Introduction

Of the original Chi-Fi 20$ sensations, from the Chu, Zero to the Hola, I was most impressed with the Tangzu Wan’er with its fun sound and strong technical performance, awarding it the title of “The Wildcard”. Flash forward to now, and Tangzu has developed the predecessor, fittingly titled the Wan’er II. Let’s see if it offers any upgrades, and if it lives up to the success of the original.

Disclaimer: I was provided a sample unit from Hifigo. I retain full creative and editorial control of my review, and all that I share are my honest thoughts. I will include a purchase link (non-affiliated) if you're interested.

https://hifigo.com/products/tangzu-waner-s-g-ii?variant=46328427380975

For more details and eye-candy shots of the Tangzu Wan'er II, check out my video review:

Unboxing

The box art from Tangzu has always been quite unique and eye-catching, and this one follows that tradition, with a purple theme this time. Last time when we opened the box, there was a whole printed cleaning cloth, but now it’s replaced with just a cardboard print. Then we get the foam insert with the Wan’er 2 inside. The bottom layer
has 2 compartments that house the 2 massively upgraded accessories.

One type of eartip you get is a more generic narrow bore, with a red core and smokey color. But the real star of the show are the included Tangzu Tang Sancai eartips in 3 sizes, this alone sells for like 10 dollars, so it's a great value add. You get some nice IEMs with your eartip purchase babyyyy.

Next is the revised cable. If you’ve seen my Wan’er S.G review, I dragged that cable through the mud for how bad it is, both aesthetically and ergonomically. This time, Tangzu gives you a really nice 2 braid silver colored cable on this white unit, with matte jack parts as well. It feels way better, using standard 2-pin instead of the inverse QDC 2-pin of the previous cable, and you can also choose a 4.4mm balanced option as well.

Although I would have liked to see a carrying case and the return of that printed cloth, Tangzu definitely put the savings to good use. Diverting the funds on those items to significantly improve the cable quality, going from garbage-tier to something I would legitimately use all the time. And of course, the killer inclusion of Tang Sancai eartips, which imo is a must-have for your tip collection.

Design

The Wan’er 2 shell has also gotten a facelift. It changes the shell shape to be a bit more rounded, and uses a similar nozzle to the higher-tier Yu Xuan Ji. Materials are still mostly clear plastic, but with the faceplate you have a bit more of a depth effect, thanks to the text being separated from the pattern. Although it's mostly the same fit and finish as the first Wan’er, some design updates and aesthetic changes have taken the Wan’er II up a notch in terms of how it looks and feel.

Source matching & Tip rolling

From my testing, the Wan’er II also shares a commonality with its predecessor in that it’s a little source-dependent. On a warm or bright source, it doesn’t perform that well, but it really sings and has immaculate separation when driven with a certain DAC/AMP. For my case, it’s the iBasso DX160 with a warm-bright influence.

For the eartips, those Tang Sancais are a good fit for sure, so they will be your first go-tos. My ears don’t fare well with foam tips, but I had some limited success with foam tips, taming the treble energy slightly. If you find the Wan’er II a bit too strident, foamies will be your pick.

Sound

From the graphs, many people including me assumed that the Wan’er II is mostly unchanged from the first, and well, the story is complicated. You get more treble quantity with the Wan’er II, with the other frequencies mostly unchanged, but the general tonality shift is quite noticeable, it’s going to lean brighter. I’ll make a few comparisons to the Wan’er SG and SE when talking about the Wan’er II’s sound, so you’ll get a good feel for how the 3 IEMs sound as well.

Bass

The low-end still brings a wallop of bass to the show, it’s got the energy and the meatiness to spice up a hype-y mix, the decay is slightly extended, but this time its presence is slightly more restrained. In real listening the Wan’er II’s bass amount sits in between the Wan’er SG and SE versions. If you really want it, the dynamic driver inside can take quite a bit of EQ as well, so you can crank the Wan’er II into basshead territory if the situation requires.

Mids

The lower midrange of the Wan’er II is a more fun, and warmer tuning then other 20 dollar peers, and it’s all the better for that, giving melodies a slightly more expressive, analog presentation. Upper midrange sees some added energy at the pinna rise regions compared to the Wan’er SG, giving male vocals a bit more punch, though sometimes it goes a little overboard and introduces some coarseness. Upper midrange exhibits good female vocals as well, it’s energetic and has good quantity in the mix, and still tops the charts for overall macro separation in the price range.

