Intro
I’ve never heard the name TForce before, let alone having insights of what they can offer or what their specialties are. As a new player in this bloodbath, high expectations are to be met and gruesome contenders are ready to shut down anything that’s considered sub-par. Now that I’ve listened to their debut IEM – The Yuan Li, let’s just all hope that this won’t be a one hit wonder.
I had the chance to listen to their pre-released version and to be honest, I like those better than the final-release version (the one in this review). But it’s understandable that they needed to tame down the pre-released version (shouty upper-mids) to cater to the masses and I dig the effort. Kudos to the TForce team as it really pays off.
Packaging
The Yuan Li is supplied with what we’re accustomed to; a rectangular box with an interesting sleeve cover. Inside you’ll find the head unit itself and a crocodile-like leather carry case. Underneath the head unit rests the eartips with two types of eartips selection ranging from S-L sizes along with a pair of foam eartips. The cable can be found inside the carry case.
The build is excellent. It felt substantial and not too heavy. My only gripe is that with time, it may show some wear and tear due to prolonged usage; scratches. The fit is OK, at least for my ears with just a little bit of the shell protruding outside. The cable supplied is light and quite soft without any stickiness to it. It’s not the best cable you can get for the asking price but it is what it is.
Functions & Specifications
- Material – Aluminium shell
- Transducer Type – 1x 10mm Diamond-Like Carbon Dynamic Driver
- Sensitivity – 103.5dB SPL/mW @ 1kHz
- Impedance – 32ohms @ 1kHz
- Frequency Range – 20Hz to 20kHz
What’s In The Box
- TForce Yuan Li
- Silicon Eartips (S, M, L) x2, Foam Eartips x1
- Crocodile Skin-ish Carry Case
Retail Price & Where To Get
The TForce YuanLi can be bought at HifiGo.com and the price is $119 (RM492.24)
Sound & Tonality
The Yuan Li is a beautifully tuned IEM that is warm-neutral with a respectable technicality to boot. Sub-bass rumble? Check. Clean mids? Check. Airiness up top? Yeahhh…kind of. Tonality wise, I would say the Yuan Li is natural and smooth sounding throughout.
Source Used
Xduoo X2S > Xduoo XQ-10 > TForce Yuan Li
Foobar2k > IFI micro iDSD Black Label > TForce Yuan Li
Songs Used
Bass
Sub-bass of the Yuan Li does rumble, but the presentation is rather smooth. Not that it’s a bad thing, it’s excellent to be honest. It’s different from what I’ve used to hear from my current IEMs. Mid-bass is punchy and energetic but also somewhat blunted. The impact speed could be better in this regard, at least for my taste. The upper-bass transition is clean but there’s some slight bleeding to lower-mids which provides enough warmth to complement the mids. The Yuan Li is not a slow IEM by any means.
Mids
Due to the natural-decay bass response, the lower-mids sounds slightly warm making the Yuan Li sounds full. It’s none of the slow-weighty type of sound but a fast, full sounding one that you normally get from a good dynamic driver. Mids is transparent and natural. Yes I kept repeating the word natural because they do sound natural. Almost realistic sounding to be exact. But there’s a caveat, being that it’s not the most resolving mids for the price range. The upper-mids is smooth and is never shouty. It’s sailing smooth from here onwards guys.
Highs
Transitions to the lower-treble is again, smooth and non-sibilant. There’s no peaks to be heard from the Yuan Li which makes it a very viable pick just to lay back and enjoy the music. Now, with the smooth signature, the treble lacks quite a bit of definition and is slightly rolled off. It’s there, but it won’t give you the energy nor the wonderful sparkles up top. It goes on to the upper-treble which could use a bit more brilliance to compensate for the bass elevation and the overall balance of the sound signature.
Soundstage
It’s suffice to say that the Yuan Li will provide you with an immersive music listening experience. They’re wide and deep, I’d say above average and they’re also tall which makes them perceptibly holographic sounding. They won’t be as tall as some other higher tier IEMs but for the price, I won’t complaint since all other aspects of this very IEM is nothing short of being competent.
Imaging & Separation
Imaging can be considered precise with a perceptibly good sense of layering. They aren’t as accurate as any multi-BAs and hybrids IEMs but they’re close. Again, separation is excellent for a single DD. Nothing sounds too compressed or clumped together and are clear enough between one another, except on ridiculously busy tracks (YMMV).
Drivability
The Yuan Li will benefit most with powerful sources. I’m not saying that portable sources won’t do it justice but it really sings with more power. Seriously.
Synergy
They’re fairly balanced sounding but I personally would pair them with neutral sources to compensate for more shimmer and sparkle up top.
Comparison
Audiosense DT200
Bass is cleaner with a similarly natural decay but more textured on the DT200. Mids is slightly more neutral with better transparency on the DT200 despite being smooth sounding. Treble is more articulated with better shimmer and sparkles on the DT200 despite its almost similar treble extension (or shall I say ‘brilliance’) for both.
The DT200 have a smaller soundstage in comparison to the Yuan Li but it excels in terms of better imaging capability. Separation and layering is almost similar for both but considering the DT200 is a 2-BA IEM, it’s poor in that regard especially when an IEM as good as the Yuan Li is being offered at around the same price range.
FiiO FD3
The FD3’s bass is leaner with more impact and also slightly more textured in comparison to the Yuan Li’s smooth bass presentation. The mids is significantly more forward in comparison with a slightly better detail retrieval on the FD3. Treble is more engaging, slightly airier but can be off limits for some people’s tolerance in comparison to the Yuan Li.
Both IEMs share a similarly wide soundstage with the Yuan Li being slightly deeper while the FD3 being slightly taller. Imaging capability is on par for both with regards to the differences of the soundstage for each IEM. However, the FD3 is better at instruments/sound cues separation along with better layering in comparison to the Yuan Li. It’s a matter of preferences if you’re to choose between these two IEMs.
For Who?
Those who’d want a warmer version of Moondrop Aria (Warm-Neutral) should consider the Tforce Yuan Li. They’re not as fast nor as clinical as the Aria but rather a more fun sounding & an all-rounder version of the Aria. Sorry, Moondrop. As good as the Aria is for monitoring purposes, this one will most definitely get picked more often for easy-going listeners.
Verdict & Stars
If you’d like a somewhat capable all-rounder IEM for every day carry, the Yuan Li should be in your radar. Not only because of its smooth yet arguably engaging fun sound signature but also because of its slightly above average soundstage, beautiful shell design and not to mention the build and comfort is top notch. Well…at least for my ears.
(4 / 5)
