ZETIAN WU: The Empress Sound

WHO IS THIS UNIT FOR:

• Harman enjoyer
• People who enjoy a good, smooth and well extended treble
• Enjoys aesthetics (particularly traditional Chinese-style)
• A competitive planar option

WHO THIS UNIT ISN’T FOR:

• Bass Heads
• People who like thick and meaty mids
• People who are keen about build quality
• People who like modularity in their stock cables

FAVORITE GENRES ON THE SET:

• Pop and most of its subsidiaries with emphasis on female vocals
• Tamer rock genres (metal and the likes may leave you unsatisfied)
• Jazz with prominent trumpets
• R&B

“As an Empress should, she dances gracefully as the world is introduced to a new beauty”

As the Planar Wars continue to rage, TangZu (formerly known as TForce) offers quite a competitive release, that being the wonderfully named Zetian Wu. With the current trends leaning towards a planar future, will the Empress in Her New Clothes reign supreme against the competition?



SOURCES USED:

• Zishan Z3 ES9038 + OPA 1602 opamp
• Zishan U1 (AKM Variant)
• Poco M3
• Not-by-VE Abigail

OTHER ACCESSORIES USED:

• KBear07

TEST TRACKS:
NOTE: The playlist below may contain a mixture of MP3, FLAC and potentially DSD Files

Spotify Playlist:
Document explaining what to look for in each track:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oMa7GPLaqtpnnoR9tixvWI4aK-7tXMyTEZCJAVkIZx0/edit

SPEC SHEET:
Driver: 14.5mm Planar Magnetic Driver
Impedance: 16ohms
Sensitivity: 100db (1kHz)
Distortion Rate: <1%
Frequency: 20-20KHz
Cable Type: High-Purity 5N OFC Cable
Cable Length: 1.2m ± 5cm
Pin Type: 0.78 - 2 pin
Plug Type: 3.5mm/2.5mm/4.4mm

TangZu, formerly known as TForce and known for their previous releases like the Yuan Li and Shimin Li are back at it again for another beautiful release. But unlike all their previous models, they have decided to take part in the war of planar magnetic IEMs that other companies have been trying to dominate. I would say that this shift in technologies really pushed some companies to compete to provide the best of the best. The question then lies before us, will TangZu provide the best of the best?

Unfortunately, I am unable to add my thoughts in regard to the ongoing planar war as this will be my very first planar IEM. Instead, I would like to highlight the state of planar against DD and other driver configurations and whether there are any advantages to the traditional configurations.


PACKAGING:




Before we talk about the IEMs themselves, let’s take a look at the packaging that the IEM comes in.

We were only provided the carrying pouch that comes with the IEM so I am unable to comment on the box ergonomics, design, and contents besides the aforementioned inclusions (and cable).

The carrying pouch comes in a larger than usual carrying pouch with a beautiful shade of burgundy. I am unable to confirm the material of the pouch but f I were to assume, I would say this is a very well-made faux leather. It is approximately 14cm x 11cm x 5cm which is quite large compared to all the carrying pouches that other IEMs I’ve tried come in. The top side of the pouch has Tangzu’s logo in gold written on top of it. The zipper and slider are colored in gold, too.



Opening the pouch reveals quite a grandiose presentation of the cable and the IEMs themselves. Insides are covered in what seems to be velvet or velour material. The center includes a protruding section for the IEMs to lay rest in while the cable wraps around the said protruding section. On top is a large, netted section where you may put your extra buds, cables, dongles, or other accessories. Heck, if you have a small enough DAP I reckon you would be able to fit it inside that net without issue. Although due to the protruding sections, it may prove to be difficult to close if you were to put anything reasonably thick in there.

Overall, this has to be one of the most beautiful unboxing (ironically without the box) experiences I’ve had in an IEM. Unzipping the pouch to reveal two beautiful, purple gems with a braided brown cable contrasting around the IEMs almost made me cry. That being said, I would like to nitpick on the sections being a bit too tall. With this size of a carrying pouch, I want to be carrying everything I need with the IEM. But the sections limit it to only be a certain size or certain amount. As much as I love the presentation that the pouch offers, its practical application leaves a lot to be desired.


BUILD AND FIT: 7 out of 10



Starting with the cable, it is a high-purity 5N OFC 4 core cable of about 1.2m in length. It’s colored in an attractive copper-like brown.

The jack is your standard silver finish with a pretty nice crease to grip whenever you plug and unplug. My particular unit is also terminated in 4.4 BAL which is quite the treat if you have a source that allows for balanced 4.4 output. But fret not my 3.5 SE brethren, TangZu also offers a 3.5 SE termination (and at a cheaper price too!).

Going up the cable leads to another pretty standard cylindrical splitter and chin cinch. Nothing too special here.

The preformed ear hooks are also pretty standard but thankfully quite comfortable to wear and do not lead to pressure points. Lastly, we end up at the 0.78 2-pin connectors. It is cylindrical in shape like the splitter and has the L R indicators printed on one side

Now unto the beauties themselves.

