Reviewed by SatorArepo
Source: Head-Fi
After Waner OG has been released community went off, making echo in budget bracket, bass-lushy entry level beginner iem changed market for year and more, and still very popular among beginners and advanced users as well, with this popularity, colors start to fly over and additional version for Indian market(blue princess has released), which in my opinion was the most beautiful with better refined cable. Tangzu stopped there? Well not really they used this positive energy and released a studio edition, slightly differently tuned than Waner OG, but with some unique perks. And when I thought they will go like old KZ style releasing the Waner PRO version? No, they have actually decided to release a new version of Waner 2, which honestly isn't some improvement on OG or SE. It's more something in the middle between those two, like its son or daughter, and I know how this could sound funny, but that's my impression.
Pros:
Mids and Treble improved
Better cable along with option of choosing 4.4/3.5/type c
Additional eartips Tang Sancai balanced eartips arround 10$
Waifu
Great looking shell
Cons:
Shell is from cheap plastic
Nozzle too thick and short
Not for TrebleHeads nor BassHeads
Disclaimer:
I purchased a unit from Shenzhenaudio, this is my personal experience of testing and listening to Waner 2.
Unboxing, Design, Other:
Unboxing experience is like with every budget iem but Tangzu gave few details just to look a little bit more premium, card box is hard enough to arrive undamaged, waifu is on top of the box, and inside you will have same waifu card(some people collecting this cards), iem's are in foam well protected, under you have 2 boxes with eartips and cable. Mine is 4.4 which is proven to be a mistake, i will explain later why... Design is slightly changed compared to Waner OG, nozzle is shorter and way thicker, so small eartips are suggested, surprisingly nozzle have like little edge, very similar on Tripowin Piccolo, this will allow you to place your ear tips very easy, shell is changed, and most important now on Waner 2 you have 2 pin connector of 0.78mm which is nice to see, finally! Faceplates are beautiful really nice design, i have black version, and for this price it looks dope, but in reality this is just for sight, the moment i have it in my hands, its classic standard cheap plastic, shells are very light and very comfortable, but have in mind thick nozzles will not be best for people with smaller ear canals.
-Cable is improved as well, material is rubber, with 2 pin connectors of 0.78mm, no chin splitter which is a pity it looks like it's there but nothing, connectors are marked with red for right and blue for left, for some reason I couldn't find markings for shells. That cable is slightly better than stock cables but not near to alternative cables of 10$ like from NiceHck and other companies. Hooks are performed and not bad, which is also nice for longer sessions...
-Eartips, pretty decent amount of eartips you will get with Waner 2, this is more like sweetening the deal, very similar to moondrop chu 1, final e500, and few other, but in reality Tang Sancai balanced eartips arent best choice for Waner 2, from some reason this vocal eartips pushing vocals too forward and bass, creating some splashes around low and mid area, but if you don't have anything else you will be fine.
Specs:
Single 10mm PET dynamic driver
Sensitivity: 113.5 dB @ ] kHz
Impedance:19 Ω @ 1kHz 20%
Freq range :20 Hz-20 kHz
Cable material:100*0.08+250D silver plated copper
Cable length:1.2 m 5%
Socket interface:0.78 2-Pin Flat socket
(For more informations, please feel free to visit Tangzu site, it's more detailed)
Gear:
I have used various dongles, dacs, daps, cables, eartips followed by software for android like uapp, fiio music app player for flac and wav files, and spotify/youtube for online but with less compression.
LG V50
Motorola G54
Echo Mini
Shanling M0 Pro
Fiio JA11/KA11
Tempotec Sonata BHD
NiceHck cables IcyMoon(3.5mm) and SP4(type C)
Eartips, Epro Pro01, Final E type, S400...
