Introduction:
I’ve reviewed an entry-level TFZ in-ear, the Series 2, quite a while ago, and while it looked visually nice and had good resolution for its price, the tonal tuning it presented in the mids and highs was just “meh” at best (as opposed to the tastefully implemented sub-bass elevation), unless you’re a fan of strongly accentuated upper mids and “crunchy” upper highs.
I didn’t really dare to try any other TFZ in-ear after that, partially because of the Series 2’s failed upper-end tuning that is however not all that uncommon among Asian in-ears (mainly hybrid models), nonetheless one could argue that the Series 2’s upper-mid lift was overdone, but also because I pretty much only use Balanced Armature-only in-ears for serious stationary listening (hybrid and dynamic driver in-ears serve me for other purposes (that also include listening to music, although not as seriously and more in-between)).
I’ve reviewed an entry-level TFZ in-ear, the Series 2, quite a while ago, and while it looked visually nice and had good resolution for its price, the tonal tuning it presented in the mids and highs was just “meh” at best (as opposed to the tastefully implemented sub-bass elevation), unless you’re a fan of strongly accentuated upper mids and “crunchy” upper highs.
I didn’t really dare to try any other TFZ in-ear after that, partially because of the Series 2’s failed upper-end tuning that is however not all that uncommon among Asian in-ears (mainly hybrid models), nonetheless one could argue that the Series 2’s upper-mid lift was overdone, but also because I pretty much only use Balanced Armature-only in-ears for serious stationary listening (hybrid and dynamic driver in-ears serve me for other purposes (that also include listening to music, although not as seriously and more in-between)).
Anyway,
the TFZ Secret Garden 3
seems to be their first publicly available BA-only in-ear, and just
like my InEar ProPhile 8, it features two switches to alter the sound
signature.
Packaging, included Accessories & Stuff:
Build quality is on a really high level similar to handmade high quality of CIEM-like UIEMs.
The tip selection is good; the included storage case is nice but a bit small (the SG3 fits albeit only quite snugly).
The cable is of high quality (maybe just a tad rubbery, but that’s being nitpicky) but unfortunately lacks a chin-slider that you would usually expect to find, especially in this price range.
Obviously the Secret Garden 3 has also got two switches to alter the sound, just like my InEar ProPhile 8. Both in-ears’ switches need to be operated using a tool (that comes included), however there’s no matching mounting bracket in the storage box, which is a slight pity given the InEar’s $1000+ price tag and still a con on the TFZ, although a smaller one since it costs much less.
When it comes to perceived quality of the switches, the ProPhile 8 is ahead as its switches require much less force to be operated while the Secret Garden 3’s do require quite a bit of force in order to be moved, wherefore I expect the small plastic pins to wear out faster.
Packaging, included Accessories & Stuff:
Build quality is on a really high level similar to handmade high quality of CIEM-like UIEMs.
The tip selection is good; the included storage case is nice but a bit small (the SG3 fits albeit only quite snugly).
The cable is of high quality (maybe just a tad rubbery, but that’s being nitpicky) but unfortunately lacks a chin-slider that you would usually expect to find, especially in this price range.
Obviously the Secret Garden 3 has also got two switches to alter the sound, just like my InEar ProPhile 8. Both in-ears’ switches need to be operated using a tool (that comes included), however there’s no matching mounting bracket in the storage box, which is a slight pity given the InEar’s $1000+ price tag and still a con on the TFZ, although a smaller one since it costs much less.
When it comes to perceived quality of the switches, the ProPhile 8 is ahead as its switches require much less force to be operated while the Secret Garden 3’s do require quite a bit of force in order to be moved, wherefore I expect the small plastic pins to wear out faster.
Comfort
and Fit:
Comfort and fit are on quite high levels but the ear guides (that are flexible but permanently pre-shaped) don’t harmonise as well with my personal ear geometry. No ear guides or memory wire would be the better solution.
Sound:
Used ear tips: only largest included silicone tips with red stem.
Used driving gear: only low impedance DAPs, DACs and Amps.
