After a long time lurking the forums, I'm making my head-fi debut with this review of the Tangzu Yu Xuan Ji. I bought this unit with my own money, and all thoughts are my own.
Tangzu (collaborating with Dethonray) has come back to the 50 dollar segment with a new, beautiful one dynamic driver IEM called the Yu Xuan Ji, apparently named after a famed Chinese poet, and it has been lovely
Tangzu (collaborating with Dethonray) has come back to the 50 dollar segment with a new, beautiful one dynamic driver IEM called the Yu Xuan Ji, apparently named after a famed Chinese poet, and it has been lovely
Unboxing
The box of the Yu Xuan Ji looks quite stunning, they’ve always had this Chinese historical drama artstyle for their boxes, this time with a picture of Yu Xuan Ji. It ain’t an anime girl, but it looks very nice all the same.
The accessories are:
- Little pleather pouch
- Generic smokey gray silicone tips
- Tang Sancai eartips
Cable & Shell
Looking at the Yu Xuan Ji’s cable, it’s an understated braided matte black cable that is fairly supple and doesn’t have much microphonic noise. Another cool thing is you can choose between 3.5, 4.4mm and usb-C terminations, something that’s rare for this price, and I personally got 4.4 for my balanced sources.
The Yu Xuan Ji itself is insanely beautiful, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen such a nicely themed and intricately designed IEM at this 50 dollar price. You’ve got a semi-open back design with a rose gold grill that shines through the front plate slits with what seems like a flower petal motif. Although the open back mechanism doesn’t really do much for the soundstage, it also thankfully doesn’t leak too much sound, definitely a bit more than the usual closed IEM though.
With eartips, the Tang Sancai that came in the box are already an excellent pairing and I’ll be using that for my testing, but if you want to thicken up the lower mids a bit more and tame some treble energy, you can also consider the Final E eartips as well.
Sound
The Yu Xuan Ji’s signature is an energetic V-shape with a knack for portraying overtones in music
Bass
You have a thumpy, tactile and fast bass with good slam, but a fairly quick decay making for an overall speedy presentation. This works great for genres like hardstyle with its quick and shifting basslines. Conversely, for Hollywood OSTs with more sparse, but lingering bass notes that stretch for a while, the Yu Xuan Ji’s bass ends the show a bit prematurely. Nevertheless, it’s a good take that avoids overemphasis in exchange for a more bouncy and responsive low-end.
Mids
The midrange on display is well-tuned, if a bit specialized, with a slight elevation of the lower midrange giving just about enough warmth, and upper mids that showcase the dynamic driver’s separation abilities very well. It is a bit conditional with vocals in that for some songs, vocals may lack a bit of “body” whilst their resonances are more highlighted, but this is a boon for female vocals that sing at a higher pitch, which benefit from extra emphasis and definition. In non-vocal mixes, electronic synths stand out the most, and piano notes have a bit of airiness to them as well.
Treble
A sparkly and crisp presentation, but there are some points where it's a little odd. You have some extra lower treble energy that’s adding sharpness, combined with the dynamic driver’s inherent technicalities to extract more treble detail then the average IEM of this price. However, depending on the song, it may come off as a little brittle and grainy (though this is rare, and can be partially remedied with some tip-rolling). For the most part though, I enjoy the extra presence when cymbals are played, and it helps the general signature sound more lively.
Soundstage & Technicalities
I really don’t feel like the Yu Xuan Ji has that wide of a soundstage, it’s just a bit wider than average. I tried blocking the vents with my fingers too, and they didn’t really change the soundstage much, however I will note that vertical instrument placement is very good, coming close to IEMs at the 80-100 dollar level, making for overall excellent imaging abilities for the price. Both macro and micro-detail are being presented with equal priority. Separation of said details are at its best in simpler mixes, with more busy songs displaying some slight “choking” and detail-mushing, though it’s already better then similar-priced competitors such as the Truthear Zero. It’s also one of the rare IEMs of the budget tier that does have some ability to portray treble detail, where others would usually roll-off the high frequencies to obfuscate the lack of clarity.
Comparisons
Yu Xuan Ji vs Moondrop May
Both IEMs have different strengths that play to their own tune. The bass on the May is thicker, meatier with a stronger slam then the Yu Xuan Ji. The lower mids of the May is also warmer, with its upper midrange having a touch more vocal emphasis. Treble on the May is sharper, but the Tangzu’s high end is better extended. Technicalities wise, the Yu Xuan Ji has a slight advantage with micro-detail extraction, but both are neck and neck in overall separation. If you want a more bombastic low-end and VDSF-style tuning, with some EQ versatility, then pick the May. If a more energetic v-shape is more of your thing, then you’re gonna want to take a look at the Yu Xuan Ji.
Yu Xuan Ji vs Simgot EA500
The EA500 leans brighter then the Tangzu IEM, with a leaner bass presentation, with a cleaner and more consistent midrange that also has a brighter profile. Treble extension is good on both IEMs, but the EA500 controls its sparkliness better than the Yu Xuan Ji in the trickier songs with multiple elements. Still, as far as imaging, and detail extraction goes the two IEMs are not so far apart. Overall, the Yu Xuan Ji successfully brings a majority of the EA500’s technical strengths down to a 50 dollar price, with their own tuning philosophy.
Cheap just keeps getting better
After Tangzu’s successful entry into the $20 market with the Wan’er, comes their next entry at the $50 price point in the Yu Xuan Ji, another banger release. Its tuning is a bit situational, but does well to highlight the separation and imaging abilities of the driver inside. Add to that a beautifully designed shell, combined with a dynamic driver with excellent technical ability at its price, and the inclusion of the very useful Tang Sancai eartips make for an overall very nice bargain.
For more insights, extra glamour shots and eye-candy of the IEM, please check out my video review: