Tanchjim Bunny Maze Review
Intro
Hello, this review and feature covers the latest from the audio brand Tanchjim, named the Tanchjim Bunny ($20). I know, it’s a cute name, however, there’s some fairly serious tech happening with this DSP style iem. So I’ve had the Bunny for a little over a month now and I’ve used it every single day attached to my smartphone, attached to my daps, and even my computer at times and I gotta tell you people, the Tanchjim Bunny is a very polished budget iem. The Bunny is a single dynamic driver earphone which comes with either a DSP cable or with a 3.5 single ended cable. Mine happens to be the DSP variant. What’s a DSP cable Chris? Well, a DSP cable incorporates a “digital signal processor” within the housing of a (in this case) Type-C port. This includes not only its own dac chip but also a tiny amp module as well. It is a very handy way to take in my music as well as any media on my phone. I’ve reviewed a handful of iems similar to this but in my opinion the Bunny sits near the top within its price point, which ranges from $15 to $30.
Tanchjim
Now, let me just get it out of the way. I have boatloads of respect for this brand. Tanchjim has three of my all time favorite single dynamic driver earphones ever made in the Tanchjim Hana 2021, the Tanchjim Oxygen, and my favorite of the three, the wonderful Tanchjim Origin (Origin Review). Of course, these are only a few of the many huge successes that Tanchjim has put to market. To be honest, I don’t remember a Tanchjim product, whether budget or high end, that I haven’t enjoyed. At least to a moderate degree. Always well tuned, always. Always well built, according to each product’s respective price points, and always a beautiful “Apple-esque” packaging with loads of solid accessories. Basically, they know what the consumer wants and they provide that. We have to hand it to brands who aren’t scared to go the extra mile and supply more for your money.
Well folks, I think I’m ready to dive into this review. I am going to keep spending my days with this little set in hopes that I have a strong idea of where it stands against the current market. Of course, for $20 I can tell you all right now that you are going to be hard pressed to find anything outright “better” than the Tanchjim Bunny. Let’s just clear the air and get that out in the open right now. With that said I’m ready to get going folks. So, without further ado, the Tanchjim Bunny everyone…
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Disclaimer:
I received the Tanchjim Bunny from HiFiGo as a review sample and in exchange I will conduct a full review and feature at Mobileaudiophile.com. I have not received any payment or any other form of compensation for this review. This set is a review sample iem. HiFiGo has not requested to pre-read any review and doesn’t have any control over “what” or “when” anything gets published to mobileaudiophile.com. All thoughts within this review are my own, though please take note that I will always have my own biases. This is impossible to get around. I try to be as objective as my subjective self can be, but this is an opinion piece folks. Thank you to HiFiGo, and thanks for reading.
Bunny Pros
-Price to performance
-Very light, very comfortable earphones and cable
-Nice looking budget set. Cool opaque, clear, minimalist design
-Nicely tuned DSP cable
-Great app for EQ’ing the Bunny
-2-pin style cable can be used with many other 2-pin iems
-Very nice tuning, balanced, clean sound signature
-Tight and punchy low-end
-Melodic style rhythmic midrange, smoother than crisp
-Non-offensive treble, enough brilliance and good extension
-Details are better than they should be
-Instrument separation is nicely etched
-Sounds fantastic with a 4.4 balanced cable
Bunny Cons
-Not everyone loves this design (Bunny Ears)
-Not the most powerful amp within the DSP cable (volume isn’t the highest)
-Slightly more output power helps the Bunny quite a lot
-Not for bass-bois
-I cannot in good faith come up with any other real cons for this cost
Gear used for testing
Packaging / Accessories
Unboxing
The unboxing is pretty straight forward for a set costing $19. As it should be. At these prices I would beg the manufacturers to put all of the cost into the earphones themselves rather than an upgraded box, graphics, and any other mindless accessory. However, somehow Tanchjim finds a way to provide that Apple style unboxing. So much as they can for the cost. At any rate, the box that the Bunny comes in is a smaller cardboard box, predominantly white with silver accents with a picture of the Bunny earphones on the front, some specs on the back. Par for the course. Open up the box and you’ll see the Bunny straight away. Under that layer is the eartips, cable, and the carrying pouch. That’s about it. Really a no-frills unboxing, again, as it should be for $19.
