Review - Tanchjim Tanya (sub 50€)

English | Español

Also available on YouTube in Spanish: Acho Reviews YouTube

The Tanchjim Tanya has been sent to me free of charge by HifiGo in exchange for this review. They have not requested anything other than to include links to the product in this review and, as always, my opinions will be as unbiased and sincere as possible, but it is always good to consider that it hasn’t cost me anything to try out these IEMs.

The Tanchjim Tanya, at the time of publishing this review, is available on HifiGo.com for 18€, you can find it here: https://hifigo.com/products/tanchjim-tanya-7mm-dynamic-hifi-earbuds

Intro…

The Tanya is a very recent release from Tanchjim, announced around a month ago, and is a set of IEMs that feature a single 7mm micro dynamic driver. It is available both with and without a microphone, the set I have being without the mic.

I recently reviewed the Final Audio E500 which is an IEM that has a very similar format to the Tanya, you can view my review of it here: Review - Final Audio E500. In the review I explained why I always like to have a set of IEMs of this style, as they are something I use when travelling and when wanting to listen to musicin bed. The Tanchjim Tanya comes in at a cheaper price than the E500 and, in my opinion, is something that works for me more than the E500 does.

Presentation…

The Tanya arrive in a grey box inside a white cardboard sleeve that shows an image of the IEM and the make/model. On the back, they list the specifications in English & Chinese.

Inside the box we find the IEMs, with their attached cable, along with various sets of silicone tips, user manual & warranty card, replacement filters and a small velvet storage bag. This is actually quite a lot of content for the price that these IEMs come in at.

Build and aesthetics...

As mentioned, these are small IEMs with a fixed cable, which insert quite deeply into the ears. In a size format, they are slightly larger than the Hifiman RE series but shorter than the Final E500. This allows them to protrude less from the ears and makes them more comfortable to wear when lying down on your side than the E500. They are very similar in comfort to the Hifiman RE series.

As far as build, they are nicely built, with a metal covering to the small shell (at least I believe it is metal). On the back of the shell there is what looks to be an air vent. At first I thought that these IEMs were open back, judging by the size of the vent, however, covering this vent does not seem to change the sound at all, so that leads me to believe that it is just for aesthetics and that the only ventilation is from the small hole on the bottom of the nozzle.

The cable is attached as I already mentioned but I don’t have any issues with the quality of the cable. It doesn’t tangle easily but is also not too rigid as to become a nuisance. It also doesn’t present the microphonics that other options do.

The included tips are also fairly decent. I find them to be comfortable and the sound to be decent with them so I haven’t had to go off on a search of which tips work. For my sound evaluations I have used the stock tips.

Sound…

As far as sound, the Tanya seems to fix the things I didn’t like about the E500, without breaking anything else. In the review of the E500, I did some comparisons to the RE600s which I said wasn’t a fair comparison and it isn’t fair to compare the Tanya to the RE600s either, at least in price, but I can say that the Tanya does not feel like a huge step down from the RE600s like the E500 did. There are still moments of clarity and detail that I find superior on the RE600s but I have had no issue using and enjoying the Tanya for my general use of this kind of IEMs.

With the brief (and possible unfair) comparisons out of the way, let’s get on with how the Tanya sounds and performs.

In the subbass, the 7mm dynamic driver does a very good job of presenting rumble where needed. Listening to “Chameleon” by Trentemoller, where the subbass comes in around the 0:31 mark, the Tanya give enough rumble to make even bass heads happy, or at least I think it would as I am not much of a bass head myself. This track is actually a very good way to test if IEMs/headphones can deal with all those low frequencies without falling apart and the Tanya actually holds up pretty well. Yes, the rumbling can be a little overpowering and present a bit of a “wall of sound” in those lowest frequencies but that is the track more than overly boosted subbass. If we move to a track like “No Sanctuary Here”, where the lowest notes are clearer and more defined than in the previous tracks, again the subbass can come across as a little strong and is a bit more than I would personally request, but they do a good job for the size of the driver with so much bass.