Oh boy, where do I start? The faceplate is a CNC machined aluminum alloy in a beautiful shade of purple. According to TangZu themselves, the faceplate is designed with traditional culture in mind and used an “auspicious cloud pattern”. The use of the color purple is also representative of the emperor as purple is the color of royalty. The faceplate curves about 1mm down until it transitions into the resin shells.

The resin shells are 4th Gen DLP 3D printed resin cavities which are arguably pretty stale looking but TangZu claims that they used a large data of human ears on their OEM division to provide a shape that should fit most people. They also stated that due to the large size of the planar magnetic driver, they had to increase the size of the shell. There are 3 vents in total. One directly under the drivers, one across that, and one right beside the 2-pin connector. The nozzle length is ~4mm and the width is ~5mm

The cable overall is quite your average cable at this price range. A solidly built 4-core cable that probably won't tangle due to its thicker strands and an inoffensive split and cinch. At this price, though, I would’ve expected a modular cable to come with the Zetian Wu as it would have been quite nice to be able to switch up the termination at any given moment without the need for another cable. Even $35 sets nowadays get modular cables now! But nothing wrong with creating a solid, single termination cable especially if you don’t have or don’t plan to get a source with balanced termination.

When you think of an empress, you think exceptional, grand, royal, exclusive, majestic and every other synonym you can muster in the face of royalty. Zetian Wu’s aesthetic pulls that off quite perfectly, I would say. I don’t think I’ve seen an IEM this beautifully designed. Obviously, beauty, like this hobby, is subjective. But you can’t deny the handicraft done on the Zetian Wu is a beauty. The stated “auspicious clouds” give the Zetian Wu an almost hand-crafted look while the shade of purple that they used is stunning especially when viewed under a glaring light. Despite that, it does not feel too cramped or overly designed as it still has a sense of cleanliness and understatedness that allows it to not stand out when you don’t want it to. Truly a beauty in the palm of your hands (and your earlobes too).

What cannot be said to be quite perfect though is its build quality. From the moment I held it in my hands, I did not feel like I was holding a piece of art. It could be my expectations, but I anticipated that the Zetian Wu would be heavier (especially since it sports a planar driver). But even with its CNC machined aluminum faceplate and resin cavities, it somewhat feels cheap. The seams between the resin and the faceplate aren’t smooth and are pretty sharp making it feel like they just slapped it on the resin and called it a day (I think I can actually rip off the faceplate if I tried). The $40 HZSound Heart Mirror feels more luxurious to hold than the $150 Zetian Wu. That being said, the Heart Mirror is also a 10mm CNT driver encased in a fully metal build while the Zetian Wu is a 14.5mm Planar which, cost-wise, makes more sense why they went with a half aluminum, half resin build. But least to say, I was quite disappointed with how it felt in my hands.

Comfort-wise, I would say that they nailed their research as upon first wear I did not feel any discomfort or looseness with the IEMs (keep in mind I used KBear07 as the tips that came with the unit were pretty awful). The nozzle length and width are just alright to my ears as I did not have difficulties tip-rolling. Fins on the resin also helped with the snug fit into my ear and I never felt like it was going to leave my ear. The problems rose in longer listening sessions. Possibly due to its size, there were too many pressure points on the ear that made it quite uncomfortable to wear for hours on end. You could argue that you shouldn’t even be using IEMs for long periods of time, but there are people who need isolation or monitoring for hours. In that case, Zetian Wu may or may not give you issues.

Speaking of monitoring;


SOUND: 32.5 out of 40

Sound Signature:

• Harman-ish with elevated sub bass, natural midrange, and slightly elevated treble with good extension

Driving Power:

• Surprisingly, it can be driven by a non-hifi phone (albeit definitely sounding more distant, dry, and less technical compared to being driven properly) but definitely benefits from a more powerful source. Still enjoyable through a phone though.

Bass: 8 out of 10

• Great overall balance of sub-bass and midbass control
• Subbass has dominance over midbass but does not overpower
• A satisfying amount of rumble, but probably not enough to satisfy bass heads
• Great control and decay without sounding lean or weak
• Good detail and texture that carries over on busier tracks
• Smooth midbass kick that doesn’t sound too harsh or bleeds to the mids

Overall, the bass response of the Zetian Wu is immaculate. I wouldn’t say it's perfect as I still find it a tad bit weak-hitting on some tracks but this could really just be attributed to its planar nature. This doesn’t mean it’s weak by any means. If your tracks call for bass, the Zetian Wu delivers. The midbass is very nicely done and transitions into the lower mids quite smoothly thanks to quicker decay. Transients in the bass are also not very offensive while providing a good amount of kick in midbass heavy tracks. A track I would like to highlight here is Air Pillow by Valiant Vermin as the kick on the midbass tends to linger on some units which mud the vocals a tad bit. The Zetian Wu lingers just the right amount on the track and provides a satisfying overall kick. As a whole, the bass response of the Zetian Wu was quite enjoyable and I would go on to say that this would be my preference in the bass. I would prefer something leaner than this, though.