Eartips
Tanchjim provides a total of seven pairs of eartips and two different styles of tips within the packaging. I feel that they added in tips which make sense for this product. Which isn’t always the case folks. Tanchjim gives us a set of three pairs (S, M, L) of narrow bore dark gray silicone eartips. These tips have a firm flange, rigid stem, and they fit fairly deep in comparison to the other. The next set of eartips (S, S, M, M) are some dark gray silicone wide bore tips. These tips fit shallower, yet the flange is nicely firm, and once again the stem is fairly rigid. Both sets of tips work nicely for this set and help to slightly alter how the sound is perceived. I actually liked the medium sized wide bore tips which came with the Bunny and was very satisfied with the result. However, my curiosity got the best of me, and I began to tip-roll which ultimately ended up with me choosing the KBear 07 tips. They are a hair wider in flange then the wide bore large tips which comes with the Bunny and simply fit better. So, nice tips provided but I usually end up tip-rolling.
Carrying Pouch
Tanchjim also includes a small carrying pouch in the packaging which I wasn’t expecting but I’m glad to see it as an inclusion. The pouch is a very soft felt type material with a rope drawstring at the top. The pouch is easily large enough to fit the Bunny and the cable and that’s about all you need it for. I always liked pouches better than cases as they fit so much better in my pocket. Not bad at all.
DSP Cable
Build Quality
The cable which comes equipped with the Tanchjim Bunny is just as I’ve said a few times; it’s a cable which features and internal DSP (digital signal processor) chip. The cable itself is an almost “opaque/white” 2-pin cable which has a type-c termination. Please understand that you can also order the Bunny without the type-c cable and instead get a 3.5 single ended termination. However, I have the DSP version and so that is what I’m talking about right now. Anyways, the cable is made of oxygen-free copper with a silver plating (SPC) and is fairly pliable. I haven’t gotten any undue microphonic effect from the cable. Thankfully. Of course, this is a $19 iem and so you have to keep your expectations in check a bit. It obviously isn’t the cream of the crop as far as cables are concerned but it’s a nice addition. Also, the cable will spring a little bit when rolling it up. I don’t like that very much but it’s a small complaint.
Driving Power
This is one of the few issues that I have with this cable. I really have to push the volume on it to get to a satisfying level. I’d say 85/100, best guess. Now, the sound is great, and the cable has a decent DSP chip inside, but it isn’t the most powerful as far as DSP cables go. I just reviewed the Hidizs ST2 Pro Nebula (ST2 Pro Nebula Review) and that cable is about twice as powerful. Of course, that’s also three times the cost. So, just be aware that the volume doesn’t give you a ton of headroom, but it’ll get you there. You certainly want to pair this cable with more sensitive sets. Also, this is again a very minor complaint and one that we should expect. For $20 you aren’t going to get some beefy amp. To be honest, I’m fine pumping up the volume.
Features
Now, the Bunny DSP cable features two 24-bit dac chips. I don’t know what type of dac chips have been used, however. This cable supports sample rates of 44.1khz, 48khz, and 96khz. It supposedly has a low-noise mic circuit enabled as well. In truth there isn’t a whole lot that I know about this cable. I know it sounds good attached to the Bunny, and I suppose that’s really all that matters. Beyond that, it is very portable, easy enough to store (except for the spring effect) and a cool thing to have in your ears when hitting the market, the gym, and works wonderfully for around the house chores. I know because I used it in all of those situations. I simply send the cable down the inside of my shirt attached to the phone in my front pocket and I’m good to go.
Inline controller / Mic
I should also speak on the inline controller and mic. Situated a 3rd of the way down the cable is what appears to be an aluminum housing which also has a controller inside along with a microphone. The controller does what you’d expect, it can play/pause, skip tracks, etc. Also, the mic works much better than I thought. Really, these types of cables can go either way but the Bunny’s inline mic on their type-c cable actually produces a natural sound. I know this from many TEAMS meetings at my day job through my Galaxy Z Fold 5. Everyone knows that I review earphones, and they always help me out with tws and wireless devices or anything with a microphone. They’ll tell me if I sound tinny or weird. The Bunny got a thumbs up from everyone. So, it’s very good for online meetings.
Sound with other earphones
Now, I had to try out the cable with other earphones, of course. What’s a review of a type-c cable without trying other sets too. So, I found that the Tanchjim Bunny type-c cable really pairs well with very sensitive iems. Let’s put it his way, the Bunny is rated at 32 ohms and 123dbs/vrms. Basically, it’s a rather sensitive iem. Now, like I said, I had to go to at least 85/100 for a good volume, so you do the math. Friends, use this on only very sensitive iems and you’ll be fine. Beyond that, it pairs well tonally with just about everything. There’s definitely a mid-forward energy, some low-end emphasis too, but basically the cable itself is pretty linear and clean sounding. You don’t get any excessive coloration either way. Fairly neutral actually. So, most sets will pair very well tonally. Tanchjim did a good job, I just wish it had a better amplifier inside. I’m not going to go through every iem I paired with it because that is a pointless endeavor. Just know that most sets that are sensitive enough sound great, decent dynamism, dynamic range is pretty good, and it’s adds decent clarity as well.