Tonality:
Generally it can be said that the operation of the Secret Garden 3’s switches is pretty much similar to that of my InEar ProPhile 8, with the outer switch changing bass levels and the inner one controlling the treble output. The difference is however that the PP8’s treble switches focus mainly on the upper highs, whereas the SG3’s alter mainly the lower and central treble output (the upper highs are affected too but the result differs (lowering the lower/central highs raises upper treble level and vice versa)). That said, the difference between the up and down position is about 2-3 dB in the lows and 2-5 dB in the highs (on the TFZ). And nope, the switches don’t make the TFZ nor the InEar a different in-ear (they should be more regarded as moderate adjustments to better match the sound signature to one’s preferences or recording’s mastering).
Bass quantity changes from about 3.5 dB above flat neutral (Etymotic ER4S/SR’s diffuse-field bass as reference) to ca. 6 dB above flat neutral using the outer switch, so one gets the choice between bass quantity that either rather closely resembles the UERMs’ / PP8’s or alternatively HiFiman RE400i’s / Pai Audio MR3’s / InEar StageDiver SD-2’s (to name just some in-ears that head into a rather neutral or natural direction). Either way, what’s clear is that the SG3 is heading into a direction with a rather modest bass emphasis that is either quite neutral or quite balanced. Actually bassy? Nope.
The bass elevation’s climax is reached around 200 Hz (and extends almost perfectly down into the real sub-bass), so you aren’t missing the upper bass punch though, and the lows still have a bit of warmth to them if you like, but without affecting the mids at all.
Speaking of the midrange, the SG3’s is fortunately done well. Depending on the position of the inner switch, you either get a neutrality-oriented (switch up) upper midrange not much unlike my PP8’s or UERMs’, or a comparatively bit more relaxed presentation. So there’s thankfully no upper midrange lift present on the SG3, unlike the other cheap ($30-ish) dynamic driver TFZ in-ear I have on hand (and that coloured upper midrange lift is something that is quite popular for Asian IEMs).
Going up in the highs, while the lower and middle treble are executed very nicely and range from neutral to a bit relaxed, there is one severe, critical flaw following just right after – there is a strong emphasis between 6.5 and 8.5 kHz (strongest when both switches are down, “mildest” when both are up), and therefore located between the upper central treble and upper treble. Regardless of switch position, that emphasis is always clearly present. This doesn’t only mean that cymbals and such are always clearly over-accentuated, but it also changes the vocal timbre a bit as high overtones are somewhat lifted. While the latter is only a small side-effect, the over-present cymbals are an issue, as they affect the treble realism quite badly, and other instruments that are located in the treble are also clearly shifted to the thin and bright, sometimes even sharp (if they are playing high enough) direction. Nope, that’s not nice at all. And another issue is that the upper portion of this emphasis seems to become worse when you set the inner switches to the down position (which reduces lower and central treble quantity, which would in theory improve headroom for the following emphasis and make it more bearable, but since the upper portion of the emphasis increases, sharpness in total increases as well; so you’re either stuck with sharpness or sharpness and thinness-creating colouration in the upper treble between 7 and below 10 kHz).
Yep – that treble emphasis is rather sharp and nasty. Those who consider themselves trebleheads might still enjoy that clearly noticeable upper central treble to upper treble emphasis though, and praise the SG3’s clarity and air. Since TFZ went for a 3-BA, triple-bore configuration, there just is no excuse for this tuning flaw as this configuration would allow for easy adjustments either on the electrical (crossover) or acoustic (damper/filter) domain.
Not to leave the super treble above 10 kHz out, its extension is good up to 12 kHz after which it rolls off, so subtle extension doesn’t reach the best in-ears’ quality but the SG3 is also no in-ear that wil lleave you with lacking subtly perceptible extension up there; instead it’s an in-ear that’s somewhere in the middle when it comes to >10 kHz extension.
If I switch over to my Campfire Audio Andromeda (stock silicone ears tips), that is also carrying some sharpness, I can say that the SG3 loses when it comes to treble tuning. While the Andro’s sharpness is set more narrow, the SG3’s is wider and has got less compensation (purposely placed recessions) below it to make up for the lift, resulting in the SG3 to have clearly more colouration (it’s thinner up there) in its upper treble (the range between ~ 7 and 10 kHz, not the following super treble above 10 kHz) whereas the Andromeda doesn’t have real colouration in the treble (it’s got that narrow peak up there that accentuates cymbals and tends to sharpness, however the Andro’s treble timbre is pretty much correct whereas the SG3’s treble timbre is shifted towards being thin).
