Tianlong AH-C400 in-ear headphones evaluation

Tianlong AH-C400 headphones, a two-unit moving iron is positioned in the earphones of about 2,000 yuan, in the impression that the moving iron headphones at this price will generally use four units, such as the Logitech UE 900, Soomal evaluated Shidun W4R two. So the Tianlong AH-C400's dual-unit moving iron and its value are consistent? Compared with W4R, GR07 MKII and other headphones, how about performance?

The Tianlong AH-C400 was released in 2012. It belongs to the MUSIC MANIAC category of the Lifestyle series [different from traditional series, such as D5000, D7000, etc.]. It has a partial appearance in some Lifestyle series. In terms of design, perhaps the products in the MUSIC MANIAC series pay more attention to sound quality. Of course, the official introduction of AH-C400 also has a lot of words to promote its sound quality.

The AH-C400 earphone is a slightly larger and thinner in-ear earphone from the appearance. It is a typical gray-white type. The earphone handle uses a long piece of rubber fixed wire for access. In recent years, new products are rare. To be honest, such a design may be retro, but not beautiful enough. The rear part of the C400 earphone casing uses a metal casing, which is made of zinc die-casting, with stripes and LOGO decoration on the surface.

From the officially provided explosion view of the earphone structure, it is possible to see every part of the C400 earphones clearly. It uses a two-unit moving iron structure which is also consistent with the structure of the middle and high-pitched units of most multi-unit moving iron headphones. The unit "small size, the physical structure is connected side by side from the outside, and the tiny openings that emit sound are side by side pointing to the same position. Compared with the four-unit W4R and UE900, there is no larger group on the C400.

The C400 provides a variety of in-ear rubber plugs of different materials and sizes for the user to choose from. The carton is also available in the box for use with the storage box. The C400 is equipped with a multi-function remote control for iPod and iOS devices. It can realize various control functions of iOS offline control and answering calls.

For us, these features are not the focus. In order to better test the sound quality of this headset, we still take the headset down for 150 hours, but for the moving iron unit, the downtime effect is really small. Test comparison Headphones We use Westone 4R [W4R], Logitech UE900, Vsnoic GR07MKII, etc. The audio sources used include Monitor 06 MX sound card, vivo Xplay, HiFiMAN HM-901, iPhone5s, etc.

Overall impression: The first impression of the C400 headphones is good. Since we have been using the GR07 MKII or W4R, it is easy to feel that the C400 is at least a high-level earphone, and the simple comparison of the W4R will reveal that the C400 is high. The frequency and high frequency style are close to W4R, and the sound quality is also high. It is not surprising that the C400 may use a set of moving iron units responsible for the middle and high sounds in the multi-unit headphones such as W4R and UE900, and may of course be the same level of units. .

High-frequency performance: C400 headphone impedance is 43 ohms, and the sensitivity of 106dB does not seem to be particularly easy to drive. However, it seems to be easier to promote some of the subjective sounds of portable audio sources than the GR07 MKII. Between the UE900 and W4R, but closer to the W4R, the high frequency has the same high quality as the W4R, the sound is obviously neutral, but the high frequency and medium and high frequency parts of the C400 must be slightly brighter, the very high frequency part is slightly Relaxed. Still not as soft and delicate as UE900.

The C400's high-frequency density and dynamics are slightly better than the W4R. The sound is brighter and more brittle than the W4R, but this does not affect its high-frequency sound level and stable transient performance at high dynamics, compared with the GR07 MKII. Compared with the C400's high-frequency advantage and the W4R's advantages, especially on the Xplay or higher-end portable player, the C400 will have a significantly better performance. However, the 06 MX and HM-901 are warmer and have enough drive. On the player of the force, the high frequency of the C400 gets a certain neutralization of the warmer style. On the sound source of iPhone5s and IPC, the high frequency of the C400 is more hard than the W4R. The explosive force seems to be stronger under the huge sound pressure, but relative The distortion is larger than W4R. Of course, C400 is better than GR07 MKII in dynamic and sound thickness, especially on portable audio source [mobile phone], C400 is also slightly easier to drive, and the performance is better.

