The good folks at TRN Audio have kindly sent out the Whale Shark iems for review with no expectations of a positive review – and that’s exactly what they’re getting.

I like to add on all my reviews –

I’m listening with my ears, not yours.
I’m listening with my gear, not yours.
I’m listening with my love of audio, and not yours. YMMV…..

Gear:

For the review, my portable gear consists of my trusty Fiio M23 DAP, my NiPO A100 and Questyle M18i Dac/amps linked to my Samsung Z Fold 7.

I’ll be also adding soon the new Douk Audio P10 Pro portable tube amp (with swappable tubes and op-amp) – stay tuned!

Ok, Let’s get our pristine little aural hands grubby……….

Unboxing and first impressions:

I was not familiar with TRN before meeting them at Shenzhen this year, despite being a very well regarded iem producer, dating back to 2017. My friend Lachlan (Passion For Sound) and I listened to some of their new products at the show and were very impressed (albeit at show conditions).

Fast forward to today and I have the newly released Whale Shark in for review.

I jumped on to the TRN website and was shocked by how many different iems they have produced to date. They are regarded as very good value iems within the audiophile community and have many different tunings and styles to suit almost everyone.

To begin though, I have to publicly apologise to my poor cousin Gertrude, who rang me up sobbing yesterday for continually referencing her in my reviews whenever I’m talking about something hefty or large. I’m sorry Gertie – that was insensitive and selfish and stops now!!

The Whale Sharks come in at $129 USD so genuinely experientially biased, I wasn’t expecting anything amazing.
The box is lovely and nautical. We open it to discover hidden compartmenat and boxes within boxes within…you know.
The iems themselves are….well, they’re as heavy as my cousin Gert…..I mean my aunt Lola’s conscience after eating the entire church fete’s caramel slice platter………

These things are HEFTY!!!!!!! I placed one in and literally toppled over…..I’m just lucky it was directly onto aunt Lola………
I then proceeded to weigh them. The scales read “Only 1 person at a time”……….wow.
But damn, they must be one of the most striking and aesthetically pleasing iems I have ever encountered.
They are up there with the recently reviewed Artpical Lucifers (https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/artpical-lucifer.27556/reviews).
They’ve chosen “ Sapphire crystal craftsmanship, hollowed out Whale Shark biomimetic pattern design”, and these bad boys look and feel premium and sexy!!!

They utilise a “a hybrid 3DD + 1 Planar driver setup for exceptional sound clarity and power. Self-Developed 6mm Planar Magnetic Driver | Core Three-way Crossover”.
They have an impedance of 16 ohm and sensitivity of 110dB. All good so far.
Delving deeper towards the ocean floor, we discover 2 full trays of various tips ( of which my new puppy got to and completely OBLITERATED……..photo evidence attached), 30 tips in total!!!!!! The 2nd tray of tips literally had to be thrown out!!

And here's the culprit........true story!

A tiny plastic hard case greets us and it’s one of the best cases I’ve seen at any price. It’s like a mini ZMF or JM Audio hard case and soooo cute!
The cable is ………hang on, the cable is bloody amazing. It’s thick, it’s braided and seems to be of really good quality. The website states “high-quality oxygen-free copper silver-plated and single crystal copper mixed braided cable. This cable has standard 0.78mm 2-pin connectors and features swappable termination plugs”. Modular – love it!!!!

Damn TRN, we’re off to a very impressive start. But it all falls apart if they sound like Grandma Joelene wailing Dolly Parton (see what I did there????) in the shower, after 9 cream sherries and a Jager-bomb!

Playlist:

Takako Nishizaki- The 4 Seasons, Violin Concerto in G Minor, RV 315 “Summer”:III. Presto
Metallica – One
Sonata Artica – Tallulah
Sonata - Replica
Sons of Legion – Fire Starter
Bad Company, Halestorm – Shooting Star
Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train
Miracle of Sound – Valhalla Calling

The important stuff:

I called 3 blokes over to help me get them in my ears and once secured, I sat back (was forced back via gravity in truth) and listened to the music.
TRN – I’d like to officially make a complaint to management.
You’ve made ME look like a shill………….AGAIN!

I’ve been very positive in a number of my recent iem reviews. I pointed out things that didn’t suit me but overall, I’ve reviewed some bloody good iems lately .
And it looks like I’m potentially going down the “happy rainbow-peeing unicorns and pots of gold” path again………………Damn you TRN!

I tried a few different tips and found a good seal (I didn’t get a huge amount of difference between them). I also experimented with all 3 tuning nozzles and like the tips, it takes a little while to AB so I couldn’t get a huge sense of difference between the 3 but settled on a set that I liked (I actually liked them all).

I’m gonna ease into it again with Baroque mastermind Antonio “The Tonemeister” Vivaldi. If it ain’t Baroque, then don’t bloody fix it!
Aww shucks……How do I put this? While reclaiming the last “non-shill” wisp of dignity I have left……..these sound….oh bugger….very competent!
This piece is all about detail, resolution, clarity, up-top punch, staging and separation. The Whale Sharks are all over it like a cop to a tray of iced donuts….. Violins, violas, violoncellos, violent geese are all around me and crystal clear as a Rave-party goer’s eyes after 27 pills and a cream sherry!

