TFZ Series 4 Review: Another Stellar Addition to TFZ’s lineup
I’ve heard quite a few TFZ IEMs, but had the luxury of reviewing none thus-far. While their first-generation lineup didn’t wow me, their continued innovation and increase in quality has left me quite impressed. The TFZ Series 4 follows hot on the heels of the Exclusive 3 and Exclusive 5, but is actually currently more expensive. The nomenclature confuses me, but the sound sure doesn’t. Even at it’s $99 price-point it puts up one hell of a fight against other giants in it’s price bracket.
You can find the TFZ Series 4, here, on Penon Audio, for $99.
Disclaimer: This unit was provided to me free of charge for review purposes. I am not affiliated with TFZ or Penon Audio beyond this review. These words reflect my true, unaltered, opinion about the product.
Preference and Bias: Before reading a review, it is worth mentioning that there is no way for a reviewer to objectively pass judgment on the enjoy-ability of a product: such a thing is inherently subjective. Therefore, I find it necessary for you to read and understand what I take a natural liking to and how that might affect my rating of a product.
My ideal sound signature would be an extended sub-bass with a leveled, but textured, mid-bass. The mids should be slightly less pronounced than the treble, but still ahead of the bass. I prefer a more bright upper range.
Source: The Series 4 was powered like so:
HTC U11 -> USB-C adapter -> earphones
or
Hidizs AP100 3.5mm out -> FiiO A5 3.5mm out -> earphones
or
HiFiMAN SuperMini -> earphones
or
PC optical out -> HiFiMe SPDIF 9018 Sabre DAC 3.5mm out -> earphones
All music was served as MP3 @320Kbps or as FLAC.
There were small, but noticeable, changes in tonality and bass solidity when running the Series 4 through a neutral amplifier.
Sound Signature
Initial Impressions:
The Series 4 is a fairly warm IEM that makes use of a typical boost to the vocals and mid-treble. Sub-bass and midbass are well-paired. The lower mids are placed behind the bass, and the upper-mids and treble are boosted past the bass. Overall it’s a fairly cohesive tuning that sounds natural to the ear.
Treble: Songs used: In One Ear, Midnight City, Outlands, Satisfy
Treble has a nice sweetness and is well-bodied. While it’s not as clean and precise as, say, the GT100s, it is pretty good. Attack and decay are natural, giving the Series 4 some air. Treble-bound instrumental separation is also fairly good though certainly not the best in this price range.
There is no sibilance what-so ever on the Series 4, even on my most poorly-mastered tracks.
Mids: Songs used: Flagpole Sitta, Jacked Up, I Am The Highway, Dreams
The Series 4 has fairly recessed mids, especially towards to bottom end of the range. In spite of their subtle tuning they still sound good. A natural, if not overly-precise, timbre lends them a pleasing tonality. Electric guitars have a great crunch to them and the plucking of acoustic guitars sounds pretty darn good.
Vocals sound good and have slightly above-average intelligibility. The Series 4 is partial towards female vocals, though not by much.
Detail retrieval in the mids is above average, but won’t wow any seasoned audiophiles.
Bass: Songs used: Moth, Gold Dust, In For The Kill (Skream Remix), War Pigs (Celldweller Remix)
The bass on the Series 4 is pretty darn good. Undeniably punchy, cohesive, and very well extended. Bass guitars are definitely audible and defined, something many IEMs at this price range can’t pull off too well.
Bass drops are equally as impressive. While it can’t compete with IEMs that have multiple dynamic drivers tuned specifically for the lower register, the Series 4 puts up a really good fight in the bass department. Sub-bass rumble is great too.
Packaging / Unboxing
There Series 4 comes in about the kind of box I’ve come to expect from a $99 IEM: soft cardboard and compartmentalization. There’s nothing wrong with that, and if simpler packaging means more money going to the actually product then I’m all for it.
Build
Construction Quality
The Series 4 is sturdy in the hand and premium to the eyes. An inspection of the driver housings reveals that the Series 4’s massive 12mm dynamic driver is enclosed inside a clear plastic shell with a very substantial polished-metal face-plate bolted in place.
TFZ’s new IEMs use removable cables for the most part, and the Series 4 is no exception. It uses a raised 2-pin connector surrounded by a somewhat stress-resistant plastic. It’s a pretty decent implementation of 0.78mm 2-pin, so no complaints here.
The nozzle is a little stout for my tastes, giving the Series 4 a more shallow insertion depth. It has a reasonable lip that keeps earbuds snugly in place-but at the same time, doesn’t make it such that you need to contract Hercules to remove them.
The Series 4 comes with a 4-core braided cable. Below the Y-splitter the cable’s geometry is that of a double-twisted cable, and above it, a single twisted cable.
The Y-splitter and 3.5mm jack are both covered in a soft semi-matte plastic. While it’s not visually up to my stylistic standards, I generally leave the judgement of such things to my readers. In terms of construction, however, there are few complaints to be had. I would definitely recommend that TFZ to get better Y-splitters, though. These ones do not disperse mechanical stress too well and really do nothing to prevent wear and tear on the cable.
Comfort
For an IEM as big and heavy as it is, I would have expected the Series 4 to feel unwieldy and intrusive in my ears. This is actually not the case, and I have been able to go three or four hours at a time with it in my ears before I experienced any semblance of irritation.
Accessories
The Series 4 comes well-equipped with accessories. Inside the box you will find:
- 1x set of foam eartips
- 3x sets of wide-bore eartips
- 3x sets of standard-bore eartips
- 1x soft carrying pouch
- 1x shirt clip
The pouch isn’t half bad either and closes snugly. While I wish there was something a more protective included in the box the pouch will surely do.
Summary
TFZ did it again, delivering a good looking, well-built, good sounding, and reasonably priced IEM to consumers. While I had some small complaints about the cable and the lower-mids, I found every song I heard through it to be an absolute joy. So if you are looking for a new IEM around $99, definitely check out the Series 4.
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