Tanchjim APP
Another awesome feature which is only tied to the DSP version of Bunny, is the Tanchjim APP. It isn’t the most feature packed app in the world, but it is a very good one. In fact, the main point of the APP is mostly for equalization purposes. At any rate, if you have an Android or Apple (IOS) device you simply go to each respective Appstore or search out the “Tanchjim App” on Google and you’ll find the download. Inside the app you can choose five EQ Presets. Those are “Default Sound”, “Nature Sound”, “Balanced Sound”, “Popular Sound” & “Instrument Enhancement”. Simply click on each one and find the one you enjoy the best. You also have “Game EQ” which are about six presets for three different console type games, geared towards those games. The categories are “Android”, “PC”, and “Switch”. Tanchjim provides roughly about six games in each. Again, tailored to those games. Friends, if that’s not cool to you then I don’t know what is. Next, there is the five-band custom equalizer which is set up like a parametric equalizer. You can change the frequency, the gain, and the Q-Value. You can then save those profiles to the Bunny themselves. Also, you can save those settings to the Tanchjim community. How cool is that? By the way, you get to go through all of the uploaded EQ settings that others have saved within the community. There’s so many of them! Very cool! So, it’s a neat app, not the best but very cool for anyone who enjoys tinkering with EQ settings. Oh, one more thing, the Tanchjim Bunny takes very well to EQ. This isn’t the case for every set, please trust that. The Bunny does very well.
“Bunny IEM” Build / Design / Internals / Fit
Build Quality
This brings us to the Bunny iem. The build quality of the Bunny is what you should expect from an iem in this price point. It’s okay. I cannot sit here and say it’ll blow your mind or anything because it’s a regular plastic shell. Granted, it’s obviously a very hard and durable plastic which does make a difference. The Bunny is also very small, very lightweight. I don’t have an actual weight for it but I can tell you that they are featherlight. The nozzles are about medium length (what’s medium?) and the nozzles are right around the standard 6mm in width at the opening. All in all, the build is good for the cost.
Design
Now, the design is a different story. Well, it’s a better story. So, the Tanchjim Bunny has a very nice design language. You get this transparent housing which offers a glimpse into the inside of the Bunny. The Shells themselves are actually in the perfect shape of a bunny ear in one sense and the shape of a bunny as well. Very strange, but appropriate too. I’m assuming this is where Tanchjim got the name “Bunny” from. Or vice-versa. I love the faceplates as well. They are very nice looking with brushed stainless-steel plates which sit in the middle of the faceplate area. Really a nice and understated design. Very clean looking. I am very impressed at what Tanchjim did here because most ultra-budget iems aren’t really the best-looking products on the planet. Tanchjim did a nice job of crafting a very simple yet pleasing design with a very fresh appearance. Nice work Tanchjim!
Internals
This is the section which surprised me the most. Friends, it isn’t everyday you see brands actually putting forth great effort with ultra-budget iems. Usually you aren’t getting that R&D and most of the time brands simply slap a driver in some shells and hope it works out. Not Tanchjim and not with the Bunny. They’ve had so much success in the budget category that they must’ve found out how much it pays to make solid budget products. Anyways, what I’m saying is that Tanchjim didn’t just mail this one in folks.
What’s inside?
Tanchjim added in a 10mm dynamic driver with a PET titanium composite diaphragm. This driver sits within a dual proprietary dual chamber housing and acoustic chamber. The cool thing is that the air moves from the driver through a maze system which is said to boost the low frequency depth and resonance. What other $19 iem has this internally? Beyond that, the Bunny has an ultra-smooth internal cavity reducing high frequency damping and basically it provides a more linear and extended highs and ultra-highs free of distortions. Lastly, the DD has what Tanchjim refers to as a wave guide covering which helps to also lower distortion and clean up the sound field, particularly in the treble area. I don’t know about you, but I feel that’s a lot of effort & work to put into a set of $19 iems. Pretty cool.
