I haven’t heard the L4, but I find the Tea to be great for all genres of music. Not the best at all genres, but versatile. It’s not V-shaped, very bassy, or have very fast bass, but it is very well balanced, with a sub bass emphasis, sweet sounding mids, and a tuning that I don’t find harsh or offensive at all. It’s not bright, but does have quite extended treble, especially with deeper insertion. Detail is good, but it’s not a detail monster, and is not fatiguing either.
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Go with Either. L4 if you want to save some money. It doesn’t really matter. They are both extremely good IEMs. L4 is a little brighter.
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Exactly. The Tea is extremely well balanced, but you get really good bass when/if you listen to music that incorporate low frequency bass. You won’t notice anything special about any IEM with sub bass focus if you listen to music that is recorded a long time ago, doesn’t have deep extending instruments, or is mixed to eliminate those deep frequencies. You also won’t hear sub bass if you do not have a good seal with your IEM tips. The Tea does sub bass extremely well because its focus does not bleed into the bass or mids at all. Everything is very clear extending all the way down as far as your music’s frequencies will allow.
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The Tea and Legacy 4 are actually quite technically similar. They are tuned a little different, but not worlds apart. I’d have to say the Tea is slightly warmer with more of a focus on mids and sub bass. The L4 is cleaner with no hint of warmth with more bass (not sub bass and a overall brighter treble signature.
I wouldn’t say one is better, just different. I actually don’t like saying that about most IEMs unless something stands out as being very poor. Luckily, I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve purchased in some manner of form and can appreciate it for what it is.
Let there be no doubt though, the Legacy 4 is a VERY impressive IEM for under $200 especially with the total package of everything that’s included with it. It’s probably a better “deal” than the Tea.
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No budget on brand new. 
Hello, I’m looking to buy my first set of IEMs and I’ve settled on the Legacy 4, Mangird Tea, or Blessing 2 Dusk. Are the latter two sets worth the extra 100$?, because if not I can buy the L4 and a DAC/amp (like the hip-dac or Fiio btr5) instead.
Even though that would’ve eventually happened with the other ones too.
Btw, I’ll use them to listen to alternative & rock, metal, pop, jazz, OST, etc (basically an variety of genres).
I was curious about this as well if the dusk is that huge of a upgrade compared to The L4.
I haven’t heard the Dusk yet. BGGAR, Bad Guy, Good Audio Reviews already stated his opinion that the Legacy 4 is a superior IEM to the Dusk. He rates the Legacy 4 very high on his ranking list, but also ranks the Mangird Tea even higher than the Legacy 4.
Personally, I won’t be buying the dusk because of the stem and shell size and I have no reason to add it to my collection. I slightly prefer the Mangird Tea to the Legacy 4, but you’re splitting hairs especially with the L4 costing $100 less than the Tea. Both are a steal.
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I was recently pondering this identical question of Tea vs L4 vs Dusk (currently daily driver is Shozy 1.4, very warm sound). All 3 have great reviews, so it kight come down to tuning and fit.
Ultimately, I decided on the Tea based primarily on pinna gain, but also reviews on imaging and soundstage. If brighter pinna, I’d choose L4 knowing the fit would work better for me with it’s smaller shell and nozzle.
Tea: pinna gain in line with my preferences, more than 1.4, but less than some other iems I have (Tape, Blon 1 &3, Trn v90, ER2XR). Reviews stating warm mids, excellent imaging, 3d soundstage. Still waiting on them from Linsoul.
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Thanks everyone! Btw would using a 2.5 bal output benefit the L4s? And how’s the detail on them?
So, does L4 mostly sound like L3? If not, what other brand IEM does L4 sound most similar to?
After having L3 then getting an FH3, I feel I’d rather head toward another FiiO than ThieAudio, sound-wise(for music). FH3 with better treble is what I’d like. Is that FD5…? 
The FH3 is L-shaped. The FD5 is U-shaped. So it isnt a true upgrade to the FH3.
But you would choose FD5 overall? Does it even out-do FH3 bass?
The FD5 is better than the FH3, I just meant that if you are looking for the exact same sound signature that is on the FH3. The FD5 is not it. You can check my review on the FD5 for more details about it (and vs fh3). But in a nutshell, the FD5 makes the bass on the FH3 sound bloated (which Is something I would never call it…).
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Only if you’re using a balanced amp.
The L4 is quite detailed for it’s price tag, primarily due to the improved DD and its tuning.
If you listen to more technical music, like metal, that requires controlled/fast bass, Fiio IEMs that incorporate beryllium dynamic drivers are a great choice because of their rigidness and speed. If you enjoy the FH3 and are looking for something similar but with a different flavor, the FD5 is a great choice. The FD5 has improved timbre due to it being a single dynamic, vs the FH3 being a hybrid with BA timbre.
EDIT: I’ll add that there’s something different about the FD5 that while listening, I haven’t been able to pinpoint, but it is its own beast for sure.
Don’t forget the Fiio FD1. If you’re a fan of what Fiio does, do not overlook this gem. Dynamic slam for days. I’d make sure to burn in both of these IEMs because of them having large dynamics.
I always felt the Legacy 3 had a fun/enjoyable tuning with very relaxed treble, but the bass was soft, slow and bled into the mids. I do not consider the L3 to be a very technical IEM, but for many genres of music, those specific technicalities won’t mean much. (classic rock, jazz, classical to name a few)
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How would you say the L4 or Tea hold up to the FD5?
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That’s a good/tough question. My personal rating would be L4 < Tea < FD5. The FD5 is still new to me so my preference might have something to do with it still being the new shiny toy. I see the Mangird Tea as a baby Monarch and the L4 a baby Clairvoyance. The FD5 is a very different IEM in a completely different category. Totally different driver, build and semi-open back design. I really like it a lot, especially for my library.
Per BGGAR’s best IEMs list of 2020, he rated them… FH3 < FD5 < L4 < Tea. Different music is going to benefit more or less from different IEMs. There is no definitive “better” or “worse” in this hobby.
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I see, well thanks for replying. Guess I’ll take some time to deliberate on this and see.
EDIT: Oh, actually for which genres in your library do you like the FD5 for?
The FD5’s technicalities shine with tracks such as these…
This music has a lot of deep low end & sub bass frequencies that have very fast transients that require an IEM to be able reproduce those frequencies at very fast speeds yet retain detail in mixes that are congested. With music like these tracks, you can easily understand the differences between an IEM with great technicalities (bass speed, detail, imaging and separation) and ones with less technical capabilities. Poorer IEMs will fall apart and lose clarity and smear where better IEMs will produce clearer, crisper, detailed playback.
Of course, YouTube compression will destroy the integrity of the sound quality of these tracks. If you’re interested, you can listen to them on a better streaming platform. My personal library is in FLAC.
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