Overall Sound:
Before i go with sound profile and other, very important thing to mention, Waner 2 is very sensitive, so my first experience with using 4.4 was a little bit futile, and even worse i pushed high gain option, this iem is already sensitive and will not benefit from 4.4 with high gain or 3.5 with high gain, 3.5 is enough and very welcome, this is just my experience, and if you had similar issues, you will know what to change. Sound profile is warm, but not lushy warm like on Waner OG, something in middle with OG and Studio Edition, Bass is almost the same like on Waner OG, while mid area is slightly improved with clarity, treble got refined with details, but not so much, just slightly noticeable, and for this money this is enough...
Bass:
Waner 2 doesn't offer some improvements in low region, pretty much is same like with OG version, bass is somehow punchy with very slow roll over with decent amount, not controlled, they haven't solved any of previous problems of OG version, its often very muddy and on some tracks bleed or splash over mids, but in some moderate way, its very warm bass, giving you that vibe of pleasant experience. Sub-bass is here and there, followed with enough rumble it's not best for the price, but i haven't expected more. There are enough textures of midbass, and it's not the best, but for beginners this will be enough to sail in this hobby. That thick nozzle could be a problem for some, because the seal will not be perfect, so some possible leaks will or could happen, resulting in poor bass performances...
Mids:
Mid area is slightly improved on Waner 2, providing you with much better clear and warm vocals which are sweet and sound natural, giving you that smooth feeling of listening experience, and this isn't something present on all iem's in this budget range, even instruments sound more organic and live creating unique experience, all of this bring glory to old Waner OG and now is present with version 2. Transition from bass to the mids is well executed and followed with all this warmth, even though it's not the best due to sometimes dirty bass, but it's decent for longer sessions which does not include critical listening and is rather focused on enjoyment.
Highs:
There are some improvements than on previous OG versions but not so much, Waner 2 has more clarity in treble area, here and there some microdetails are popping out which is nice to catch, resolution is average, along with detail retrieval.
For a period of 2+ hours listening i did not encounter any noises, nor Waner 2 fatigued even on most busiest tracks. And to keep Waner 2 more enjoyable, moderate volume down as possible with 3.5 without high gain, it's clear Waner 2 isnt some treblehead iem enough capable to benefit from high gain.
SoundStage and Imaging:
Soundstage is almost average, classic 3d, with a little bit of a strange presentation, where there is bass forward and vocals a little bit back, it's not spacious nor is intimate so pretty normal for this price range. Imaging is just enough to hear and pinpoint location of instruments, layering is under average, but again enough for not demanding listeners...
Comparison:
I will skip Waner OG and Studio Edition in this section, since I have already mentioned this iem's enough.
KZ Castor Bass, Basstor is an old contender in this in budget range, it easy outperform Waner 2 with bass quality and control, vocals are little bit better on basstor, while Waner 2 is more warm and little bit more musical than Basstor, its matter of personal preference...
Tripowin Piccolo, even Piccolo is like dying breed, very hard to find this days, Piccolo is better allrounder than Waner 2, everything on Piccolo is simple better, from low's, mid's, high's Piccolo offer more neutral signature which sometimes lean to bright, better built quality is on Piccolo metal shell, nozzle type is almost same, but its not thicker like on Waner 2, yes Piccolo was originally quoted for 35$ and reduced on 10$...
Tanchjim One, Bass on One is deeper and more full with more organic sound than Waner 2, One signature is neutral, and treble is almost the same with some minor details, so it's more about preference...
EW200, even is like 50% more than Waner 2, Ew200 is neutral bright iem, with amazing treble extension and punchy bass, but for some people are shouty and harsh, all of this could be reduced or miniMAZEd with proper ear tips, so if you don't enjoy treble with neutral-bright signature, Waner 2 is good choice..
Final e500, very similar iem's even e500 are 5y older, both signatures are warm, both products offer great eartips, bass on final e500 is slightly better without ruining mids, while Waner 2, offer removable cable and better termination options which is better for longer run.