Fit / Comfort
Now we get to the actual fit and comfort of the Tanchjim Bunny. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know why anyone even adds this section to any review. It’s quite possibly the most personal and subjective topic concerning any set of earphones. Just because something fits me certainly doesn’t mean it’s going to fit you. That said, I’ll add my two cents anyways. So, the Bunny took me a minute to get a good seal. Nothing crazy, but it took a little fidgeting to get them to that perfect spot. Nothing out of the ordinary and once they were set perfectly and sealed, it has been wonderful every time. They are very light folks. This makes such a huge difference in your overall listening session. I actually find the Bunny to be a very comfortable and ergonomic set of earphones. Again, you may be different. However, they are so small in stature that I cannot imagine the Bunny wouldn’t fit and be comfortable for most hobbyists.
Drivability
Output Power
Like I said earlier, the Tanchjim Bunny is rated at 32 ohms and a sensitivity of 123 dbs/vrms. What that means is that the Bunny is a very easy to drive set of earphones. I have to admit, I like the DSP cable quite a lot for mobile out-and-about purposes. In fact, for meetings and working around the house, for going to market and other purposes I love the DSP cable. That said, the Bunny sounds its best with a 4.4 balanced cable attached. At least for me. Having said that, it ties into this section because the Bunny seems to like a hair more power. Nothing crazy, you don’t need 50 watts of power. Really just a decent Dongle Dac with a 3.5 single ended or 4.4 balanced cable is great. It’s nice to stretch out this driver a little bit, push it a little bit. You can hear the real full dynamic range come out. Without a doubt in my mind adding a hair more output does help. Of course, I say this with 95% of earphones that I test. Just a cheap and decent Dongle Dac makes a nice difference, but the DSP cable is tuned very well for other situations. Whatever way you go, a good outcome is going to hit your ears.
Source Tonality
As far as actual source pairing with the Tanchjim Bunny, I really don’t feel it matters all that much. If anything, you may want to stray from a brighter source if you go with a 3.5 single ended or 4.4 balanced way of listening. Obviously using the DSP cable leaves you no option, which thankfully it sounds great that way. Still, in a situation where you are deciding which dac/amp to choose for your listening I’d say just make sure you don’t have an ultra-bright source. Warm sources sound great, neutral/warm, neutral too. The Bunny is almost dead neutral yet with a hint of added energy in the upper mids and so adding to and exaggerating that region may not appeal to many folks. It’s a really nicely tuned ultra-budget set though and I am very impressed by what Tanchjim was able to bring to the table at these prices.
Sound Impressions
One thing Tanchjim does well is single dynamic driver earphones. They always have. In fact, some may call single DD’s their specialty. I cannot come up with any argument against that. They’ve literally owned the $200 to $300 range for quite some time in my opinion. They’ve also brought to market some amazing budget single DD’s as well. So, it’s no coincidence that the Bunny is another testament to Tanchjim’s strong single DD tuning ability.
What’s it sound like?
The Tanchjim Bunny is a very well done iem for such a low cost. I find it to hover right around neutral, sometimes even neutral/bright without the DSP cable. You have a good balance across the spectrum with adequate low-end weight contrasted with enough top end (upper-mid/lower-treble) emphasis as well. I feel the midrange is more forward in the mix which creates a slightly more intimate sound field yet with good width. Really a very clean sound without any truly harsh peaks or sharpness. If I were to call the Bunny anything I’d say it’s certainly a U-shaped sound to my ears. I just can’t get over how nice the balance is across the mix. Really folks, not one frequency is heads above any other. There are some hints of smoothness, probably predominantly so, yet there’s still adequate crispness and snap when needed. The Bunny may not be the picture of technical glory, and maybe it isn’t the best at recovering details all the time either. But I also feel that for the cost it does pretty darn good too. I suppose it all comes down to what you want. Now, there are certainly issues (if you want to call them that) for this $19 iem. However, those are subjective preferential quarks that some may have with the tuning. Nothing which damns this set. Friends, for $19 you cannot go wrong here.
Bass Region
The low-end of the Tanchjim Bunny comes across very evenly emphasized between the sub and mid bass portions of the mix. Let me just get it out there right now, the Bunny is in no way a basshead iem. Not even for moderate bass heads. Truthfully, I’d go as far as to call the level of low-end beef closer to moderate in amplitude and meaty muscle. I find that the bass is nicely represented here and very nicely distributed against the midrange and treble. Never do I feel that it encroaches or adds too much coloration to the mix. I don’t even really hear any strong bleed into the midrange. This is a bass which will bang when called upon to do so but will not enhance the mix with its influence in any way without the recording having some semblance of bass presence. If that makes sense. It’s a very tight and tidy low-end, good definition, clean output, not even close to one-noted, messy or muddy, and it can be fun on the right track. Not bad at all.