Hello One my old friend. I’ve come to listen to you again.
I’m seeing a pattern of newer tuned iems of late, and it’s not a bad thing!!. The Whale Sharks, similar to others I have reviewed recently, seem to have a focus on treble-forward tuning, well controlled mids and bass which extends deep, has punch, dynamics and heft to the overall sound. Body, if you will. They seem to be either V-shape or U-shape tuned and I have to be honest, that’s ok with me!!! I’m 54 and have listened to loud music all my adult life. I need extra spice up top and a visceral and exciting bottom end.
They may get a hair too spicy for younger listeners or people with treble sensitivity, but they did not for me.
Staging is wide again too and well placed. The Whale Sharks can separate the aural bedlam that this song slowly becomes and doesn’t muddy or lose track of the multitude of instruments playing concurrently.

Another soppy ballad (ok – I LOVE them!!!!) from Finnish Power Metallers Sonata Arctica. The piano sounds electronic (well it IS a synth piano haha). But it sounds crisp, clear and detailed. Staging is again wide and divided well within the mix. Tony’s vocals are a touch forward on this track for me. This is the first instance I have experienced so it may be just the song or the mixing.

I added Replica to the playlist to check if it’s the band, the mixing or the iems. It sounds crisp, clean and resolute. It’s punchy, exciting and super dynamic. Tony’s vocals sit nicely in the middle and don’t come screaming forward. The synth, guitar and drums sing all around and the song is cohesive and well presented. Bass is deep and punchy and treble is bright but not sibilant.
This is one of my favourite songs and it sounds bloody good on the Sharks!!

Fire Starter is up next. This is a dramatic and almost haunting intro. Vocals are so resolving and terse. Backing vocals come in similarly cleanly and dynamic. The guitar and drums are just as precise, crisp and detailed. This is a perfect song to test background noise (or lack thereof), staging and separation. The Sharks do it justice and then some. They are exciting and punchy iems and for $129, damn good value so far.

Then Halestorm join Bad Company to perform a version of their own hit Shooting Star. Again, electric guitars are ….well…electric. Lzzy sounds magnificent and natural sounding. She’s perfectly balanced in the mix and in no way shouty or forward. Guitars sit behind her and around and everything is crisp, clean and energetic. Great track for the Sharks!

On Crazy Train, Staging is wide deep and round. Ozzy (Vale Oz-man!) screams out to all sides, as do his echoes and the castanets. Randy storms in (Vale Randy!!) with a clean, resolving guitar into that just sings…….The mix of instruments is placed well and this is an exciting listen. The bass guitar runs don’t hit ocean’s bottom but get deep enough to run the lowest frequencies with aplomb.
Randy’s solo is crisp, but it’s also all around my head. Stereo Randys can only be a good thing!!!!

I’m finishing with a new track for me – Valhalla Calling by Miracle of Sound. This is a Nordic chest-beating, mead-skolling, lands-invading sonic creation. It’s dark, deep and detailed on the Sharks. The beating drums are almost visceral and separation of them is all around my head. The vocals are fierce, commanding and colossal. Everything has its place and it’s detailed, powerful and vibrant.

A quick comparison:

I am comparing the recently reviewed Tipsy M3s as they are a similar price and I believe, a similar tuning, so perfect for comparing.

Well, this is TOUGH!!!!! I switch quickly between both on the Fiio M23 with balanced cables on each, and try a few different passages on a few different tracks. For me, these two pairs are VERY similar. Both have punchy, deep bass. Both have extended but not sibilant treble which provides great clarity and resolution. Both have balanced mids so vocals sound clean and present but not in my face. Both stage very well. Both separate instruments with authority.
I am NOT fence-sitting here. I even asked a friend in Lachlan from Passion For Sound if he was getting a similar experience.
He heard exactly what I did……….(proves I’m not completely insane anyway……).
For me, both iems are VERY enjoyable. But were there minute differences?
I kept swapping and choosing different tracks. It was literally neck and neck. If I had to pick out 1 minute detail, it would be that the Sharks went a whisker deeper.
Which was my favourite?? Oh that’s easy!!!! It was the Tipsy Sharks…..uh I mean the TRN M3s…..oh shoot. I CANNOT choose a favourite out of these budget iems, I LOVE both equally!

Conclusion:

Well, at the risk of being labelled a shill, a fake, a fence-sitter, a Patsy….oooh where did that one come from? I am going to say the TRN Whale Sharks have surprised the bottom of the ocean out of me!

These things, for $129 really do ROCK! I have reviewed a number of excellent iems lately and quite a few have come very close to these in terms of bass-punch, balanced mids, detailed but not sibilant treble, wide soundstage and excellent instrument separation, but I have to say, these have REALLY impressed me. I’m shocked and I don’t mean that offensively to TRN at all!

Thanks to the team at TRN for the opportunity to review these – you guys are doing some wonderful things and I look forward to hearing what you produce in the future!!!

And thanks again to all the readers – your support means a GREAT DEAL!