Conclusion:
Overall Waner 2 isn't bad, if you are beginner this will be a great choice for you, or you wanna to collect all Waner edition's, it's more designed for chilling sessions than for critical listening, which sometimes could be boring. I expected much more from Waner 2, since Tangzu put hard effort into aggressive marketing to promote this iem like a new miracle, i find it just a mediocre choice of sidegrade, not spectacular or special, just hype wrapped with marketing. I hope Tangzu will release a better version of Waner 2 and surpass the OG version, which in that time was godlike in budget-range!
Pros:
Mids and Treble improved
Better cable along with option of choosing 4.4/3.5/type c
Additional eartips Tang Sancai balanced eartips arround 10$
Waifu
Great looking shell
Cons:
Shell is from cheap plastic
Nozzle too thick and short
Not for TrebleHeads nor BassHeads
Disclaimer:
I purchased a unit from Shenzhenaudio, this is my personal experience of testing and listening to Waner 2.
Unboxing, Design, Other:
Unboxing experience is like with every budget iem but Tangzu gave few details just to look a little bit more premium, card box is hard enough to arrive undamaged, waifu is on top of the box, and inside you will have same waifu card(some people collecting this cards), iem's are in foam well protected, under you have 2 boxes with eartips and cable. Mine is 4.4 which is proven to be a mistake, i will explain later why... Design is slightly changed compared to Waner OG, nozzle is shorter and way thicker, so small eartips are suggested, surprisingly nozzle have like little edge, very similar on Tripowin Piccolo, this will allow you to place your ear tips very easy, shell is changed, and most important now on Waner 2 you have 2 pin connector of 0.78mm which is nice to see, finally! Faceplates are beautiful really nice design, i have black version, and for this price it looks dope, but in reality this is just for sight, the moment i have it in my hands, its classic standard cheap plastic, shells are very light and very comfortable, but have in mind thick nozzles will not be best for people with smaller ear canals.
-Cable is improved as well, material is rubber, with 2 pin connectors of 0.78mm, no chin splitter which is a pity it looks like it's there but nothing, connectors are marked with red for right and blue for left, for some reason I couldn't find markings for shells. That cable is slightly better than stock cables but not near to alternative cables of 10$ like from NiceHck and other companies. Hooks are performed and not bad, which is also nice for longer sessions...
-Eartips, pretty decent amount of eartips you will get with Waner 2, this is more like sweetening the deal, very similar to moondrop chu 1, final e500, and few other, but in reality Tang Sancai balanced eartips arent best choice for Waner 2, from some reason this vocal eartips pushing vocals too forward and bass, creating some splashes around low and mid area, but if you don't have anything else you will be fine.
Specs:
Single 10mm PET dynamic driver
Sensitivity: 113.5 dB @ ] kHz
Impedance:19 Ω @ 1kHz 20%
Freq range :20 Hz-20 kHz
Cable material:100*0.08+250D silver plated copper
Cable length:1.2 m 5%
Socket interface:0.78 2-Pin Flat socket
(For more informations, please feel free to visit Tangzu site, it's more detailed)
Gear:
I have used various dongles, dacs, daps, cables, eartips followed by software for android like uapp, fiio music app player for flac and wav files, and spotify/youtube for online but with less compression.
LG V50
Motorola G54
Echo Mini
Shanling M0 Pro
Fiio JA11/KA11
Tempotec Sonata BHD
NiceHck cables IcyMoon(3.5mm) and SP4(type C)
Eartips, Epro Pro01, Final E type, S400...
Overall Sound:
Before i go with sound profile and other, very important thing to mention, Waner 2 is very sensitive, so my first experience with using 4.4 was a little bit futile, and even worse i pushed high gain option, this iem is already sensitive and will not benefit from 4.4 with high gain or 3.5 with high gain, 3.5 is enough and very welcome, this is just my experience, and if you had similar issues, you will know what to change. Sound profile is warm, but not lushy warm like on Waner OG, something in middle with OG and Studio Edition, Bass is almost the same like on Waner OG, while mid area is slightly improved with clarity, treble got refined with details, but not so much, just slightly noticeable, and for this money this is enough...
