🔶 Mangird TEA (6 BA/1DD)

[mococo]

Wallet went straight to recharge mode

Anyway I didn’t mean to go review-mode like HBB, nymz, Precog and all but I just wanted to share and post my impression in case somebody needs it since i’m so noob at this. Each have their own preferences after all and it was quite confusing how I could get an iem even close to what I wanted.

I had a fun time researching, asking and learning all kinds of stuff.

[Christopher_Robin]

Hi, first review-ish post on here! Just wanted to share my thoughts.
Mangird Tea Impressions - Refined and Relaxed

1st Day:

• Got these last night, spent about an hour listening.
• First things first–are they neutral? Most well-regarded or hyped IEMs these days (maybe just most chifi IEMs in general) are opting for “accurate” pinna gain a la Moondrop’s target. Are the Tea’s accurate? Very much no. That’s not a point against them–just a statement of fact. They do not sound like most of the currently popular chifi IEMs and thus might sound odd to the majority of semi-experienced listeners. This is important to keep in mind.
• So far, I’d give them one out of two thumbs up. I haven’t heard enough to know whether or not they’re special. They remind me of the Tin T2 with it’s stronger lower mid presence–at the time that I owned the T2’s, they served as my reference point for “neutral.” The lower contrast on these brings me back to that time. Definitely highlights things in the mix in a way I enjoy, but I no longer consider this signature harmonically accurate. Something sounds wonky–again, it’ll take time to know whether this is a strong or weak point.
• The bass!!! It comes across so full and textured. Not loose the way it is on the IKKO OH10 or lean the way it is on the Dusk. Not exactly crisp, likely due to that lower contrast and upper harmonics not being emphasized in ways I’m used to, but it’s so much more satisfying than I expected. Really like the ratio of sub to mid bass. Hard to articulate what the ideal amount of either is relative to each other and to lower mids, but this is hitting close to my preference.
• Very very smooth. BA timbre is in full effect, but the plasticky quality complements the smoothness

2nd Day:

• EQs well. I’ve alternated between stock signature and a high shelf EQ to achieve proper pinna gain. Still sounds very smooth with EQ.
• Not sure I love the squashed dynamics of the stock tuning–makes them very easy to listen to at all volume levels, but feels like something is missing, especially with percussion.

2 Weeks:

• A little honky. Try sucking out some of the mids around 630 hz and you’ll see what I mean. Result of low pinna gain rather than any inconsistency in the mids, but I find it easier to correct with EQ with the aforementioned method than by boosting around 3k etc. Keep in mind this will affect the unique character of the IEMs and change the linearity of the mids. Mid dip is more in-line with the sound of something like the OH-10. Removes honk while keeping these relaxed and warm-ish.
• Best thing about these is the texture of the bass, part of which admittedly comes from the honkiness. However, the honk in combination with the rest of the sig also makes these sound rubbery. You might love it, you might hate it. I’m experiencing a mixture of both.
• To get that kind of bass texture, I think they have to be tuned inaccurately. When I shape them to sound more like the Dusk (without touching the bass or lower mids), the fullness and ASMR inducing zestiness is gone.
• As per usual, technicals stopped impressing once I became used to these. I think I prefer the sound of the SSRs EQed to the Ety target in almost every way. The SSRs sound more detailed despite the single DD and more satisfying despite having less bass and less texture to them. Perhaps controversial, but I believe that correct tonality emphasizing the right harmonic relationships matters more for producing detail than driver speed.
• Will some love the Teas? Obviously. HBB and Dan do. I really had a good first impression. But I don’t love them. I’m not sure if I like them enough to permanently keep them in my collection. If these sound like, well, your cup of Tea, join the Tea cult–I hope you enjoy them! I’m giving them 3.5/5 stars for good technical performance and a coherent–if not perfect–tuning. Maybe part of that score comes from the gorgeous design.

Extra Notes:

• Suction effect like with other BAs, rarely even on both sides for me (I don’t use foams)
• Use Dusk and OH10 as reference points as I feel they’re fairly popular and represent signatures that are of use here.

Score: 3.5/5

[VIVIDICI_111]

Welcome, and nice impression

I think opinions of the Tea changes drastically depending on:

1. How loud you listen
2. What your library is
3. High FR sensitive?

For example, I’m very sensitive to higher FR but like listening at high volumes. So for me I always hated the pinna gain in the Harman target as it literally kills my ears at higher volumes when it comes to vocals which is why I love that the tea tamed it as well as the treble. This not only allows more room for the midrange, but most importantly allows me to listen at high volumes and immersive myself in the music without my ears bleeding. A majority of my library also consists of vocals, rock, indie/alternative, and slower genres in general that works extremely well with the Tea at high volume. The Dusk and Olina doesn’t allow me to fully immersive myself in the music since it has more high-mids and treble.

