Review - Tripowin Leá (sub 50€)

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Also available on YouTube in Spanish: Acho Reviews YouTube

The Tripowin Leá have been sent to me by Linsoul for me to test them and publish this review. There have been no specific requests from Linsoul, although I will leave a (non-affiliate) link to the Leá on the Linsoul web site.

This means that I will do my best to be as sincere and unbiased as possible but, as always, it is a good idea to keep in mind the fact that these IEMs have not cost me anything to try out.

The Tripowin Leá can be found on Linsoul here: https://www.linsoul.com/products/tripowin-lea

Intro…

Tripowin is a brand that is fairly well known in the IEM segment, having gained even more traction lately due to collaborations with HBB, from the “Bad Guy Good Aurio Reviews” YouTube channel.

The Leá is a new budget option from the brand, coming in at just over 20€ and placing them firmly inside the sub 50€ category that I like to mention on Acho Reviews.

I have not had any previous experience with Tripowin so I was quite interested in giving them a whirl and seeing what they are capable of at such a budget price point.

Presentation…

The presentation of the Leá is very simple. They arrive in a small black box with a clear plastic cover. Inside there is a sponge insert containing the IEMs and two extra sizes of tips, with the cable stored below. That is all.

I am not one to complain about the contents or packaging of extreme budget IEMs, as I have said many times, I would much rather the cost be invested in the sound than anything else at this price point, and the Leá are no exception.

Build and aesthetics…

The IEMs are small and completely made of metal. The design is simple, all black, and features the brand stamped into the faceplate. I must say that I like them. Yes they are simple but they are also elegant and well made for their price point, absolutely no complaints from me in this regard either.

The included cable is not something that I like as much. For some reason it reminds me of the cable that was included originally with the HE400se (they have since changed the included cable), although the Tripowin is not as bad.

I can’t say that the cable is bad, it does its job, but it just feels cheap and plasticky. The cores are covered by what seems to be a silver foil, which is then covered by a transparent rubber material that gives that plasticky feeling I just mentioned. The 3.5mm connector is plastic, as are the slit and the chin slider, although the 2 Pin connectors are metal. A positive side to the cable is that it doesn’t have a preformed shape for the ear, but I stil find that it doesn’t feel nice resting over the ear.

The fit also disagrees with me for some reason. I had quite a struggle to get them to fit and seal properly, trying all kinds of tips (although I reverted back to the included L size tips for this review) and they never really felt comfortable in my ears.

This is obviously something that will be completely different for each individual, however, in my case, I just don’t find them comfortable.

Sound…

(*note that all songs mentioned in this review are clickable links that will allow you to listen to the song on the streaming platform of your choice)

If we start off by looking at the graph that compares the Leá to my personal preference target, we can see that they are really not that far away from my preferences, especially with regards to the mids.

This would mean that, on paper, I would find them to be tuned in a way that that suits me, however, while I have listened to many songs that I have found pleasurable on the Leá, it has been an experience similar to the fit and comfort, I have had to actually pick specific music and specific volume levels to enjoy them.

My listening volumes are usually quite low, which helps the Leá quite a bit, but when increasing the levels a little, I have found that they can quickly become harsh. I have also found that tracks that I usually don’t have issues with will again sound quite harsh on them, whereas other songs I expected to be problematic were not actually bad, as long as volume levels are kept in check.

Let's take the usual walk through the categories and I will try to explain more as we go.

In the subbass region, there is some roll-off as we reach down to the lowest notes. Using the usual “Chameleon” by Trentemoller, there is sub bass but it is not a rumbling low end, being more present in the higher ranges of subbass and into the midbass.

The midbass does add some presence to the low end, doing it in a very clean way, but it always seems to remain rather polite. Now, I know that I am not someone who likes overly present bass, and my preferences have not changed, it is just that it seems to be lacking a little warmth in the lows, making instruments feel a little sterile. Listening to “Way Down Deep” by Jennifer Warnes, there is enough bass to give those hits a little life but again, it just comes across as being too polite.

Moving into the mids, the transition is pretty good, the bass doesn’t seem to invade the lower mids, keeping the lower mids present but without bloat, seeming to actually be rather detailed in these areas. I expected busy tracks in these regions, such as “The Room” by Ostura, to lose their composure in these areas but it is not the case, guitars and basses remain well separated and although I would like some more warmth to fill them out a little, it is nice to be able to separate the instruments in this area without needing to focus.

As we climb towards the upper mids, this is where I start to get a little cold with these IEMs. Now, there are tracks that sound fine in these areas when volume is kept low, but once volume levels are increased, or certain songs start playing, they suddenly become harsh and even painful at times.

For example, “Walking on the Moon” by The Police, has the guitar strikes that happen throughout the intro and these are not the most enjoyable experience if my volume levels were anything above very low. However, while the guitar strikes are not pleasurable, around 18 seconds in, there is a hit on the rim of the snare (at least I think it's a hit on the rim of the snare) which starts to happen with each guitar strike. This rim strike is outright painful.

As “Walking on the Moon” is not exactly a modern recording, we could blame the recording, if it wasn’t for experiencing the exact same things on other tracks such as “Breezeblocks” by Alt-J. I could literally name a bunch of songs from my usual test list that cause this experience. From Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” to “Bang Bang” by Dr. Dre, as soon as the volume is anything above my usual listening levels, I suddenly find them to become harsh and even painful.

Moving up to the higher registers, the same story continues. At low listening levels there really isn’t much to complain about, the extension is decent and they are clear and articulate, however, once the volume level increases…

Listening to the usual sibilance test, “Code Cool”, they are a little hot in the “S” department. They are not the most sibilant set of IEMs I have listened to, far from it, but the harshness I have been mentioning doesn’t help them feel any smoother in this regard either.

Conclusion…

I am at a bit of a loss with these IEMs. The tuning is good and the performance is good, when the music and the volume level allow. As soon as I leave the comfort zone, things become unpleasant for me very quickly.

I am very much aware that opinions differ greatly from one person to the next and that means I can’t say that the Leá are bad, they just are not for me. I could use them at low background levels and not dislike them, but as I said, my normal listening levels are low, so I think that anyone who likes to raise the volume more than I do (which I should immagine is the majority of people) will discover those sharp edges that appear.

The build is great and the price is also, so I think that they are worth trying out if you feel these are something you would enjoy but they won’t make my list of recommendations.