Bass:
Waner 2 doesn't offer some improvements in low region, pretty much is same like with OG version, bass is somehow punchy with very slow roll over with decent amount, not controlled, they haven't solved any of previous problems of OG version, its often very muddy and on some tracks bleed or splash over mids, but in some moderate way, its very warm bass, giving you that vibe of pleasant experience. Sub-bass is here and there, followed with enough rumble it's not best for the price, but i haven't expected more. There are enough textures of midbass, and it's not the best, but for beginners this will be enough to sail in this hobby. That thick nozzle could be a problem for some, because the seal will not be perfect, so some possible leaks will or could happen, resulting in poor bass performances...
Mids:
Mid area is slightly improved on Waner 2, providing you with much better clear and warm vocals which are sweet and sound natural, giving you that smooth feeling of listening experience, and this isn't something present on all iem's in this budget range, even instruments sound more organic and live creating unique experience, all of this bring glory to old Waner OG and now is present with version 2. Transition from bass to the mids is well executed and followed with all this warmth, even though it's not the best due to sometimes dirty bass, but it's decent for longer sessions which does not include critical listening and is rather focused on enjoyment.
Highs:
There are some improvements than on previous OG versions but not so much, Waner 2 has more clarity in treble area, here and there some microdetails are popping out which is nice to catch, resolution is average, along with detail retrieval.
For a period of 2+ hours listening i did not encounter any noises, nor Waner 2 fatigued even on most busiest tracks. And to keep Waner 2 more enjoyable, moderate volume down as possible with 3.5 without high gain, it's clear Waner 2 isnt some treblehead iem enough capable to benefit from high gain.
SoundStage and Imaging:
Soundstage is almost average, classic 3d, with a little bit of a strange presentation, where there is bass forward and vocals a little bit back, it's not spacious nor is intimate so pretty normal for this price range. Imaging is just enough to hear and pinpoint location of instruments, layering is under average, but again enough for not demanding listeners...
Comparison:
I will skip Waner OG and Studio Edition in this section, since I have already mentioned this iem's enough.
KZ Castor Bass, Basstor is an old contender in this in budget range, it easy outperform Waner 2 with bass quality and control, vocals are little bit better on basstor, while Waner 2 is more warm and little bit more musical than Basstor, its matter of personal preference...
Tripowin Piccolo, even Piccolo is like dying breed, very hard to find this days, Piccolo is better allrounder than Waner 2, everything on Piccolo is simple better, from low's, mid's, high's Piccolo offer more neutral signature which sometimes lean to bright, better built quality is on Piccolo metal shell, nozzle type is almost same, but its not thicker like on Waner 2, yes Piccolo was originally quoted for 35$ and reduced on 10$...
Tanchjim One, Bass on One is deeper and more full with more organic sound than Waner 2, One signature is neutral, and treble is almost the same with some minor details, so it's more about preference...
EW200, even is like 50% more than Waner 2, Ew200 is neutral bright iem, with amazing treble extension and punchy bass, but for some people are shouty and harsh, all of this could be reduced or miniMAZEd with proper ear tips, so if you don't enjoy treble with neutral-bright signature, Waner 2 is good choice..
Final e500, very similar iem's even e500 are 5y older, both signatures are warm, both products offer great eartips, bass on final e500 is slightly better without ruining mids, while Waner 2, offer removable cable and better termination options which is better for longer run.
Conclusion:
Overall Waner 2 isn't bad, if you are beginner this will be a great choice for you, or you wanna to collect all Waner edition's, it's more designed for chilling sessions than for critical listening, which sometimes could be boring. I expected much more from Waner 2, since Tangzu put hard effort into aggressive marketing to promote this iem like a new miracle, i find it just a mediocre choice of sidegrade, not spectacular or special, just hype wrapped with marketing. I hope Tangzu will release a better version of Waner 2 and surpass the OG version, which in that time was godlike in budget-range!
