I was pleasantly surprised with the Tangzu x HBB Xuan Nv. Not because I expected them to sound bad, but because they actually exceeded my expectations, which is fairly rare for me in the budget IEMs category.
Okay, so, I ordered these for a very specific reason: the Xuan Nv are powered by two dynamic drivers in each ear - one woofer and one tweeter - and NOTHING ELSE. This is actually a fairly uncommon configuration in the world of IEMs today. There are, of course, a million different single DD IEMs on the market, but not a lot of 2DDs. Sure, there are TONS of hybrids out there with 2DDs, but that's just PART of their config. Pure "2DD and nothing but 2DD" IEMs are pretty rare, and that's why I'm always interested when I come across one.
The logical comparison is, of course, with the Zero Reds. At $55-65 (depending on where you get them), they're some of the best IEMs for the money, and they honestly can even go head to head with a lot of IEMs that cost four or five times as much. And they do all of this with just two dynamic drivers.
So naturally, I wanted to see what Tangzu could pull off with the same driver config as the Zero Reds.
I am pleased to report that I was not AT ALL disappointed. They are warm, punchy, and bassy, but still have excellent dynamics, good imaging, good "resolution," etc. Mids are nicely defined and the bass doesn't bleed into them. Treble is WONDERFULLY restrained. I cannot abide shouty mids and treble, so the Xuan Nv are already winners for me in that regard.
They're also very comfortable, at least in my ears, and I have pretty narrow ear canals. I also think they look pretty cool. The cable is clearly where they cut corners for savings: it just feels cheap. If you pull the trigger on these, do yourself a favor and order a decent aftermarket cable to go along with them. I paired my Xuan Nv with a gold Tripowin cable and aesthetically they work really well together - the gold cable compliments the gold patterns on the red IEM shells, besides which, red and gold just go well together anyway.
But what it really comes down to is, are the Tangzu Xuan Nv better than the Truthear x Crinacle Zero Red?
Well... I actually think yes, they are. Which I was NOT expecting. They're not leaps and bounds better, mind you, but yes, I do think they're superior.
I expected the Xuan Nv to be "fine," maybe even "good," but I kind of doubted they'd really be as good as the Zero Red. See, even though they Xuan Nv are more expensive, the Zero Reds are just THAT good. So I really wasn't expecting the Xuan Nv to match their sound quality, let alone exceed it.
Now to be clear, I still adore the Zero Reds and would wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone, and again, it's not as though the Xuan Nv sound two times better or anything, but they do squeak ahead in two key areas: bass and upper mids/treble.
The Xuan Nv's bass is just that little extra bit better, just enough to be noticeable. They boast bass that is just warm, full, punchy, and pleasant, but not overwhelming. The Zero Reds can claim all the same qualities - they really are excellent. It's just that the Xuan Nv's bass is just a little bit better, at least to my ears.
Then there's the matter of mids and treble. As I said, I can't stand shouty mids or piercing treble. Now to be clear, the Zero Reds are NOT especially shouty or piercing IMO, they're actually quite restrained. But the Xuan Nv are, again, just that little extra bit better in this regard that I immediately noticed it when doing a head to head comparison between the two. Songs that sounded a LITTLE too shouty on the Zero Reds sounded perfectly smooth at the same volume through the Xuan Nv.
So, which should you get? Honestly, if you can afford it, get both. haha. I love both the Zero Reds and the Xuan Nv. Look, it comes down to this: if you can truly only afford the Zero Reds, get 'em. If you can afford the extra $20 or so for the Xuan Nv, I say get those.
...But seriously, just get both. They're both cool. XD