Mids: 7.5 out of 10

• Natural sounding vocals
• Good instrument presentation
• Male vocals have good body albeit distant sounding on busier tracks
• Lower registers of string instruments can sound pulled back on some tracks
• Instruments are neither forward nor distant and offer a realistic depiction
• Upper mids are more forward than the lower mids
• Female vocals are slightly forward and very well depicted with a little bit of thinness on some artists
• Upper registers of pianos sound very resolving

Overall, I would say the mids are the weakest part of the Zetian Wu. Male vocals and some string instruments occasionally sound weak or distant on certain tracks. Steve Lacy’s Static makes his voice a bit dry, but this could potentially be with how aggressive the bass on this track is that it pulls back his vocals. Regardless, the overall presentation of mids is good but not quite impressive. Vocals did not totally wow me but the instrument presentation was pretty good. Female vocals and string instruments like violins and guizhongs I’d say would be the star of the show as they are quite beautifully presented. A small gripe that some may have and that I’ve noticed is that the upper mids can get quite hot on certain tracks. This is not unfamiliar for this kind of tuning (and I prefer it to an extent) but still worthy of a mention.

Treble: 9 out of 10

• Smooth yet well-extended treble presentation
• Transition to upper mids is very well done and does not exhibit any edginess
• Good body on instruments and high-reaching vocals without sounding tinny
• No sibilances or peaks present
• Microdetails are present and well placed without being too harsh
• Transients are well controlled while being detailed enough to hear the details
• Upper treble doesn’t exhibit inherent sibilance whatsoever
• Great airiness
• Cymbals, strings, and air instruments sound well represented in the upper registers

Wow. As a treble head, this has got to be one of the smoothest yet most detailed trebles I’ve heard. Is this the planar experience? The aforementioned thinness from the upper midrange does not last as the overall control that the driver has on the treble is incredible. I will be talking about soundstage, imaging, and separation in a bit but thanks to the treble response it handles treble in most if not all tracks really well. Personally, this is almost the perfect treble for me and I would really only nitpick for the mid to upper treble to be up slightly as I would definitely love to hear that sizzle. But all in all, the treble response of the Zetian Wu is probably the best thing about the set. Almost all of my treble test tracks like 3 on E by Vulfpeck, Blaze by Lettuce, and A Brand New Start by Tracktribe all pass with flying colors as they provide a very enjoyable and detailed treble experience

Soundstage, Imaging, and Separation: 8 out of 10

• Great sense of stage for an IEM
• Good width and depth, but slightly lacking in height
• Impressive imaging, but can be a tad bit difficult to pinpoint in busier tracks
• Very good instrument separation but can also be difficult to separate on busier tracks

Quite impressive overall technicalities that the Zetian Wu offers. The staging was what really shocked me on the first listen as this is probably the widest stage I’ve heard in an IEM by far. This is thanks in part to its treble tuning as it provides quite a good amount of air that instruments don’t sound in your head and are well separated on the surface. This obviously pales in comparison to headphones or earbuds, but to achieve this on in ears is quite impressive. I still feel like the height could be improved, but the overall really good staging. Imaging is also very impressive but something I’ve observed is on busier tracks such as However the Illusionist shake the dice, Zetian Wu has the slightest tendency to be a bit more difficult to separate the instruments and their positions. Albeit this is only on certain segments, particularly the chorus. For the rest of the song, Zetian Wu performs almost perfectly.


COMPARISON:

Well, this is more of a discussion than an actual comparison. This is where I would like to raise the question of how planars go against other driver configurations. I won’t go too deep into each one but I will say that the biggest difference that planar has against other configurations, especially DD is resolution, stage, and clarity. I found that the Zetian Wu was so close to reaching that out-of-your-head experience that headphones and earbuds offer but still too closed in for a proper depiction of the stage to be achieved. In turn, Zetian Wu’s bass response compared to DDs still fall a bit lean and less engaging. Lastly, the treble response that Zetian Wu has is honestly one of the best in any IEM I’ve tried. It’s both well extended and smooth to offer an inoffensive yet detailed experience. But at the end of the day, we should really celebrate the advancing technology that companies are using to move audio forward. Regardless of what’s better for you, having more choices will always be a win-win.

VERDICT:



When I first tried the Zetian Wu, I wasn’t really all that shocked or surprised by its sound. Possibly this is due to the tuning that it has being saturated in the market. But when I took the time to listen to it properly, it quickly showed itself to be quite the capable set. Adding to that, it’s also my first experience in planar magnetic IEMs which was quite exciting.

I would say that TangZu has struck gold with the Zetian Wu, but some things can still definitely be improved. These would include a more confident build quality, modular cable, and further refinement in its sound quality. While its technicalities impressed me, it did not wow me to the point where I felt like my life was changed after hearing the Zetian Wu.

But with a combination of a well-balanced and inoffensive tuning, great technicalities, beautiful aesthetics, and a planar driver all for $150 (PHP. 8,600.00) , I doubt there’s much to complain about. The empress has truly impressed with the beauty that anyone can enjoy.

Shopping link: Tangzu Zetian Wu(40% OFF)