Sub-bass
The sublevels of the low-end can reach somewhat deep levels of rumble. Once again, that will only come from tracks which are recorded in such a way. Otherwise, the Bunny will never give you more than what a balanced approach will provide. You’ll still get that haptic vibratory and palpable thrumming drone during a track like “Groove” by Ray Wylie Hubbard or the instant booming bass drop from Ice Cube‘s “So Sensitive”. It’s a clean sub level which doesn’t go overly wide in presence and doesn’t flatten out. I find that the Bunny’s sub-bass keeps tight reins on this foundational area of the frequency. Notes have very solid definition with a clean contrast. Maybe it isn’t the most guttural, but I don’t find anything lacking either. The sub-bass still has some heft for dubstep, house music, drum & bass, and hip-hop, but it won’t color the mix in a way that muddies the mix. I suppose I could use a few more db’s of sub level weight to fit my preferences but I cannot knock what Tanchjim did here. The Bunny adds enough sub weight to drive the rhythm of a track which is really all that we can ask from a tuning. Also, remember, the Bunny takes wonderfully to the EQ in the app as you can really add some guttural undistorted drone to the sound with a few swipes from your finger. However, out of the box the tuning is balanced and very clean. It’s a nice sounding set down low.
Mid-bass
The mid bass runs almost linear with the sub-bass. Perhaps it has a hair more output, but it is very hard to tell. To me the mid-bass adds enough mass or weight to the fundamental body of a bass guitar as well as a reasonably satisfying hollow boom of a kick drum. I hear absolutely nothing too boomy and the mid-bass doesn’t encroach into the midrange in any detrimental way. Now, I wouldn’t say the mid-bass has the hardest surface texture as it is a hair softer in presence. Yet the body of each note still has plenty of muscle for any instrument or track requiring that muscle. Furthermore, I cannot stress enough that the parametric EQ within the Tanchjim APP truly does a phenomenal job of tailoring the sound to your own specific preferences. Still, even the stock settings I was getting plenty of booming weight to the kick drums in “Move Along” by The All-American Rejects, or “Glass House” by Kaleo. The only thing I’d like to hear is a hair more snap on attack. A touch of granite infused surface texture, so to speak. Other than that miniscule wish… I’d say the Bunny has a tight, detailed, and relatively agile mid-bass with enough authority for most situations. That includes all instruments, synth style bass like dubstep (wobble), FM bass, acoustic style bass, bass guitar, kick drum, snare, baritone/bass vocalists and good for a good ole’ hard bass drop,among a hundred other bass styles and situations. Maybe not perfect in stock form for all double bass situations etc. but EQ can handle that.
Downsides to the Bass Region
It’s hard to come up with any real issues on a set which costs $19. I really mean that. However, for those who don’t want the DSP version and who cannot EQ using that method then I’d say maybe some folks will want more output in this region. Like I said, it’s a bass which is balanced with the rest of the mix very well. Nothing is overtly emphasized down low and so again, bassheads won’t drool over this set. Other than that, I got nothing. Tanchjim did a nice job here.
Midrange
The midrange certainly shares the focus of this set. Without question there’s a pointed influence in this area which directs the mind’s eye toward the midrange. Now, with that said it is fairly obvious that the midrange isn’t really pushed back into the sound field or all that recessed. We’ve seen a number of tunings lately with similar forward leaning midrange situations. Not so forward that it’s boxy either. The sound comes across very well with the rest of the frequency actually. The Bunny has very nice placement of vocals as opposed to different instruments and the whole coherent display has a very outward feel to it. I’d say the mids are smoother than they aren’t, and that’s even more so with the DSP cable. Without DSP I found that the mids come across more crisp, better detailed, and with slightly better resolution. More bite, more edgy snap, stuff like that. Not that the Bunny is a resolution beast either. It’s just better using a 4.4 balanced cable. The presentation as a whole is slightly airy in the midrange, great timbre, decent instrument separation, macro-details are very nice. I don’t hear anything which sounds overly congested or cramped unless a track is super congested. Having said that, note weight is somewhat less rich than a warmer and richer sounding set. Not the densest playback, yet the mids notes are nicely etched against the backdrop which kind of makes up for a lack of lushness. In the same breath I also wouldn’t say the midrange comes across thin or anemic sounding. There’s a slight dryness towards the upper midrange, but all in all the midrange is very well composed for the cost.
