TRN XuanWu Review

TRN XUANWU REVIEW

The TRN XuanWu is TRN's first SPD-configured IEM, and I'm very interested in how it sounds because I tried the TRN MT3 from a friend and wasn't impressed. The last time I personally owned a TRN was the TRN IM2, and when I started out in the audio hobby, it was a good IEM in 2018. After a while, I had another IM2, which sounded less impressive than the first time I heard it. Anyways, TRN has released a lot of IEMs, and XuanWu is one of the most recent releases; would it sound better than MT3?

DISCLAIMER:

• I am not affiliated with TRN and have received no monetary compensation during or after this review. This unit is provided by Linsoul in exchange for  an honest and unbiased review.
• I am not a professional reviewer and would only use simple terms for most beginners, and experts in the hobby to understand.
• Words taken from this review should be taken with a grain of salt. However, I can assure you that my findings won't differ a few miles from yours and that I will discuss what I have heard using my audio gear.

PACKAGING:

The design of the box looks decent, and at the rear view of the box, you can see the anatomy of the IEM inside. The inclusions focus mainly on eartips, and they included a number of tips on this one. Here are the inclusions:

XuanWu Pacakging

• 4 core QDC-type cable
• 3 pairs of clear eartips
• 3 pairs of darker eartips
• 1 pair of these genuinely comfortable and good-looking crystal-like eartips.
• Manual

BUILD QUALITY

I'd say the build quality is good, the faceplate has a gold-plated rim, and the shell is made of resin. It's very lightweight, and the fit is comfortable and good. The pins are slightly protruded, but they are not as protruded as your usual budget IEM for added durability.

SOUND

As much as I like to praise its build quality and packaging, to be honest, the sound is not to my taste. It has a somewhat V-shaped sound signature, but the treble is too emphasized for my ears.

LOWS: At first, I hated the sound of XuanWu; everything doesn't sit right with me. As I listened to these IEMs for a longer period of time, I noticed that the bass was good. It leaves much to be desired, but it has a balanced bass with no focus on either the sub-bass or mid-bass. However, the treble extension is so horrible that it's ruining the experience. For instance, a bass slam between hi-hats would sound horrible and gritty. Instead of head-banging with the beat, it's head-piercing.

MIDS: Mids are nowhere good here, but lower mids are flat, some vocals sound nasal, some vocals may sound harsh, the overall texture is thin, and upper mids are emphasized and forward. Instruments don't shine at all and sound rather dull and boring.

TREBLE: This is the frequency I've grown to despise since the beginning. It was also the first thing I noticed when I started playing some tunes here, so I went deeper and found myself some sibilant-prone tracks like "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia and "Mechanize" by Fear Factory. Oh boy, and the results are horrible. The highs are prone to sibilance, and it is really pronounced, especially on "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia. It has those excessive, unnatural, and unwanted high-frequency vocal noises that exaggerate "s" or "sh" sounds, which sound jarring and unpleasant, and as you listen for longer periods, it would even trigger an "eeee" sound to the ear due to fatigue. I did a quick comparison to check if the tracks I tested might be bad. Then I gave other IEMs like the TinHiFi C3 a try on this pair, and I will tell you, the difference between the treble response is night and day. The excessive sibilance I found on Xuan Wu is not present on C3. I really need that comparison to prove that the track is the problem and not the IEM, but I can conclude that TRN really has a pronounced treble and it is very dreadful. I apologize for this one, TRN, but you really need to work on your higher frequencies.

SOUNDSTAGE AND IMAGING 

The soundstage and imaging are average. It does poorly with busy tracks and has overall average to poor resolution and attention to details. Nonetheless, I have no more comments, nothing worth writing home about.

Pros:

• Good packaging
• Nice set of ear tips
• Lightweight and durable
• Comfortable fit

Cons:

• Overall resolution is bad
• Below average technicalities
• Bass is not that impactful
• The treble is unnatural and harsh
• Nasal midrange
• Personally not recommended

For 30 USD, I think this would not be bad if this was in 2018 or 2019. But as the Chinese market continues to be saturated with good earphones around the $20-$30 mark, TRN XuanWu would leave much to be desired, especially when its early competitors like KZ and new competitor TangZu offer much better and cheaper options with good overall sound. I could go for another V-shaped IEM within the price range TRN offers; to be honest, this is very cheap for an SPD driver, compared to what Celeste and KZ released recently. I could go for the lows; the mids are about 50-50; the vocals really sound unnatural and nasal; but the unnecessary sibilance of the highs is the deal-breaker here. Would I recommend this? No, but if you like the design and features, I believe you should give it a shot.