Earbuds/Flathead Discussion

TGXear Desolation Sound
https://www.tgxear.com/
MSRP $599



Desolation Sound (DS) is the new, reference tuned TOTL flagship from TGXear. TGXear is conducting a small North American tour of it and I was lucky enough to catch the announcement and sign-up. DS contains a 130Ω custom N55 driver. It’s housed in a standard MX500 shell and has a similar cable to the great Sunniva cable, but with white and black resin y-split and 4.4mm plug. Production units appear to come with a wood storage box, while the tour unit came in a more standard laser engraved EVA zipper case.

The DS signature is fairly neutral albeit with a slight analytical tilt. Transparency and clarity are top class. Bass is dense with a natural but not exaggerated decay. There is more impact than rumble and lots of texture. This might be my favorite bass in a flathead to date, as it reminds me of the aspects I enjoyed of the Dunu Luna bass. This sense of density carries over to the midrange. It feels denser, more solid than previous TGXear models I’ve heard. There is a middle midrange bump around 1.4k that reminds me of the similar bump on my Etymotic ER4XR. It can add a little honkiness at times but also provides a microscope-like attention on small, low level details, revealing the nuance and grit of the performance.

Treble has excellent timbre and resolution but is also spot-lit in the lower treble. I was unable to use the donut foams provided on the tour unit for very long; the lower treble peak was just too pronounced for my ears. Next step was the lower density Serratus full foams. These presented everything very similarly to the donuts, while just slightly taming the treble peak, which was still a bit too much on some songs. I finally settled on some higher density full foams, though not as dense as Hiegi or Fiio bass foams. While the overall bass presence is elevated a notch, treble was now good for me across all my music. Transparency and clarity remained unaffected, despite the slight tilt to become just a hair more bassy.

This slightly bassier response immediately made me think of my bass reduction filtered Sunniva, but taken to the next level. After some back and forth, this thought took more form-
First and foremost, DS ups the transparency and clarity; gone is the slight veil of warmth of Sunniva. Decays are tightened and transients are faster. Bass is more precise and imaging takes a significant step up. DS is much more forward and close up in presentation. Sunniva is a little further back and feels a little wider, perhaps due to the perceived distance. However, DS imaging is significantly improved over Sunniva, so while overall stage feels more intimate, the relative scale is different. There is more space around instruments due this more pinpoint imaging. DS micro dynamics are truly excellent; reverbs and impact from toms and snares are very distinct, impactful and realistic sounding. Where Sunniva can be somewhat relaxed, the DS demands your attention.

On the other hand, Serratus is leaner and cleaner with a blacker background, but less dynamic and nuanced. Rock guitars soar and the presentation is airy but lacks some realistic heft in comparison. DS notable increase in bass solidity and midrange density is not only more realistic, but more revealing and resolving micro-dynamically. Where DS really pulls the low level grit from the background, Serratus has a smoother, yet crisp blackness. Imaging is competitive between the two with regards to their spacial source locations left to right, but DS ups the ante with noticeably more spacial information front to back, albeit on a more intimate/forward scale overall compared to Serratus’ wider and further back grand presentation. The best analogy for these differences is this: Serratus is like seeing the band at an outdoor venue, whereas DS is like being up front in the club.

If you want a TOTL flathead and you crave the best resolution, dynamics and transparency you can get, and price is no object, Desolation Sound should be at the top of your list.

 

Fiio FF3
MSRP $99



The FF3 comes in two colors for the shell: black or silver. The loaner unit I have is the black shell and its really is eye catching in person; the gold accent on the back side of the shell looks really nice too. The black FF3 is one of the better looking flatheads I’ve seen. The shells are stainless steel and surprising heavy. They do tend to move around easily if you are not stationary when listing; otherwise the extra weight does’t cause any discomfort.

The driver is 14.2mm beryllium plated diaphragm, rated at 45 ohms. The cable seems of high quality and looks nice, but is a bit unruly and springy, which could also affect ear stability as well. It is terminated in a swappable plug that twists apart to change from 3.5mm to 4.4mm. Lastly, it comes with a pelican/otterbox style case but I have no idea if it would be water-resistant/proof like those typically are.

The FF3 is a bass oriented signature with pleasant warmth and easy going treble. Fiio’s own marketing material emphasizes the technical design aspects that help to bring out this bass emphasis. This is as close to basshead territory as I’ve heard in a flathead so far. Even though this type of tuning is outside of my preferences, I have to say, it is really well done.

Mid bass has very good punch. NWA’s 100 Miles and Runnin’ hits hard but also stays smooth throughout. The FF3 digs deep for The Egyptian Lover’s To 1985 and has enough rumble to do it justice. Rumble is strong to 50hz and usable to 40hz before sharper drop off.

Vocals have extra heft and weight, though there is enough ear gain to keep vocals from sounding veiled, even if they lack a bit of realistic energy. Rock guitars have extra body and heft as well. Bite and attack is rounded and somewhat blunted, so your arena rock classics aren’t going to soar but rather will be wrapped in pleasant warmth.

Treble is pretty laid back and a bit on the dark side. It’s enough presence to provide decent detail but not something you’d call sparkling and resolving. Sibilance is tamed more than most sets, even when highly present on the recorded material. This is a treble you can listen to for long periods of time without fatigue, yet still produce enough resolution to feel you are not missing too much. Due to the bassy and smooth signature, donut foams are really recommended to get the most out of the treble regions.

While technical aspects like imaging, resolution and staging are all mostly middling/average in the grand scheme of things. The tuning and build are really excellent if you’re looking for a bass heavy presentation. The FF3 is leagues better than the its cheaper FF1 sibling and well worth its MSRP asking price.