In the general bass frequencies, things are a lot cleaner if there isn’t as much boost in the lowest ranges of the track. “Sun Is Shining” does sound a lot cleaner than the previous two tracks while still being a track with plenty of bass, just slightly higher in the frequency range. On tracks that use real bass guitars instead of electronic instruments, such as “Black Muse” by Prince, the bass guitar does come across as slightly too boosted in the mix to be considered natural, the same happens with the bass guitar of “Smooth Operator” by Sade. This is not terrible and is not usually too overpowering but will not be something that fits the tone for those looking for neutrality and a natural bass sound.

The transition to the mids depends on the amount of bass we are pushing to the low end. The more we make it work in the lowest ranges, the more difficult it becomes for the Tanya to make the clean transition into the lower mids, sometimes coming across as a little muddy if we are pushing too much bass.

The mids in general are nice and smooth, with voices presenting a nice tonality and being very clean and detailed (again, depending on how much we push the low end). For example, the track “Way Down Deep” by Jennifer Warnes has some rather large hits in the low end while the mid range is quite simple, this song can come across as a little recessed in the mids. However, a song like “Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes” by Paul Simon does not have such a large presence in the lowest registers, this makes the vocals and other instruments move more into focus and the result is quite pleasant. The bass of this track is located mainly in the lower midrange, with a few climbs, and this is very easily defined in the background.

Moving up to the top of the midrange and lower treble areas, there is enough of a climb in presence to keep vocals present but without them becoming overly harsh or nasal. A track that I find good to test the harshness of vocals is “Don’t You Worry Child” by Beth, as her voice can become harsh very easily. The Tanya does a decent job of keeping her harshness in check and makes the song quite listenable.

Sibilance is also well controlled, with my usual “Code Cool” test track being presented in a way that is not too sibilant but is also not overly reduced. There is a slight hint of sibilance on a few of the lyrics by Patricia Barber but they are not too uncomfortable.

There is the typical high frequency roll off found in (almost) all single dynamic driver IEMs, where more air and extension would be a plus but there is at least enough presence in the highs to not make the whole sound signature seem dark.

The speed and dynamics are a little lacking, as is to be expected of a single dynamic driver that is only 7mm, especially when the lower regions are working hard. There is only so much we can expect from a set up like this in the price bracket that it sits in and I think they do well enough to be considered more than adequate but they are certainly not amazing detail monsters and they can get congested when we push those lower ranges past their comfort zone.

The width of the soundstage is actually rather good in comparison to so many other budget IEM offerings, it is not a huge soundstage but it is above average in this regard. Placement of images is also decent, it is not pinpoint accuracy but is decent nonetheless. The problem comes when trying to locate smaller details in the background, these are more difficult to place but this ties more into the dynamics and lack of background details when a busy track is being played.

Conclusion…

As I mentioned at the beginning, I recently reviewed the Final E500 and the Tanchjim Tanya is a similar set up at a very similar price (actually a little cheaper). My personal preference between the two is easily the Tanya, of that I have no doubt. The Tanya is still not perfect, it has many things that can be improved on, but again we need to consider the price, the size of these IEMs and how much we can actually expect from something like this.

Yes, the driver does struggle when we push it too far, and the limits are lower than on other options, but when the driver is not overworked, I find it to have much more clarity and better sound (to my ears) than the Final E500.

In comparison to the Hifiman RE600s, which is the IEM of this style that I usually use when wanting something which is tiny and disappears in the ear, then the Tanya is just as comfortable, seems just as well built and is available for a less than 20€ whereas the RE600s retail price is closer to 200€ (even though you can get them discounted quite often). Yes, the RE600s is more detailed and also matches my tuning preference more, but, as I said in my E500 review, it is by no means a fair comparison.

I have no issues using the Tanya for my late night listening in bed, or for watching movies. In fact, the explosions in movies can be quite a surprise when you are not used to the sound of the Tanya.

I am leaving on another business trip in a few days and this time I will be taking the Tanya with me instead of the RE, as I did with the E500, so I will put it through the real life circumstances that I actually use these kinds of IEMs for. On my recent trip, the E500 was sufficient, I am sure that the Tanya will prove to be more than sufficient.

All in all, the Tanya is a set of IEMs that I can see pleasing a lot of people if they are looking for a budget set of IEMs with this style of build and sound signature.