IF performance: We know that in multi-unit moving iron headphones, often increase the size of the moving iron unit to compensate for the performance of the intermediate frequency and low frequency. And C400 dual unit IF can have a good performance? Overall, C400 still Maintaining a neutral style similar to W4R, the sound is very positive and very clean. The C400 IF performance is slightly different under different styles.

If W4R is used as a reference, then the C400 is driven by audio sources such as iPhone5s, IPC and even Xplay. Although it is far better than the UE600 and In-ear2 moving iron headphones, the intermediate frequency is thinner than the W4R. It is also expected. However, the C400's intermediate frequency is not particularly light. In terms of vocal performance, the C400 is slightly younger. Compared with the GR07 MKII, it has a slightly better dynamic at medium and high frequencies, but it is connected to the intermediate frequency and the low frequency. Part of the GR07 MKII lacks detail, and is not slack enough. The source of the HM-901 has a significant improvement on the C400's intermediate frequency, because the midrange of this player is obviously warmer and softer.

The C400 IF performance still inherits many advantages of the new generation of moving iron headphones like W4R, such as having a good image and resolution. The sound level and transient performance are very stable, clean, etc. in large dynamics. Maybe we can think of C400 It has a more youthful IF tone than the W4R, especially in terms of vocal performance. It is worth mentioning that although the C400 does not sound UE900 sounds in the IF, the UE900's somewhat loose mid-low frequency affects its overall performance. The C400's midrange is slightly thinner but cleaner than the UE900.

Low-frequency performance: The low frequency of the C400 is indeed the biggest gap between it and the W4R headphones. Because there is no support for the big moving iron unit, the C400's low-frequency sense is slightly less, but without a big moving iron unit does not mean C400. There is no such low frequency, but the overall style is lower than the W4R, and it is slightly weaker than the GR07 MKII. In the low-frequency performance, this part of the lack makes the C400 not as wonderful as the W4R or UE900, such as the performance of the cello. Obvious lack of detail, even GR07 MKII can show more slack, detail and fuller sound on Xplay and above portable audio sources. Overall, C400 still maintains a relatively balanced low frequency performance, the sound does not dry up , still have better flexibility, but the mid-low frequency details are more general, compared with W4R is significantly weaker.

to sum up

Compared with the Westone W4R, the Tianlong AH-C400 may be less well-known, and we prefer to use the W4R as a reference to describe the sound of the C400. Considering the similarity of the sound style between them, the sales price is close and the user is familiar with the W4R. Degree. If nothing else, the C400's moving iron unit has the same high level as the medium and high frequency unit in the W4R and UE900, even the same source. If the first contact with this unit is the Logitech UE900 high frequency brings us The surprise and the disappointment of its unbalanced sound, then the W4R and C400 are more comprehensive and balanced performance.

The overall sound style of Tianlong AH-C400 is neutral and balanced. The high-frequency part is relatively slightly prominent. It still maintains the same high quality as W4R and UE900. It is better than GR07 MKII. The IF part and the low frequency part are somewhat thinner than W4R sound. But the more neutral style and higher quality make the sense of hearing not too loose like the UE900. Compared with the GR07 MKII, the intermediate frequency is slightly higher and the mid-high frequency part C400 still has an advantage, while in the middle and low frequency part GR07 MKII The details are better, the sound is more stretched; the low frequency performance, the C400 dynamic slightly dominates, but the resolution is slightly inferior.

When we saw the multi-unit headphones such as UE900 and W4R, we speculated that if we only use the dual-units responsible for medium-high frequency, can we make headphones that can keep their high-frequency features at a lower price? After all, we see like UE700, A moving iron earphone such as In-ear2 can have a relatively balanced performance in the case of a very small unit. Perhaps, the Tianlong AH-C400 is such a headset we envision, although its performance is not comprehensive, but it is The two-unit moving iron is realized. However, the price of 2000 yuan is obviously somewhat high.