TangZu TianPeng Flagship IEMs Review – Celestial Chinese Earphone Art
Tangzu TianPeng is a $629 USD pair of high-end IEMS with a 8-Driver Design, with Bone Conduction, 14.2mm SPDX Dynamic Driver, Ceramic Piezoelectric bone conduction driver, and with an analog-inspired tuning for modern clarity. Today we review the Tangzu TianPeng and also compare it with other high-end IEMS, including Sweear HE-N7 PRO (769 USD), ThieAudio Origin (849 USD), and Moritz Audio Dragon (629 USD).
Introduction
Linsoul is always looking for ways to deliver a better sound directly to your ears and your doorstep, and today we review one of their most beautiful pairs of IEMs with one of the most interesting packages. Linsoul brings all of this magic of the Tian Peng to the world on their own website, Aliexpress, and Amazon. Amazon is one of the best outlets through which you can purchase Linsoul IEMs, as it has a good balance of support, price and excellent shipping times, although purchasing directly from the linsoul website is almost just as fast. TangZu has a website as well, but I highly encourage using the official Linsoul outlets for proper support, and communications.
As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Audiophile-Heaven has no Ads and our Youtube Channel has no midroll ads, and our work is supported by Affiliate Links and Donations. Huge thanks to Linsoul for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/46fCLu0
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_omWwTVn
Build Quality – Design
Tangzu TianPeng is one of the most complex pairs of IEM Earphones that we’re reviewing, coming in hot with 1 Dynamic Driver, 6 Balanced Armatures and 1 bone conduction drivers. It is basically an 8-Driver Tribrid design with a bone conduction function.
Bass is delivered by a huge 14.2mm SPDX Dynamic Driver for Deep and natural sonics, Ceramic Piezoelectric bone conduction for the treble, and balanced armatures to deliver the midrange. It uses a 3D Printed Shell with medical grade resin, and TianPeng comes with a Premium 6N OCC Silver Plated Vortex Cable.
For the geeky reader, TianPeng has a 9.8 OHM Impedance, and a SPL or Sensitivity of 104 dB. The premium cable it comes with has a 4.4mm balanced connector at the source side and 0.78mm 2-Pin connector at the IEM side. As this is a Pre-Order product, and it is made to order, all orders are shipped sequentially, it takes TangZu between 2 and 3 weeks to ship your IEMs, and there are no cancellations allowed once the order has been placed, as there is a high cost to the materials to build your Tian Peng.
Fit – Subjective Usage
TangZu Tian Peng comes with a high-end cable, which is covered in a textile material, but has a 4.4mm balanced jack connector. This cable is well isolated from touch / handling noise, you basically will not know they have a cable, it has a unique flexibility but does not feel fragile.
Wearing comfort is top notch, TianPeng is super comfy, they have a unique set of tips included in the package that have a surface that feels frosted. Those feel really nice, and offer TianPeng a medium towards shallow insertion, so they don’t feel uncomfortable in my ears. Shell weight is natural, shells have a medium-large size.
This allows TianPeng to have a medium passive noise isolation of around 15 dB, but they leak very little. Overall, they feel natural inside of my ears and I don’t feel the need to take them out even after hours of wearing them.
Sound Quality
Pairings – To test the new Tang Zu TianPeng, I have paired it with a selection of sources, including Rose Technics RT-5000, Dethonray Clarinet, iBasso DX340, Lotoo PAW GT2, FiiO K15, FiiO QX13, and Cayn RU9. Most portable dongle DAC AMPs are more than enough to drive the TangZu Tian Peng.
Tangzu Tianpeng is sensitive to source noise, they are also sensitive to source quality, but very easy to drive. With FiiO K17, they need less than 20/100 volume on super high gain, but they sound better on that super high gain compared to lower gain, as the voltage power saturation curve seems to give them a higher dynamic range, better impact and a more impactful sound, although bass and overall sound is more controlled at medium gain.
Overall Signature – TangZu TianPeng is a fairly vivid sounding pair of IEMS, with a rather thumpy bass, excellent low-end reach and with a vivid midrange, and a sparky, brilliant treble. For the most part it sits between V-Shaped and balanced, has a bit of both extremes uplift and emphasis, but also has a bit of warmth in the midrange that gives it body and an euphonic sound. Resolution is excellent, and TianPeng creates a certain thump with each bass hit that gives them an increased instrument separation and better layering.
Bass – Starting with the low-end, Tangzu Tian Peng is quite thumpy, reaches 20 Hz really well, but most of the impact is between 30 Hz and 60 Hz, creating the kind of thump you expect to hear inside a high-end night club. Bass is super smooth in texture, this makes TianPeng enjoyable with EDM, Pop, Metal, Rock and most modern music, not adding distortion and creating an actually ultra enjoyable sonic signature.