Lower-midrange
The lower midrange has a slight bit of warmth which does just enough to build up some warm note body. Again, definitely not a rich set, but the Bunny’s clarity is high, its note outlines are clean, not quite glass lined, but clean. Males come across pretty nice for a set such as this. Singers like Elton John in “Tiny Dancer” sound very fluid, feathery at times, even mellow yet with a dulcet inflection. There is some edge to his voice too. In fact, a singer with all the edge, Chris Stapleton in “Tennessee Whiskey” sounds well controlled while that edge is not enhanced, amplified, or inflated in an unauthentic way. Really, he just sounds… nice. Again, you have to think of $19 iems here. No doubt there’s some bangers which carry a heavy price to performance. However, the Bunny still carries an essence of good dynamism without it coming across obnoxious or overblown. Just enough contrast in this region to sound energetic enough while also not sounding dull. Males sound good.
Upper-Midrange
Now, the upper midrange is without question a bit more forward. In this region you’ll notice (in stock configuration) that females (for instance) have a subtle shimmer to their voices. There’s this lilting additional fragrance to the sound, so to speak. Is it a vocalist’s paradise? Eh, probably not. Certainly, there are sets between $15 to $30 which can replay vocals a touch better. Still, the balance afforded to this set finds a sort of highlight in the upper midrange. That “highlighted” presence is actually a wonderfully tuned pinna rise which starts at 1k and very gradually climbs to almost 3k in a very copacetic and unassuming way. Really a wonderful job by Tanchjim. This gives females enough sparkle, yet never do they induce glare. You never have shout to the point of it being a problem. Sure, some tracks can bring you to the brink but by-and-large the Bunny replays females very nicely. Like Adele in “Easy on Me” where her voice has that raspy charm and emotionally gratifying tilt which can get lost on some sets. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen with the Bunny. I’m telling you, this $19 iem does her voice justice, which is really saying something. Instruments generally follow this same trend. Great timbre, melodic, crisp when it needs to be crisp and smooth in every other moment. Really a nice job.
Downsides to the Midrange
If I were to list out some strikes against the “stock” Bunny in the midrange, I would have to start with note weight. The Bunny isn’t the richest sounding iem on planet earth. Not that it has to be either. I’m not saying that. However, I am speaking for those who yearn for and desire that richness. That warmth and full bodied authority, that is. The Bunny doesn’t do that and doesn’t pretend to either. On the flipside, I’d also say that the Bunny isn’t the most detailed iem either. Granted, I cannot believe I just wrote those words with a $19 iem, but I did. No, it isn’t a detail beast. I can name about five sets off the top of my dome which bring the subtleties to the surface with more conviction within the price point. Though, it’s still pretty nice too. This is a set which sparks a wonderful balance, and that balance doesn’t have time for pesky details. It’s too busy being melodic, effervescent, and tonally great. Guys and gals, I’m really stretching it with this “downsides” section here. Who am I kidding, Tanchjim did a great job in the mids.
Treble Region
This brings us naturally to the treble region where the sound has just enough brilliance up top. Just enough! In fact, some may say the treble is not enhanced enough. I don’t think so, but we are all different. No actually, I hear a less intense treble, some shimmer, some sparkle and glitter yet it’s wholly non-fatiguing and is mostly held in check. However, the Bunny also has some very good extension into the upper treble. Now, we are talking about a $19 single dynamic driver earphone. This is where you begin to hear some of the limitations of the driver tech without loads of time, R&D, ingenuity, and passive trickery to bring out those highs. See, the Bunny doesn’t have all that much bite, or haptic treble note body. As one should expect. Yes, it’s tonally great. The treble fits the overall tuning wonderfully. I really mean that. Still, treble heads will most certainly be less enthusiastic about the Bunny. EQ can help to a degree, but at some point, the limitations are insurmountable. So no, you don’t have a treble head worthy treble. Again, as you and I should expect.
Timbre
Having said all of that, I don’t think the Bunny needs anything else. The timbre up top is simply awesome for the cost. This balance I keep speaking of shows up very well in the treble and for casual listening the Bunny comes across beautifully. Instruments have a certain delicate smoothness which peacefully glides through a very rhythmic upper end of the spectrum. You’ll have some tracks which easily shows off some finer details and of course there’s tracks which show off some treble punch and note crispness. Though that is not a mainstay, and most tracks will get the best of this set in this regard. Yet timbre wins almost all the time. Treble heads may not be jumping for joy, but casual listeners who simply want a nice set to delve into their music should definitely enjoy what the Bunny can do. Let’s put it this way; the treble only adds to the overall presentation, it’s a benefit, it’s a very good thing. You can always add some db’s in the presence region if you’d like. Though I’d hate to disrupt the balance.
