TangZu Wan’er Earphones Review – Is It Worth The Hype?

First Impressions

Just from looking at the box, it’s evident that a lot of thought went into the packaging of the TangZu Wan’er. It comes in an eye-catching box with an image of Shangguan Wan’er.

The unboxing experience is nothing short of impressive. Once you remove the front cover, you’ll find some sort of cloth with the same graphics of Shangguan Wan’er covering the IEMs.

The IEM is presented neatly in a cut-out square piece while the accessories are placed in separate boxes. It comes with pre-installed ear tips and six extra pairs in various sizes.

Build Quality

The TangZu Wan’er has a polycarbonate resin shell with some level of transparency that reveals the internal components.

Because of the material used, this IEM has little to no weight. They may feel a bit chip but they seem like they can withstand heavy use with proper care and storage. 

The ear tips are pretty standard but they get the job done and you get several sizing options if you want to get a nice seal.

The included cable is a 4-core oxygen-free copper cable, which is known for being durable. Nothing special is going on with this cable, and you can swap it out for a better one since it’s detachable

All in all, the build quality of the IEM and its included accessories are decent for the price.

Fit and Comfort

The Tangzu Wan’er follows a ubiquitous IEM shape that fits most ear sizes. Since the nozzle has an average length and comes molded with the IEM, you’ll have no problems with how it sits inside your ear. 

Since the Wan’er is made from polycarbonate resin, it’s light and doesn’t cause any fatigue even during extended listening periods. 

The extra ear tips in varying sizes help give you the best fit for your ears, although you can swap them out with better-quality ear tips for improved comfort. 

Sound Quality

Sound-wise, I was impressed with the TangZu Wan’er.

It has good detail retrieval and it performed quite well in producing clarity on the vocals and the instruments. I really like how I was able to discern them from each other even when playing in unison. 

Clarity and detail are one of the most substantial feats of the TangZu Wan’er.

Bass

The Tangzu Wan’er’s tuning highlights the mid-bass rather than the sub-bass. Although the bass is punchy, the sub-bass rumble isn’t that prominent for the most part. 

The bass may sometimes sound loose, but it has decent details and clarity.

There were times when I experienced bloating on the mid-bass, making the Wan’er sound poorly tuned but it didn’t muddy up the mids so it’s not a deal-breaker.

The tuning on the bass gives it a warm sound, making it work best with some easy-listening tracks given its added lift on the mids and the lows.

Mids

The mids on the Tangzu Wan’er are quite impressive. 

The instruments and vocal presentation had great clarity and detail, with both of them sounding accurate and intricate even on busy tracks. The instruments and vocals are positioned slightly forward in the mix but both of them have a good balance overall. 

While listening to some R&B and soul tracks, there are times when the instruments may overlap with the vocals, making them sound recessed, but I think it depends on the tracks that you’re listening to and how they’re mixed and produced.

Overall, the mids have excellent detail and clarity, which adds better texture and tonality to the vocals and instruments compared to most IEMs.

Treble

The treble of the TangZu Wan’er, on the other hand, is recessed as even on tracks with prominent treble, only slight sparkles and brilliance can be heard. 

This may be due to the IEM’s warm and natural sound signature, which causes a bit of roll-off on the top end of the frequencies. This may be a good or bad thing as some people may like a bit more brilliance and sparkle in their mixes.

This warm tuning works best for those who are treble-sensitive

Overall, the treble is smooth in presentation and still well-balanced and well-controlled, which is one of this IEM’s strengths.

Test Tracks

I have tested the TangZu Wan’er with different genres of music to get a proper understanding of how they sound and here are my findings.

• Metal / Rock – The Wan’er did a great job in detail retrieval and controlling the treble and mid frequencies. Even on high-gain tracks, it managed to catch up to the demands of the track. The kicks were prominent without overpowering the instruments and vocals. The vocals and the instruments were positioned relatively well in the mix and had a natural timbre. Tracks used: Mayonaise (The Smashing Pumpkins), All The Small Things (Blink 182), Ignorance (Paramore), Cold (Korn)
• Pop – The sound imaging was excellent and gave a near-accurate presentation of where certain elements are positioned in the mix. Maye’s vocals in particular have a reverb trail that’s hard to notice but the Wan’er did a great job maintaining the details. The mids were also well-controlled. Tracks used: Snooze (SZA), Neverita (Bad Bunny), Yours (Maye)
• Hip-Hop – I typically look at how the IEM performs in this genre, especially when the tracks get busy. The TangZu Wan’er balanced the tracks and enhanced the low and mid frequency, creating a good mix of detailed mids and punchy bass. Sometimes the bass sounded loose, which would be a problem for those who love a quick bass response. The Wan’er performed as it’s supposed to, which is a warm signature IEM, although I wouldn’t recommend this to bass heads due to the lack of rumble or sub-bass extension. Tracks used: LOVE. (Kendrick Lamar, Zacari), Cash In Cash Out (Pharell Williams ft. 21 Savage & Tyler the Creator), I Wonder (Kanye West)
• R&B / Soul – The tuning of the Wan’er helped the vocals and other instruments pop within that frequency. Every instrument I’ve heard was pretty accurate and as a musician, this made the listening experience much more enjoyable. However, other listeners may perceive the presentation as dry or not as colored. Tracks used: LA FAMA (Rosalia, The Weeknd), Blessed (Daniel Ceasar), Moonlight (Kali Uchis), Traingazing (Sam Wills ft. Honey Mooncie)

Conclusion

Overall, I can say that the TangZu Wan’er is indeed worth the hype.

Although it doesn’t have a lot of features, the brand managed to squeeze in every bit of quality they could get in this IEM, and they ended up creating this great-sounding pair of audio gear.

One of the strengths of the Wan’er is its midrange, as it largely contributes to maintaining and producing details and texture to the mix.

One flaw I can pinpoint is the lack of control and balance on the bass, as there are times when it sounded loose or all over the place. I hope that TangZu takes note of this to prevent this from happening in future releases.

I wouldn’t recommend this to bass heads because although the bass is punchy, it doesn’t have enough sub-bass extension and rumble to be labeled as a bass head IEM. 

Still, the TangZu Wan’er is a versatile pair worth checking out, especially if you enjoy listening to different genres.

This post was last updated on 2024-11-26 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.