A quick disclaimer
I am a reviewer from the PC Help Hub content team. I am glad to be able to bring you this review of the Fudu that I am doing as a part of the content creation program. The website is currently out of order, so I am publishing it here for now.
You can join our discord here!
discord.gg/pchh
I am a reviewer from the PC Help Hub content team. I am glad to be able to bring you this review of the Fudu that I am doing as a part of the content creation program. The website is currently out of order, so I am publishing it here for now.
You can join our discord here!
discord.gg/pchh
Introduction:
I don't think anyone needs an introduction to who Tangzu is and where they came from, as I am already quite late to the party.
But I purchased this set myself, mostly because I was curious to as how it would sound, and also because I really wanted those awesome eartips.
Unboxing Experience:
Accessories:
So as we all know, the Fudu comes with 3 sets of Tangzu Sancai Wide Bore and Divinus Velvet eartips.
These eartips are highly regarded in the community as excellent eartips, for their comfort and quality. Which, after trying them for myself, not only on the Fudu but also my other IEMs(S8, Oracle, S12, Galileo) I can say that these eartips are definitely great for most people.
Except for the fact that my ears didn't like the shape of the Divinus. The rounded shape pressed against my ears, which caused it to hurt overtime, and this was the case for all my IEMs.
Sancai, on the other hand.. was super comfortable. I love the texture, although after wearing it for a longer period of time, sweat can make them a bit slippery but its not too bad.
I personally use the Sancai now on my S12's.
Now with all the GOOD accessories out of the way, let's get on to the rest..
First of all, the cable.
The cable is the absolute worst cable I've ever tried. It looks nice on pictures, but in reality, it's the lightest, most fragile, cheap feeling POS. Even my old stock cable for my Moondrop Starfield was better.
And lastly, the pouch.
It's a bit on the cheap side, and it's just a bit too small to use properly.
Comfort:
Good, given you have the right eartips on. If you use the wrong eartips, it might feel really loose on your ear, and the long ish nozzle base is the cause of that. Also the nozzle is a bit on the thick side.
Sound:
Sources used:
Ifi Zen Can Signature
Ifi Zen One Signature
Qudelix 5k
Running with a 4.4mm balanced cable
For the sound, I'll be comparing the Fudu against my Galileo, which are my 2nd favorite IEM to date.
Bass:
So first of all, the bass is nice, it's present. It hits nice and hard. Although, bass kicks don't have much texture to them. I can imagine someone coming from something like a Sony WF1000XM4 or AirPods, liking the bass on the Fudu, as it's nice and immersive. I wouldn't call the bass too controlled, because it does mess a bit with the mid-range. Subbass kicks feel satisfying and the midbass can certainly be heard, but it's not really too much.
To conclude the bass: Nice and thumpy subbass, and midbass could use some more strength
Midrange:
The midrange sounds mostly alright, unless you're talking about the upper mids. Just judging from 300hz to 1khz, it's alright, but as soon as you enter the upper mid range, things will sound wispy, it almost sounds as if the bass bled into the upper mids somehow, knocking down clarity and resolution by a few notches. Which is unfortunate. One thing I did notice is that female vocals didn't really sound pronounced. They were forward yet the Fudu didn't really give them any feeling.
Treble:
Average resolution for a price-range all-rounder, it doesn't really have a lot of air, the treble is not really fatiguing. Although it's still somewhat on the bright-ish side of things, but it's not really special either. If you're looking for a set with sparkly treble, this one isn't for you. There's also the treble wispiness I noticed, it's uneven and generally doesn't sound impressive and definitely is the biggest downside of this IEM.
Technical Performance:
What I immediately noticed when I heard the Fudu was the stage and separation. It wowed me because I didn't think it could get this good for under 100 bucks. The separation and soundstage pushes beyond its price point, meanwhile the imaging is only above average, but still good enough to not let down the other good things about the techs.
What is a shame though, that even though it has these qualities, the detail retrieval of the Fudu is below average, more in line with modern 50~ buck sets like the Zero:Red, 7hz Sonus, and EW200.
And because of all these technical quirks, the Fudu becomes an excellent set for gaming, comparable to even the Simgot EM6L, except the EM6L sounds more high-res and is just on the clearer side of things, meanwhile for gamers, the Fudu would be a more immersive sounding set due to the bass response.
Compared to Galileo:
A quick comparison to the Galileo results in this:
Female vocals are much better, much cleaner, they give you a feeling of involvement.
The amount of bass is reduced, but it's still reasonable, but not something that would please most due to the lack of volume. Despite that, the Galileo's dynamic driver is faster and has better bass quality. Lower midrange sounds less full and could be interpreted as thin by some people, but that is due to the reduced bass amount.
Treble on the Galileo is smoother, more well done, but noticeably more relaxing, and resolution is about the same, and cleaner sounding due to having a cleaner overall signature and a more competent treble response, while also lacking air.
The imaging and separation is slightly better on the Galileo's, but the stage is much more intimate, and technical performance is only slightly better as well, as the Galileo aren't exactly a resolving and technical set to begin with.
Conclusion:
I think that in 2024, you could pick up the Fudu, but it's not exactly the best pick you could make. If I had to give it an award, it would be "a good first iem" because the Fudu could help you figure out what you want more or less of. And it already comes with good ear tips so you won't need to buy any more of those if you're just starting out.
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