Highs

The treble ranges are where the Wan’er II has seen the most changes, seeing a stronger boost compared to the first generation. Although the treble ranges on my IEC711 clone coupler aren’t gonna be the most accurate, it atleast shows that there is increased quantity, which is also confirmed with real listening. This noticeably changes the tonality of the sound signature, from a warm, strong V-shape of the Wan’er SG to a bright V-shape for Wan’er II. For a specific example, the hype man chants, and cymbal hits in this modified, revamped version of Kanye’s All this money on the floor are have more bite on the Wan’er II, and the “tong, tong, tong” of the cowbells in cowbell phonk will also be more emphasized. This makes the Wan’er II less forgiving on mixes that depend on distortion to make it work, like Million Dollar Baby, which sounds a little too grungy and harsh. On the other hand, it enhances cleaner songs with extra incisiveness for the vocals in the Penumbral mix of Clattanoia by MYTH&ROID.

Soundstage and Technicalities

The width of the Wan’er II’s stage is about average, slightly surrounding your head space with adequate spacing. Height and imaging is similar to the first Wan’er, a bit inconsistent and sliding between really good and kinda underwhelming, depending on the song.

Technicalities remain unchanged from the first generation, but honestly, the first Wan’er to me was already a chart topper (in certain metrics) of the 20 dollar class, so an unchanged performance here still gets the Wan’er II into the top spot. With the right source, the Wan’er II still separates macro-elements up to the 50 dollar tier (though this is maybe 10-20% of the time). Micro-detailing is also slightly improved, though could be partly attributed to the brighter tuning giving a better sense of fidelity. Either way, the second gen Wan’er’s technical performance still outshines the rest of the pack in my book.

Comparisons

Wan’er II vs Wan’er S.G

I know I have alluded to the first Wan’er a lot cuz it’s quite relevant, but let me recap this comparison with a few quick notes. About the unboxing, you lose the nice cloth, but get upgraded Tang Sancais and a massively improved cable. Build quality is mostly the same, but the design has been improved. For the unboxing and accessories, it’s a true upgrade.

Sound-wise, I think it's mostly a flavor change. The bass on Wan’er SG is a little more present, thought quantity and quality wise they should be the same. A similar story for the midrange as well, although the Wan’er II leans a bit brighter. Treble on the Wan’er SG is more reserved, some would even say rolled off relative to its bass and mids, whereas the Wan’er II is boosted. It makes the Wan'er SG more flexible for many genres, but the Wan’er II can enhance well-mixed tracks with extra clarity if that’s your thing. Technicalities for the most part maintain similar levels, but hey if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

For their second go at it, I think Tangzu incorporated great improvements to the value of the Wan’er II, though I would have liked to see more tangible technical improvements rather then just tuning changes. Still, the cable and eartips alone are worth the upgrade imo.

Wan’er II vs Tanchjim Bunny DSP

I know there's been a lot of comments asking for it, so here’s how the Bunny fairs against the second Wan’er. Build wise, both are sporting similar plastic builds, but the Bunny shell is lower profile. But I gotta give it to the Wan’er II for the more premium cable and those Tang Sancai tips. The Bunny fights back with its DSP, offering more playability for EQ lovers.

For the sound, it’s two different takes on tuning, the Wan’er II going for bombastic presentations, whilst the Bunny seeks a clean and refined signature, whether on DSP or analog. Generally, the bass on the Tangzu IEM has more intensity (and EQ headroom) then the conservative, percussive low-end of Bunny. Whereas mids have a warmer lift for Wan’er II, the Bunny keeps it neutral, and I would even say the Tanchjim IEM has more reserved vocal performance, a little less in your face. Treble on the Bunny is not that boosted, it doesn't match the zinginess found in the Wan’er II but is more stable and doesn't vary much in amount along different songs. You see 2 different philosophies in technicalities as well.

The Bunny is an average technical performer, enhanced with a clean tuning, whilst the Wan’er II has the pure separation power, and is actively using that headroom to pursue a lively signature without clipping and blurring of details.

Conclusion

The Tangzu Wan’er II builds on its predecessor’s success with meaningful upgrades - a massively improved cable, and bundling in Tang Sancai tips which by themselves are already a $10 value. Sound-wise, it modifies the original’s fun V-shape for brighter energy, which may prove a divisive choice, but macro detail retrieval continues to be top-tier for the price. The accessories alone make it a compelling buy both as an upgrade to the first Wan’er, and its inherent performance is able to to stand on its own two legs as a standalone release.