes. And they fit my ears very well – thank you Meze – and were comfortable over longer periods of time. Isolation is middle of the road. As sources I used my iphone and MacBook Air in combination with the ifi hip-dac and ifi nano bl. In terms of eartips, the largest stock tips worked well. For my listening, I used a cheap $8 8-core pure copper cable from Yinyoo as pure copper generally decreases harshness in my earphones [product link].
MICROPORE TAPE MOD
This mod was suggested and tested by KopiOkaya. It is based on Head-Fier’s/Super Best Audio Friend’s James444 modding techniques, which we summarize HERE.
TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES
My tonal preference and testing practice
The TRN-VX is a very technical earphone with a bright, V-shaped signature (ootb). The tuners elected to bring the upper midrange forward, which causes some harshness (green graph). After micropore modding, the upper midrange is reduced by 2-3 dB (red graph) which removed some harshness and glassiness from the vocals and brought them forward in the mix. My description of the tonality is with the tape mod implemented.
The dynamic driver provides for a great bass. It is speedy, articulate, composed, and well extended. And it stays composed into the sub-bass without getting fuzzy. It is linear and therefore avoids a mid-bass hump that excavates my eardrums. Dosage is just right for the audiophile crowd but is not enough for bassheads. Well done. The bass adds a bit of warmth but the earphone stays analytical overall. Bassheads can increase the bass punch by adding Azla SednaEarfit tips (long-stemmed wide bores).
Vocals in the lower midrange as still a bit back, even with the 3M micropore tape and third-party pure copper cable. Upper midrange is still a bit on the forward side and still attenuates the lower midrange to some extent. Note weight could be a bit thicker/heavier. This yields a crisp and clear midrange and a bit of a cavernous listening sensation.
Treble is well extended, not fatiguing, adds sparkle to the whole, but has a tendency toward sibilance. I am sensitive towards treble but did not mind this one.
Timbre is also quite good, although it is not as organic as single DDs such as the Moondrop Starfield or the KBEAR Diamond. Detail resolution is very impressive. Soundstage is very wide, much wider than the competition I have tested (Tin Hifi T4, Starfield, and Diamond), with a reasonable depth. Generally, the TRN-VX beats their competition in terms of technicalities, including layering and instrument separation. I also find the modded TRN-VX less recessed than the organic TRN-V90, and much more balanced than the TRN-BA5 (all of the above have been reviewed by us HERE).
WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENTLY?
I would obviously flatten the curve to get a more robust vocals department and less shrillness. I would also add a decent cable that matches the physical qualities of the earpieces. After all, buyers expect a “complete” product at this price.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The TRN-VX are a technically, ergonomically, and hapticly very good earphone and possibly outstanding in their class in these respects. But what many users will dislike about it is that sub-par cable and the company’s refusal to tune the earphone according to the western flavour (but rather add artificial hardness that needs to be compensated for by taping the nozzle). But once these kinks have been ironed out, the TRN-VX is a reasonably enjoyable earphone that currently finds some use in my collection.
Until next time…keep on listening!
You find an INDEX of all our earphone reviews HERE.
DISCLAIMER
The TRN-VX earphone – including a hefty DHL bill – was received unsolicited. But we do what we can…
Get the TRN-VX from the TRN Official Store
Yinyoo 8-core pure-copper cable used in the review
Our generic standard disclaimer.
You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.
