This review shoot-out will take a look at three IEMs I have
been listening to lately that are all in the same price range: $179-199. They
are new, but very hyped-up Chinese brands that have seen a lot of discussion in
the headphone world lately.
The first IEM is the BGVP DM6, which has been in limited
supply for months now due to their overwhelming amount of orders and inability
to keep up with demand, since they are all individually hand-made. This headphone
was provided to me by Linsoul for the purpose of review. You can find this
headphone for $199 through Linsoul.com or LSR-Direct on Amazon.com.
The second IEM is the Tenhz T5, which was also provided by
Linsoul for review. This headphone is also priced at $199, and is the successor
the next step up in price from the P4 Pro I reviewed previously.
Finally, I will compare both to the Moondrop Kanas Pro,
which I recently did a full review on and gave high marks to. As a reminder,
this one was purchased by me and was not given to me for reviewing purposes.
Build & Accessories
All three of these IEMs come with premium braided cables and
a selection of tips. The Moondrop Kanas Pro only came with 1 style of silicone
tips in a variety of sizes, while the other two came with foam and different
silicone tips and sizes. None of these came with a proper carrying case. The
Tenhz package actually came as a surprise since the lower cost P4 Pro came with
a very nice carrying case, so not seeing it in the more premium T5 model was a
surprise.
The T5 and DM6 have nearly identical shells, with the DM6
just slightly larger. The Kanas Pro is quite a bit different with a smaller
metal alloy shell. Of the three, I think the Kanas Pro and the T5 are most
comfortable with the slightly larger DM6 trailing behind. All three are
comfortable for long periods of time though, with the DM6 sealing off significantly
better than the other two.
The T5 and DM6 both use MMCX connectors while the Kanas Pro
uses 2-pin connection. This is really preference, but I prefer the 2-Pin connection
more since they are easier to handle and more secure. They also don’t freely rotate
after being inserted.
Sound
These three IEMs share some similarities in sound but
primarily have distinct sound signatures. The most neutral of the three is the
Kanas Pro, which strictly follows the Harman Target curve except with upper end
emphasis. The T5 is a warm, rich and laid-back sounding IEM which does roll-off
in treble significantly, while the DM6 is a U-shaped IEM with emphasis in bass
and treble.
Bass
The bass response of the DM6 is the greatest, and
surprisingly not muddy. It’s generally very clean however elevated. The T5 and
Kanas Pro have similar bass responses in terms of punch and impact, but the T5
does have a richer and more filling sound compared to the Kanas Pro. The DM6 is
easily the punchiest of the three and also extends well down more than the
other two. I like the Kanas Pro signature the best as it’s just north of
neutral for me and it’s easily the cleanest and most detailed of the three bass
responses. The DM6 is the most fun though.
Mids
The mids is where these three start to divert even more. The
DM6 mids are recessed compared to the rest of its sound profile. It’s not completely
missing though, and is generally coherent. Some female vocals tend to be a little
harsh as the sound response starts to elevate again in the upper mid region.
The T5 has excellent male vocals with rich and full sounding low mids and
coherency through out this region. The Kanas Pro is similarly very coherent,
but with a more leaner sound. The T5 does start to sound a little compressed in
the upper mids due to some drop off in this region and completely rolled off
treble.
Treble
Like I mentioned, the T5 treble is rolled off and generally
very tamed down. This keeps the signature very warm and laid-back and lacking clarity
and distinct details. The Kanas Pro finds a good balance in the upper mids and
treble hovering around neutral generally until the upper treble where it does
spike up. Some people may be sensitive to it, however I am not one that is. The
DM6, on the other hand, does have elevated treble and unevenness in this region
which can be harsh on many tracks. It has a pretty large peak around 6-7KHz
which can sound piercing in some songs. I never found music to be sibilant
though, as it does drop off in the sibilance range. Generally, I found the DM6
to be a slightly harsh, especially on bad recordings or treble-focused songs.
Overall
The Kanas Pro has already been heavily reviewed by me and
was given high marks. When comparing it side-by-side in detail with these other
similarly priced contenders, I find no reason not to continue to recommend it
as a great all-around IEM for many listeners. It strikes a great balance in
sound and should work across many genres, giving users a very clean, detailed,
and balanced sound signature.
The Tenhz T5 is definitely on the warmer side, and it’s roll-off
on treble even more defines its target. While it seems to be lacking detail and
sparkle, it does provide a very comfortable listening experience that can
easily be used for hours and hours at a time. The soundstage is also a bit
forward and really accentuates vocals, particularly male vocals. I generally am
not a fan of this type of sound signature, but I can see users of mid-tier
Sennheiser over-ears and Audeze LCDs to like this sound profile.
The DM6 is the fun one of the group. I don’t believe this
deserves as much hype as it has gotten, but it is a step up from the DMG and
the Whizzer Kylin which are a tier below in cost with a V-Shaped sound signature.
The DM6 does provide coherent mids, despite being recessed, but the treble is a
little harsh and disjointed sometimes. There also seemed to be a little
shoutiness going on in the upper mids, which led to music just sounding LOUD. I
don’t know if I would recommend this IEM when compared to the other two, and
especially with the highest price tag and longest wait time. It's still a good IEM, but I personally like the other two more.
Your comments on DM6 are excatly spot on with me, i'll defnitely pay attention to your opinions!
ReplyDeleteYou were too kind to the DM6. You touched upon some of my criticisms but were too kind overall. After owning the DM6 for 6 months I liked them less and less as each week passed and I owned more and more iems and headphones. The DM6 for me is only good for very laid back music where there’s not much going on. A flute here, an oboe in the middle and like a cello doing very basic pieces. Once things get busy, add some vocals and there’s a density to the music the DM6 simply fall apart and sound terrible. At times midbass was too much to the point of hurting.....as you mentioned parts of song were too loud. Treble information so severely lacking and uneven in some electronic tracks that vibrant sounds were muted but other sounds jumped out when they have stayed in their place. Some cymbal hits to my ear were missing portions of the lower treble along with any extension that SHOULD have been there......like they were recorded through a heavy blanket. Norah Jones voice on Day Breaks sounds muffled where it should sound subdued but still contain some vibrant details with the SSSS sounds and some lip/saliva detail. All those nuances that really make a female vocal performance exciting simply vanish or are buried. In a blind test I would have ranked them dead last behind every one of my KZ and CCA.The TRN V80 and DMG are more appealing to my ear. Details were present. But the overall sound signature was not an enjoyable experience. A CCA CA4 brings more enjoyment to my ears @ $17. No joke. Now I’m not sure about paying $300 for the DM7. DM6 are beautifully made and fit perfectly but the tuning was just WRONG. I don’t know how anyone could like or recommend this set. It’s possible that people with hearing up to 18K would actually hear the uneven parts more evenly if that’s possible. I wanted to like them so bad because of a reviewer that I do agree with on many aspects of sound. But there’s a difference between saying.....”this set show this detail, this other detail.....and this one that is missed by most” and saying” this set is musical and enjoyable for long listening sessions for most musical genres and not just 3 piece chamber ensemble of Oboe, flute and Cello. Linsoul would not send me another review sample after my DM6 evaluation. I plan on selling my set ASAP and I just hope BGVP gets their act together and learns from their mistakes as the DM7 doesn’t seem too different from its older brother. The competition is too fierce right now to be designing duds.
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