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Tanchjim OLA's Review




Intro

I don’t think anybody needs an introduction of who Tanchjim is. Their infamous Oxygen is a highly touted model in the audiophile community and reviewers. Tanchjim is back again however they are targeting the “budget friendly” range with OLA, featuring DMT4 Dynamic Driver and tuned by Asano Tanch


Packaging

Tanchjim’s packaging shares similar packaging styles across their models. From TWS Echo, to Hana and OLA, they are quite similar and share similar unboxing experience. Overall I liked the packaging style, very premium looking. Two sets of eartips (Bass and Treble) and also a storage pouch is included for storing OLA. The bundled cable is not bad in my opinion for a stock cable.



Build/Comfort

The shell cover of OLA is made from aluminium and the shell itself i believe is made of plastic. It does look a little cheap, however, it is very light and once you are wearing it, you won’t feel like there’s anything on your ear.


However, the tricky part is to get the fit right, to do so, i’ve decided to cut off the earhook on the cable, and it is so much better and fit very well with stock tips





Source

Win 10 Foobar2k -> ifi iDSD Nano Black Label(IEMatch) -> Tanchjim OLA

Ibasso DX160 -> Tanchjim OLA

Iphone 12 Mini -> Apple’s Lightning Dongle -> Tanchjim OLA

iPod Touch 4th Gen -> Tanchjim OLA




Sound

I would describe the sound signature of OLA as neutral and slightly bright. OLA is extremely sensitive to fitting, in fact it can make or break the sound that you’re hearing from it. Poor fit results in lean/non-existence sub bass rumble, good fit exhibits good bass control and sufficient rumble from sub bass when it’s called for. Being neutral and leaning towards the brighter end of the spectrum, it’s best to pair OLA with a slightly warm source for a good musical experience or neutral source if you prefer it uncolored.


The timbre sounded natural to my ears and I would say they are quite source sensitive as well due to it sounding fairly neutral, so any sorts of coloration from the source can be picked up easily. So, just to reiterate, my impressions written here are solely based on my setup, and so your mileage might vary depending on your very own setup. I will try my best to describe the sound from OLA as accurately as I can.



Bass (Fit and Seal is very important)

  • As I mentioned in the header, it is very crucial to get a good seal and fit in order to get the intended bass response, poor seal and loose fit will results in what most people would describe it as lean bass/no sub bass rumble

  • Once a proper seal and fit has been established, the bass is actually very good and the sub bass does rumble when its called for

  • Bass is tight and fast, quite punchy with good slams

  • Doesn’t bleed into the mids

  • Not bloated and has got good texture to it, however, i would prefer it to sound a little warmer just so it will make the note feels thicker



Mids

  • Vocals are forward but not intimidating in any away

  • Female vocal is the star of the show here, very full sounding and pleasant to listen to, for example, Lady Gaga’s Shallow, Adele’s To be Loved

  • Male vocal sounded a little crisp to my ears and not as full as female’s vocal, a track that i listened to exhibited this trait, King Gnu’s Ichizu

  • Lower to upper mids transition is good as there isn’t any specific peak that i can pick up



Treble

  • It can get a little hot for some who’s sensitive to treble when the volume is cranked

  • Detail retrieval is excellent for its price point without sounding overly analytical

  • The cymbal splash feels a little highlighted but its not fatiguing

  • To my ears, i find the OLA to have a good amount of air

  • The treble response is slightly emphasised, however it is not fatiguing(at least for me, some folks who are sensitive to treble might find it a bit too hot)

  • This frequency range is my fav part of OLA (Subjective)



Soundstage/Imaging

  • Being tuned following the HRTF curve, the soundstage is one would expect from, big soundstage and very holographic sounding, not overly done to the point where it feels artificial

  • Good width and depth

  • Good layering between instruments,it doesn’t feel like one is trying to drown/over-power the other instruments

  • Imaging is very good especially at this price point, instruments can be pinpointed easily and left right channel transition is very clear

  • Instruments separation is also excellent



Driveability

  • Easy to drive, you can easily get a listenable volume level straight out of a phone’s jack

  • Doesn’t need amping to sound good, but scales very well with it

Final Thoughts

Prior to receiving my unit and having seen some graphs published by other reviewers, I was afraid I might not like it as the treble seemed hot, but when I received them and gave them a go, it was actually not bad and not harsh at all. At 39.99$ at the time of writing, I personally think that it has got a high price performance ratio.


Very good technicalities for its price point and i have not heard other IEM at such price point that offers similar technicalities, i have seen some comparing it against HZ’s Sound Mirror, i have not heard that before so i can’t comment, from what i had in my stash, it is very good.

An easy 4/5 stars from me (Do take into consideration that what i mentioned in this review is based on how i hear it via my own setup,YMMV However, rest assured that you will still be getting a good sound out of Ola even if you don’t share the same source as i have)


*A big thanks to ShenzenAudio as always for sending over the unit in exchange for this review. My thoughts are not influenced by them in any way despite receiving the unit f.o.c


If you are interested in getting one, head over to their site via the link below: Tanchjim OLA *Non-affiliated









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