I definitely agree that the Tea can sound honky in certain tracks along with its BA timbre, but in the end it really depends on the context and what you’re looking for. I prioritize immersion, 3D staging, imaging, vocals, and mids and the Tea ticks all of those boxes for me. I know many many others love the Dusk, but I personally was never a fan of it, and I can see the same logic applied for the Tea as well

I think the closest thing that gives me what the Tea offers AND great timbre/treble air is the Triple-mod Olina, but more on that later this week when the comparison comes out

[mococo]

wait a sec… triple mod Olina?

Our libraries, ear tolerance, and preference might be different, but I feel I understand you when you say Tea (especially for me compared to Olina) makes me feel more immersed in the music.

I can maximize the volume and everything still has the same balance but louder. I guess that might mean the graph signature of Tea suits me? Imaging, sound stage, etc I guess is good enough for me. Maybe I can understand more if I had an EJ07 or Oracle (haha, is this some kind of self justification for more??).

[Rinderkappajoe]

YES IT IS! Go for it

[VIVIDICI_111]

B2 filter on top, Olina filter on vent, and foam tips So far so good

Edit: New mod with additional Olina filter on top of pre-existing one and stock tips seems to work the best.

[Christopher_Robin]

I agree with liking being able to listen to it at higher volumes! I just think the tradeoff is it doesn’t come across as totally accurate because of that lower gain. For what it’s worth, I enjoy these a good deal more than the Olina and Dusk (which I ALSO am not a fan of!), and my rating is perhaps a little on the low side looking back on the quick review. I got a bit more enjoyment out of them today by piercing the silicone tips I’m using to get a more even amount of pressure in both ears, which changed the sound more than I expected it would. That rubbery texture I mentioned is one of the things most impacted by different tips, so this difference almost eliminates that problem for me. I think opinions of any IEM change drastically depending on ear shape, fit, tips, etc., so I can see other people having a COMPLETELY different experience than mine with these. I’m actually considering making these my endgame despite my issues with them, because they’re light, hit most of my preferences pretty well, have great technicalities, are less fatiguing than other multi-BA sets I’ve tried, and are gorgeous to boot. And, like you said, the immersion factor is one of it’s biggest strengths and something I should have mentioned.

I mostly listen to Electronic, prog/math rock, and classical, so I kind of need a lot of versatility in my daily set.

I think the Olina is wonderful, but something about it is too light and airy for me. It’s like a fine French pastry–awesome, but I’m more into cookies.

[Christopher_Robin]

Another pair I like that has similarly low pinna gain is the BLON BL-03. I didn’t love them (or even like them) when I first got them, as they felt claustrophobic and boomy. I don’t know what changed, but eventually I grew to love them. They’ve got their own problems, but that mid dip along with 5k presence that the Tea doesn’t have goes a long way toward making them sound natural while allowing for loud/bassy playback. They might not sound ACCURATE in the way the B2s do, but they don’t sound weird like the Teas.

[VIVIDICI_111]

For Olina try putting another Olina filter on top of the current one with stock tips. Helps tame the pinna gain and sounds less airy and more weighted.

[Christopher_Robin]

I’ve tried a bunch of different EQ profiles on the Teas, but so far the only one I really like is this. Far from perfect and they’re pretty small adjustments, but it makes the center image more complete, makes vocals and percussive hits like hi-hats a little more clear/tonally correct? And fixes some of the odd timbre effects in the mids without taking away either the fun or the smoothness. The one thing I do find myself wanting from these though is a sense of openness–nothing I’ve done has achieved that. Boosting the air frequencies just makes them sound harsher.

[VIVIDICI_111]

The Tea is a more intimate IEM that plays around you rather than in-front of you. If you’re looking for something more opened and airy then that would be the Olina.

[vald]

Has anyone compared the Legacy 5 and OG Tea? They graph very similarly.

[Christopher_Robin]

god damn that is similar, even LESS upper mids and upper treble tho? Gonna sound spongey and dark

[WaveTheory]

XENNS Mangird Tea V1 IEM Review

[ttorbic]

Just going to leave this here…

UPGRADED! Xenns Mangird Tea 2 REVIEW

[Gul]

That is a pure matter of preference. This depends on our ears and what they tell US.

[Yarn]

I thought I should let people know who are planning to buy the teas that the right iem’s dynamic driver died a few days ago in my set. I ordered from linsoul in September of 2021. The back vent also on the right iem arrived damaged, but I didn’t think it was worth the effort of sending back for something like that. I haven’t seen anyone else with this problem so I probably just got unlucky, but it’s something to think about before you spend your money.

[Erokh]

Your not alone: other people have witnessed their DD dying too.

[VIVIDICI_111]

Edit: Disregard the mod for now. I’m going to do some more testing.

[Kamron_Howard]

Really wish I would have known about the driver issues people have with this set before I ordered it