I only listened to the TANCHJIM Soda for a short while but the entire structure of this review had already taken shape in my mind This is a highly distinctive earphone that still retains TANCHJIM s characteristic light science HiFi approach offering strong overall technical performance and a well balanced energy presentation Of course they have not disappointed in terms of design aesthetics and build quality either Although positioning wise it feels somewhat like a successor to the Kara it is essentially a completely different product Let us dive into the details in the main text below
A quick rundown of the unboxing experience
From the packaging colour scheme to the product styling it is clear that the Soda is a blue themed product and this is reflected in the accessories as well The stock cable and its connectors are both blue toned with the metal parts finished in a matte and frosted ice crystal style Another brand recently released a similar finish called Ice Crystal Titanium but TANCHJIM has achieved a similar metallic sheen using a resin material The cable and connectors are visually striking and come with interchangeable 3.5mm and 4.4mm plugs The 0.78mm two pin connectors have been lengthened with corresponding recesses on both the pins and sockets for added security The stock cable is made of high purity copper silver plated material and uses the Litz multiple tight braiding technology from their aftermarket CABLE X upgrade cable According to the manufacturer this cable significantly benefits extension quality at both frequency extremes
The faceplate of the Soda features an ice crack pattern that offers strong visual impact while remaining easy on the eyes Since the faceplate is embedded within the shell its lustre comes from both the ice crack pattern itself and the light reflected through the resin creating a richly layered visual effect
In terms of fit the overall shell shape and wearing feel are quite similar to the Kara The excellent lightweight construction compact shell and well judged nozzle depth make it comfortable for a wide range of ear shapes and sizes particularly for female users and those with smaller ears Despite the presence of vents on the shell it still provides effective passive isolation with a decent level of noise reduction In terms of appearance although the actual faceplate is slightly larger than the Kara s a cleverly tapered design at the lower edge combined with a semi transparent section effectively reduces the visual footprint of the shell while the slightly thicker shell does not compromise wearing comfort This represents a challenging balance between acoustic design and industrial integration and I have to say the engineering team truly delivered on this one
The Soda uses the same number of main drivers as the Kara a 1 dynamic 4 balanced armature configuration but there is far more to analyse on the hardware side this time The biggest highlight is TANCHJIM s new Pure series balanced armature drivers a proprietary design featuring two mid high frequency drivers and two ultra high frequency drivers As for which manufacturer collaborated on this specific design it is unclear but truly custom balanced armature structures with full design freedom are only possible with a handful of domestic manufacturers Whether it is Bellsing Amoqi or Yioude I did not verify The dynamic driver on the other hand is the low frequency composite rear chamber unit based on the current flagship DMT 5 driver paired with the HPFD Seg 3 Way precision crossover system designed to better excite each driver s optimal performance window achieving lower overall distortion and complete dynamic range In addition to the main drivers the Soda also incorporates two passive drivers housed in a structure called the Silk System which encloses a resonant chamber within a balanced armature like housing using negative feedback to smooth out the ultra high frequency peaks between 16kHz and 23kHz This gives the Soda a very smooth treble energy presentation that remains refined and detailed across various source pairings and even at higher volume levels
The Soda is not a particularly demanding product in terms of power requirements It has a relatively low floor and can deliver strong extension at both ends and impressive dynamics even with compact source devices It offers a range of solid technical performance traits including excellent density precise imaging across the frequency spectrum and good transient response In terms of soundstage I feel that the dynamic driver s role may have been somewhat subdued or that its crossover roll off is relatively steep as it does not exhibit the traditional dynamic driver characteristics in reverb presentation The soundstage boundaries are somewhat clearly defined with decent lateral width but without the expansive diffused edge extension that some might expect One notable strength is the well extended vertical height of the soundstage which gives live recordings a convincing sense of depth and spaciousness though this is achieved without relying on boosted reverb
In the bass region the Soda shows clear signs of deliberate tuning It emphasises punch impact and excellent elasticity with decent sub bass quantity but the decay and release are very quick with little to no reverb enhancement or sense of delay The focus is on fast aggressive impact rather than depth The texture of double basses is clearly rendered though the resonance is not particularly full bodied However thanks to the sufficient quantity and solid impact it delivers an engaging experience with JPop rock electronic and even some New Age tracks For symphonic music the lower midrange atmosphere and sub bass diffusion feel somewhat lacking as the presentation leans towards a cleaner approach The treble is equally distinctive I have often emphasised in previous reviews how important smoothness is in the treble but many science HiFi oriented brands tend to sacrifice some treble energy in pursuit of smoothness leaving instruments like brass lacking a certain sense of body including some of TANCHJIM s earlier models which suffered from the same issue With the Soda however you get both a generous sense of treble energy abundant ultra high frequency information solid fundamental body and clear instrumental imaging while also enjoying natural harmonic decay appropriate decay speed and ample airiness This characteristic remains relatively stable regardless of pairing making it a consistent strength of the Soda
Compared to its highly distinctive performance at both frequency extremes the vocal presentation of the Soda is where opinions may diverge The listening experience leans towards a clean and sweet female vocal character with a distinctly Asian flavour Fuller bodied or Western style female vocals may lack some power and richness on the Soda with the magnetic quality not being particularly prominent It is better suited to more youthful vocal lines with a subtle lift in the decay tails and it also tends to make male vocals slightly brighter The overall sense of proximity is restrained with vocal imaging and mouth size presented in a well behaved manner Sibilance is handled effectively but no noticeable processing is applied to breath or throat textures Compared to the Kara the Soda clearly lacks the same level of breathy richness but on the flip side its female vocals are sweeter and the vocal density and detail are significantly improved However when driven by relatively neutral sources like the GT2 or Sigma it may not be ideal for lyrical vocal performances If you enjoy classic Cantonese pop jazz or blues you can use pairing adjustments to improve the vocal softness But for the vast majority of Asian female vocals Japanese ACG and even the raw vocal style found in folk music the Soda is well within its comfort zone and even carries a certain addictive quality
“Technology serving sound” in the HiFi industry is essentially timeless marketing fluff But what makes TANCHJIM remarkable is that every technical detail they mention whether it is improving a certain frequency band or delivering a certain tonal character can be directly heard in the actual listening experience Their approach is logically consistent both technically and tonally and the word marketing seems to be becoming a more grounded term for TANCHJIM rather than mere showmanship or wordplay The Soda just as the brand defines it is meant to sound as refreshing as soda water While it has a crisp and stimulating quality on the palate even making plain soda water taste good requires considerable technical skill This mirrors the development effort TANCHJIM has put into the Soda a truly commendable achievement in today s portable HiFi industry
Source: Li Ling Jia Qi