- - -
Bottom line: Excellent bass, mids and upper treble tuning (heading into a neutral to natural direction); overdone upper central and upper treble. Imbalanced sounding (too much treble output between 6.5 and 8.5 kHz) without modifications (tips, EQ, dampers, ...).
- - -
Both Switches up (default): most bass and lower/central treble, least upper treble
Both Switches down: least bass and lower/central treble, most upper treble
Outer Switch up, Inner Switch down: most bass, least lower/central treble, 2nd-most upper treble
Outer Switch down, Inner Switch up: least bass, most lower/central treble, 2nd-least upper treble
Comfort and fit are on quite high levels but the ear guides (that are flexible but permanently pre-shaped) don’t harmonise as well with my personal ear geometry. No ear guides or memory wire would be the better solution.
Sound:
Used ear tips: only largest included silicone tips with red stem.
Used driving gear: only low impedance DAPs, DACs and Amps.
Tonality:
Generally it can be said that the operation of the Secret Garden 3’s switches is pretty much similar to that of my InEar ProPhile 8, with the outer switch changing bass levels and the inner one controlling the treble output. The difference is however that the PP8’s treble switches focus mainly on the upper highs, whereas the SG3’s alter mainly the lower and central treble output (the upper highs are affected too but the result differs (lowering the lower/central highs raises upper treble level and vice versa)). That said, the difference between the up and down position is about 2-3 dB in the lows and 2-5 dB in the highs (on the TFZ). And nope, the switches don’t make the TFZ nor the InEar a different in-ear (they should be more regarded as moderate adjustments to better match the sound signature to one’s preferences or recording’s mastering).
Bass quantity changes from about 3.5 dB above flat neutral (Etymotic ER4S/SR’s diffuse-field bass as reference) to ca. 6 dB above flat neutral using the outer switch, so one gets the choice between bass quantity that either rather closely resembles the UERMs’ / PP8’s or alternatively HiFiman RE400i’s / Pai Audio MR3’s / InEar StageDiver SD-2’s (to name just some in-ears that head into a rather neutral or natural direction). Either way, what’s clear is that the SG3 is heading into a direction with a rather modest bass emphasis that is either quite neutral or quite balanced. Actually bassy? Nope.
The bass elevation’s climax is reached around 200 Hz (and extends almost perfectly down into the real sub-bass), so you aren’t missing the upper bass punch though, and the lows still have a bit of warmth to them if you like, but without affecting the mids at all.
Speaking of the midrange, the SG3’s is fortunately done well. Depending on the position of the inner switch, you either get a neutrality-oriented (switch up) upper midrange not much unlike my PP8’s or UERMs’, or a comparatively bit more relaxed presentation. So there’s thankfully no upper midrange lift present on the SG3, unlike the other cheap ($30-ish) dynamic driver TFZ in-ear I have on hand (and that coloured upper midrange lift is something that is quite popular for Asian IEMs).
Going up in the highs, while the lower and middle treble are executed very nicely and range from neutral to a bit relaxed, there is one severe, critical flaw following just right after – there is a strong emphasis between 6.5 and 8.5 kHz (strongest when both switches are down, “mildest” when both are up), and therefore located between the upper central treble and upper treble. Regardless of switch position, that emphasis is always clearly present. This doesn’t only mean that cymbals and such are always clearly over-accentuated, but it also changes the vocal timbre a bit as high overtones are somewhat lifted. While the latter is only a small side-effect, the over-present cymbals are an issue, as they affect the treble realism quite badly, and other instruments that are located in the treble are also clearly shifted to the thin and bright, sometimes even sharp (if they are playing high enough) direction. Nope, that’s not nice at all. And another issue is that the upper portion of this emphasis seems to become worse when you set the inner switches to the down position (which reduces lower and central treble quantity, which would in theory improve headroom for the following emphasis and make it more bearable, but since the upper portion of the emphasis increases, sharpness in total increases as well; so you’re either stuck with sharpness or sharpness and thinness-creating colouration in the upper treble between 7 and below 10 kHz).
Yep – that treble emphasis is rather sharp and nasty. Those who consider themselves trebleheads might still enjoy that clearly noticeable upper central treble to upper treble emphasis though, and praise the SG3’s clarity and air. Since TFZ went for a 3-BA, triple-bore configuration, there just is no excuse for this tuning flaw as this configuration would allow for easy adjustments either on the electrical (crossover) or acoustic (damper/filter) domain.