Downsides to the Treble Region
The downside of the treble is everything I’ve said above. It doesn’t have that crisp bite to every song. Treble heads will probably say the Bunny sounds dull, or unrefined. Of course, I don’t want one fact to get overlooked as I judge this set. That is, the Tanchjim Bunny is an ultra-budget iem. I never even once expected the treble to be ultra refined. What I need the treble to do “at this price” is to simply fit the overall tuning. Folks, I hear no crazy peaks, no disjointed or sharp spikes in the mix up top. Also, I hear no real problematic sibilance, and I hear plenty of brilliance to add sparkle to the sound along with very good extension into the upper treble without it coming across splashy or artificial. To be entirely honest, for this price I have zero to complain about.
Technicalities
Soundstage
I’d say the Tanchjim Bunny presents an average soundstage. You have pretty good width actually, decent height and at least a modicum of depth. I wouldn’t say the Bunny has a 3D stage or a holographic stage. But it’s nice, it works. It fits the overall tuning and doesn’t hurt my listening session. I don’t hear anything that I would call congested unless it’s a heavily complicated track. At which point, most iems will sound slightly congested. Again, another area where I have no real complaints.
Separation / Imaging
I’d say instrument separation is pretty nice. The sound is altogether pretty clean, transients are quicker than they aren’t, and there is an element of air to the sound. These attributes at least marginally help the Bunny to sound above average in note separation. Of course, this is my estimation against what I’ve heard in the price point. I’d say the Bunny does a solid job for a balanced single DD. Perhaps in bass heavy jams you may hear some masking or blending of sounds in complicated tracks. But again, this is normal, especially for a single DD under $20. Imaging follows suit quite well. I’d say it’s above average for a set at this price. There are multiple tracks that I can point to with good placement of elements within the stage, vocals generally dead center. I really like the way the soundstage is laid out, Tanchjim did a solid job.
Detail Retrieval
As far as detail retrieval, I have to say that the Bunny is average to just above average. Probably in the 65th percentile of sets which cost $15 to $30. Again, this is just my personal best guess. The Bunny does a decent job of bringing forth those subtle micro-dynamics, quicker attack and decay with a nice recovery of notes. Micro details are better in some tracks than others. Complicated tracks will obviously confuse the spectrum a bit but all in all the Bunny has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. You will hear details, let’s just put it that way.
Is it worth the asking price?
This question is very easy to answer I feel. Well, when reviewing a set like the Tanchjim Bunny that is. Any other time it’s usually a bit harder to come up with solid reasons why spending the amount listed is worth it. Anyways, the Bunny is very inexpensive and for most people it is not a huge problem if you don’t end up enjoying the Bunny. In all reality, the Bunny is a monumental no brainer, especially if you want to break into the iem space. No doubt there is much worse that you could try to get your hands on for the cost. Seriously folks, think about it. The Tanchjim Bunny costs less than McDonald’s for two. Yes, McDonald’s is ridiculously expensive anymore (I have three kids; it gets out of control) and the Bunny is ridiculously inexpensive. It’s actually quite amazing that the hobby has come so far to have a set tuned this well sitting within one of the most accessible price points. Honestly, I don’t even think competition is a problem for the Bunny. For a tuning like this you usually have to pay more. Granted, there are a few other sets tuned very well, don’t get me wrong. However, when you couple in a DSP cable, the Tanchjim APP, on top of the dope look, solid sound, and low cost… It’s exactly as I said, a no brainer. I’m not even going to put in “The Why” section as I do in every review. The reasons are obvious as to why the Bunny is worth every penny.
Ratings (0-10)
Note: all ratings are based upon my subjective judgment. These ratings are garnered against either similarly priced sets or with similar driver implementations or styles with the unique parameters of my choosing. In the case of the Tanchjim Bunnyratings below, that would be $15-$30 iems of any driver configuration. Please remember that “ratings” don’t tell the whole story. This leaves out nuance and a number of other qualities which make an iem what it is. A “5-6” is roughly average and please take into consideration the “lot” of iems these ratings are gathered against. $15-$30 is a very large sized scope of iems. So, It should mean something special to see a rating above a “9.0”. My ratings are never the same and each set of ratings tells a different story. Each time you read one of my ratings will be unique to that review. Basically, I create a Rating that makes sense to me.
Aesthetic
–Build Quality: 9.2 Wonderfully built.
–Look: 9.5 Love the look of this set.