Midrange – With an organic, playful and colorful midrange, TangZu TianPeng has a brilliant resonance in the treble, it sounds open and clean, and that gives the upper midrange a slight forwardness relative to the lower midrange. This gives female voices an emotional, more personal presentation than it gives to deep male voices. This being said, the midrange is generally balanced and you don’t notice the slight recess in the lower midrange unless you’re really looking for it. In general, TianPeng works best with commercial and modern music, as they have a rather smooth texture for the mids.
Treble – With an open and bright treble, TianPeng is controlled, but has a nice sharp brilliance. This gives metal music air and impact, pop music space and resolution, and EDM the special effects needed to be interesting and engaging. Overall, they don’t really cross into the V-Shaped or U-Shaped territory and their sonic signature stays balanced and nicely tuned for a natural and organic tone.
Dynamics And Textures – TianPeng is quite smooth in textures, and has a highly dynamic sound. This works well for their approach to modern music, but they don’t have the distortion, texture rich sound usually needed for classical, orchestral and acoustic music. For a relaxed texture that makes even aggro metal enjoyable, TianPeng fully delivers and sounds fun.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – It feels like here I noticed a burn-in effect, as the first hour of playing the TianPeng I noticed that they struggled a bit with volume and would distort more easily, but after about 5 hours of playing music they handle all volume levels equally well. Sound gets a bit more dynamic, more impactful and more colorful at higher volumes, and it sounds smoother, more relaxed at lower volumes, but thanks to the balanced – neutral – open signature, detail and resolution is fairly similar across all volume levels.
Soundstage – TangZu gave TianPeng a natural soundstage with strong imaging and instrument separation. They sound fairly open and clean, but soundstage expands within natural bounds, they feel quite natural but expand a bit less than most of the competition. This intimate soundstage adds to the drama, and keeps sound dynamic while controlled. Imaging is top notch and TianPeng is capable of separating layers and instruments like an IEM with an analytical signature would without effort.
Comparisons
TangZu TianPeng vs Moritz Audio Dragon (629 USD vs 629 USD) – WDragon has a lighter shell and a more simple cable, but they are equally easy to drive and control as TianPeng. Comfort is comparable, but the eartips that TianPeng comes with from the factory are quite a bit better. TianPeng sounds balanced – a bit warm, thumpy and brilliant in the treble, with a smooth texture, while Moritz Audio Dragon sounds quite a bit warmer, has a richer texture in the midrange, and a smoother, more relaxed treble. Both are great for all music styles, but TianPeng works better for commercial music, while Dragon works a bit better for acoustic, classical and orchestral music.
TangZu TianPeng vs Thieaudio Origin (629 USD vs 849 USD) – Origin has a heavier IEM shell, but also a slightly nicer cable. This being said, the cable of TianPeng conducts less noise, and the wearing comfort is more premium for TianPeng, not to mention the package. Origin is harder to drive, less sensitive to source quality and less fussy about source output impedance. The sound of the Origin is more intentionally Basshead, they got a more bloomy, deeper sound with more oomph to it, and they also have a less forward treble. In comparison, TianPeng has a punchier sound, especially in the midrange, a higher dynamic range, a smoother texture in the bass, mid and treble, and TianPeng sounds a bit more intimate in the soundstage size, but with a stronger layering and instrument separation.
TangZu TianPeng vs Sweear He-N7 PRO (629 USD vs 769 USD) – He-N7 Pro is a good IEM, but TianPeng comes with a more impressive package, better default cable and eartips, and with a more versatile wearing, as they have a slightly better shallow-medium fit. HE-N7 PRO looks a bit better, has colorful shells, but they also are similarly lightweight, similarly easy to drive and fun to use. Both IEMS have exceptional impact and resolution, both IEMs have excellent bass thump, but HE-N7 PRO is a bit warmer and thicker, especially in the lows where I remember calling it bombastic and lush, thick and bloomy, and they also have a treble spike that counters that heavy bass. TianPeng is more balanced overall, they sound more even, handle modern music better and are smoother in the textures, with a higher dynamic range.
Value and Conclusion
Linsoul and Tangzu made the TianPeng super appealing, they have one of the largest and most impressive packages in the Chifi world, have a truly custom cable with a deep purple and gold weave color, they have a detailed sonic signature. TianPeng is generally an excellent deal, and it stands out in strong value.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a pair of IEMs that render a natural – dramatic midrange, thumpy deep bass, and a natural soundstage, with a superb design, excellent comfort, and a deep purple color theme for everything including the cable, TangZu TianPeng is a fully recommended purchase and a pair of IEMS I like a lot.
PROs
- Cable has very low microphonic and handling noise, unique to TianPeng and their design
- Medium-Shallow insertion depth that gives them an excellent comfort
- Beautiful shells
- Deep and thumpy bass
- Natural – dramatic midrange
- Sharp and brilliant treble
- Airy top end
- Outstanding resolution
- Has equal emphasis on male and female voices
- Strong instrument separation and clarity.
Cons
- Soundstage natural in size, not the widest
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/46fCLu0
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_omWwTVn
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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