Not to leave the super treble above 10 kHz out, its extension is good up to 12 kHz after which it rolls off, so subtle extension doesn’t reach the best in-ears’ quality but the SG3 is also no in-ear that wil lleave you with lacking subtly perceptible extension up there; instead it’s an in-ear that’s somewhere in the middle when it comes to >10 kHz extension.
If I switch over to my Campfire Audio Andromeda (stock silicone ears tips), that is also carrying some sharpness, I can say that the SG3 loses when it comes to treble tuning. While the Andro’s sharpness is set more narrow, the SG3’s is wider and has got less compensation (purposely placed recessions) below it to make up for the lift, resulting in the SG3 to have clearly more colouration (it’s thinner up there) in its upper treble (the range between ~ 7 and 10 kHz, not the following super treble above 10 kHz) whereas the Andromeda doesn’t have real colouration in the treble (it’s got that narrow peak up there that accentuates cymbals and tends to sharpness, however the Andro’s treble timbre is pretty much correct whereas the SG3’s treble timbre is shifted towards being thin).
- - -
Bottom line: Excellent bass, mids and upper treble tuning (heading into a neutral to natural direction); overdone upper central and upper treble. Imbalanced sounding (too much treble output between 6.5 and 8.5 kHz) without modifications (tips, EQ, dampers, ...).
- - -
Both Switches up (default): most bass and lower/central treble, least upper treble
Both Switches down: least bass and lower/central treble, most upper treble
Outer Switch up, Inner Switch down: most bass, least lower/central treble, 2nd-most upper treble
Outer Switch down, Inner Switch up: least bass, most lower/central treble, 2nd-least upper treble
Resolution:
Starting with the bass, one is greeted with excellent performance: not only are the lows very tight and fast, but their texture is also very clean. This is precision, and it’s executed very well. With the outer switches in the “up” position, lows become only very slightly softer than before but are still clearly in the range of the fast and tight BA implementations. This is how precision should be done. Nice.
The midrange resolves very well, although perhaps somewhat to a lesser extent compared to the lows, and places itself generally about in the upper half compared to other in-ears in the price range of up to $500 and doesn’t have trouble to keep up with them here, so what you hear is definitely good performance for the price. In fact it’s not even too far away from in-ears costing $1000, but doesn’t fully reach their levels.
And now for the treble… If that emphasis up there was less striking or could be reduced with the switches, then one would be greeted with stellar treble performance. In fact the treble, just like the bass, is quite excellent – to a degree that I would say that the sharpness doesn’t matter much because the in-ear can pull it off thanks to its treble resolution (which is also the case for the Andromeda), but in case of the SG3, the upper central treble/upper treble accentuation is just somewhat too noticeable to fully say that. If that emphasis wasn’t there, we’d truly have an in-ear that is so bloody good for its price that it would be an easy recommendation (general resolution is still below the NocturnaL Audio Atlantis, Andro and PP8; not too far from the UERM (except for the midrange), although somewhat higher than what you usually get in that price range the SG3 is in) – if it wasn’t for that treble lift. Nonetheless, what the Secret Garden 3 is, is an in-ear with very high bass and treble quality/resolution, good midrange quality/resolution, and that treble emphasis that somewhat ruins that.
Since I didn’t mention it (although it should be clear from what I’ve writteb above), separation over the entire frequency range is precise and clean.
Soundstage:
In terms of dimensions, the soundstage is rather about “average” and not as large as my Andromeda’s or UERMs’, but perhaps a tad larger than my Shure SE846 and therefore not small. Generally, I’d describe it a little wider than deep.
Positively striking is that the SG3 is capable of producing spatial depth and that it manages to layer well on the z-axis, wherefore coupled with the precise positioning and separation of instruments, the impression of spatiality succeeds.
Conclusion:
If there weren’t that treble lift located between 6.5 and 8.5 kHz, the TFZ Secret Garden 3 would have been an excellent in-ear with really well-done bass, midrange and lower treble tuning (neutrality- to naturalness-oriented tuning), coupled with high resolution and a clean, tight and precise bass along with a precise soundstage.
If there weren’t that treble lift located between 6.5 and 8.5 kHz, the TFZ Secret Garden 3 would have been an excellent in-ear with really well-done bass, midrange and lower treble tuning (neutrality- to naturalness-oriented tuning), coupled with high resolution and a clean, tight and precise bass along with a precise soundstage.