Introduction
There are always a few companies that come to mind when you think “Harman-tuned”. Maybe it’s AKG, perhaps even Samsung. Though it’s more than likely that you’d think of the one company that has the “Harman DD IEM” market cornered: Moondrop.
Tanchjim is not a brand that got the traction Moondrop had, often only coming up in conversations as an alternative rather than its own solid recommendation. And it’s pretty easy to see why; where the Kanas Pro came in at a retail price of $180 and the subsequent KXXS at $190, Tanchjim’s direct answer to the two was was… basically in a separate price bracket.
Does Tanchjim truly deserve to be forever under Moondrop’s shadow? Can the Oxygen meet expectations and beat its cheaper, more popular counterparts?
Product page: https://www.linsoul.com/product-page/tanchjim-oxygen-iem
MSRP: $270
Driver configuration: single DD
This Oxygen was kindly provided by Linsoul.
NON-AUDIO OPINIONS
My unboxing posts are pretty much the only times I’ll ever talk about build quality, accessories and the like. I’m not really the person to ask about these things as I don’t really care about them that much.
Accessories: 2 cables (one with a microphone), carrying pouch, tips and… a sticker-badge?
Cable: single wire. Soft feel, nice and pliable. A tiny bit of memory effect going on.
Connection: mildly recessed 2-pin. Should fit most conventional 2-pin cables.
Build: metal. Pictures say everything.
Fit: for my kind of large ears, they fit fine. Not as secure as I’d like it to be though.
Caveat Emptor: There are many reports out there of the Oxygen not fitting well. YMMV and all that.
Isolation: average. Nothing out of the ordinary though the less-than-secure fit makes me have to readjust from time to time.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
- One of the best Harman-style DDs I’ve heard so far.
- Very well-balanced across the frequency range, with exception of some mild intensity in the upper midrange areas.
- Clean bass response, virtually zero smearing and bleed.
- Above averaging imaging and soundstage width.
- Virtually identical to the KXXS on paper? (See below)
Measurements
Choice comparisons
Comparisons courtesy of the Graph Comparison Tool
August’s IEM giveaway coming soon on Patreon! And of course shoutouts to my big money boys: “McMadface”, Denis, Nicholas, “caravan” and Justin.
5 thoughts on “Tanchjim Oxygen: Unboxing”
These are one of the best dd iems that i ever heard. At my first listening i thought these are quite good but not outstanding. After 200+ hours i must say these jumped many levels higher. The imaging and soundstage is phenomenal nearly holographic. The oxygen has also a tactile feeling. In many songs the instruments sound like real and you get the illusion you can feel it. And when you listen to them with a balanced connection, oh man these extremely good! These are a absolute bang for the buck iem!
Hey Crin, would you prefer this or Drop’s JVC HA-FDX01?
I personally prefer the FDX1.
i just found this model. I own the fdx01. can you elaborate even a little why you prefer the fdx01? super curios.