–Fit/Comfort: 9.0 Fit and comfort is very good for me.
–Accessories: 9.6 Nice unboxing, far above average.
–Overall: 9.3🔥🔥
Sound Rating
–Timbre: 9.5 Very natural, great timbre!
–Bass: 9.3 Speedy, well defined, textured.
–Midrange: 9.5 Wonderful vocals for the cost.
–Treble: 8.8 Well extended, non-offensive, clean.
–Technicalities: 8.7 Mostly great for what it is.
–Musicality: 9.5 Musicality first iem.
–Overall: 9.2🔥🔥🔥
Ratings Summary:
To summarize the ratings above I have to establish what I already said in the fine print note above this section. That is, these ratings are garnered against any and all iems of any driver configuration between the prices of $15 and $30. Have you been paying attention to the market over the course of the last few years? Do you have any idea how many iems litter this range? It’s almost silly. I have so many in front of me that I had to turn some away just because I knew they stood no chance against the Bunny. So, that left me with 24 of the better iems within the price point and a whole slew of sets ready to go on top of those. Folks, I have to be honest, I wasn’t going too crazy with these ratings. They were really quick, not as aggressive in my critical listening as I usually am. I don’t know if that’s because of the cost, the price point, or I have just had a super long day but, I still think I got it right. At least to the point that I’m comfortable putting them out into the Audioverse.
Explain Yourself!!
So, between all of those sets I rated the Bunny pretty darn high in a few different areas. However, in the end with all the ratings averaged out the Bunny compiled a “9.2” overall sound rating. You have to remember all the sets in this range folks. Sets like the Celest Wyvern Abyss, Moondrop Chu ii, KZ Castor, 7Hz Zero, Hidizs MS1, Simgot EW100P, KZ ZVX, Truthear Gate, TangZu Wan’erSG, KZ Vader, QKZ X-HBB, Fiio FD11, Tanchjim Tanya, KBear KB01, CCA Polaris, Nicehck DB2, CCZ DC02, Celest Pandamon and the list goes on and on and on. I had all of these and more in front of me during this ratings session. Yes, it took a long time. I won’t argue for myself here and I won’t go through every rating. What I will do is tell you that the Bunny was near the top. Not the best, but close. However, it is easily the best $20 iem in the bunch. The Abyss cheats a bit because it just went under the $30 mark, so did the KB01 and the Pandamon. Those are some amazing iems for those prices. Still, the Bunny hangs with them all very easily and guess what, it even comes with a DSP cable. So, as far as value is concerned, the Tanchjim Bunny is by far the best in my book. Best $20 price to performance out there for me. Really a great job by Tanchjim!
Conclusion
To conclude my full written review and feature of the Tanchjim Bunny Maze, I first need to thank the good people of HiFiGo for providing this set for this feature. I gotta say, from my standpoint HiFiGo is one of the few stores which get it. They have everything you need, great customer service, great people to speak with, listening ears, and they have some of the best shipping to the States that I’ve seen. As far as reviewing their iems, I cannot tell you how nice it is to feature their sets. They leave me alone, never ask anything of me but to tell and speak my truth. That’s it. For that I cannot thank you enough. You know who you are. Also, I thank you, the reader, for clicking the link and taking the time out of your day to check out my thoughts on the Bunny Maze. It means everything to mobileaudiophile.com. Really, I cannot stress this enough. Every click is so very helpful folks. It isn’t a monetary thing; it’s a viewership thing in the eyes of Google. We don’t care about money, add revenue, or anything like that. This is about the algorithm with which we fight every day. We started as small as you can get, and we’ve turned out to be a reliable and well-done website full of differing opinions from all over the world and I couldn’t be prouder of this team. That’s who you are helping when you decide to simply click a link. So, thank you, as sincere as I can say it.
Other Perspectives
We are all very different friends. Each one of us hears our music a little differently than the next guy. We haven’t all been down similar roads through audio, we may not all have similar musical tastes or music libraries. Of course, we straight-up may have different likes and dislikes. Also, who knows, we may not even hear the same. So many variables to consider friends. The point is each person is unique within this mostly subjective hobby. This goes for reviewers too. So please check out other reviews of the Tanchjim Bunny. I’m telling you it will help you to make a more educated decision. There’re so many great reviewers within the audio space, each with fantastic perspectives. It’s worth it to check em’ out. Beyond that, I think I’m done friends. I hope you enjoyed this review, and I hope each and every single last one of you are well and good. Please take good care, stay as safe as possible and always… God Bless!
