TFZ n°3 – 19th

If you're looking for a budget IEM that packs excellent and punchy bass, smooth mids and energetic treble with good sparkle and shimmer the TFZ No3 19th is quite the engaging listen and impressive performer at the price granted you feed it appropriate power which out of DAPs will mean reaching for a balanced cable.

Product page : https://penonaudio.com/tfz-no.3-19th.html
Price : 109$

Fit, Build & Isolation

The TFZ No3 19th features plastic but classy looking black shells with the TFZ logo painted in gold. The shape is quite ergonomic and I had great fit. The No3 19th features a standard 2 pin 0.78 socket which is great for cable rolling.

The SPC cable is also pretty nice with a textured sheathing that looks nice and seems quite sturdy, it’s also ergonomically supple and nice to wear.

Introduction

TFZ is a Chinese company that started out in 2015 and features a very wide lineup ranging from balanced armature to single dynamic (like My Love IIII recently reviewed) and planar (Balance 7). Among the lineup, the No3 19th features a 11.4mm neodymium dynamic driver with double magnetism, double cavity, double voice coil and a tesla magnetic group.

Sound

The TFZ No3 19th first listen clearly highlights powerful and punchy bass with very good extension down low. The 11.4mm driver clearly packs impressive bass power with decent speed for this driver size. The treble are the second highlight of the No3 19th, with good upper treble presence bringing welcome air to the signature and the energy to balance a massive bass presence. The mids are not what you notice first but they are not recessed either. I found the mids of the No3 19th to be fairly balanced and TFZ smartly avoided to emphasize lower mids too much.

As we’ll see the dynamic of the No3 19th likes power and going balanced on the DX160 with a 8 wire SPC did bring a lot to the table accross the range. Soundstage is average in width but features good height and depth.

Bass

The No3 19th bass are the star of the show with greatly satisfying bass quantity delivered with punch although it’s not a tight and fast bass the sheer power of the dynamic driver will rejoice the bass-heads. I sure was impressed especially balanced out of the DX160.

It’s not a dry bass but a rich, textured one making it a nice combination of power and finesse. Note that going balanced on a 8 wire SPC cable does bring quite a bit more control and tightness, even if the general character of the No3 19th is not altered altogether.

This makes the No3 19th a very good performer on percussions, with quality bass and plenty of texture detail. The picture won’t be as good for faster tracks where the No3 19th will not shine by its speed. On most tracks though, this won’t be an issue so it depends which kind of music you listen to.

Mids

The No3 19th mids are rather balanced and smooth with no particular emphasis, and feel like they have been tuned to be a bridge between bass and treble rather than the centerpiece of the tuning.

I hear a bit of a dip in the lowermost part of the lower mids I think this is meant to avoid the No3 to be congested and thick but strangely this takes away a bit of power on the double bass that felt weak on my Jazz tracks. Vocals are neither recessed nor forward and exhibit no sibilance whatsoever.

This is not a vibrant midrange, instruments don’t have a lot of bite, overall the No3 19th has a rather relaxed presentation but it’s coherent with its tuning. Note that again going balanced on the DX160 brought the mids a bit more forward with a tad more bite and more forward vocals as well. This balances the signature greatly, reflecting that the No3 19th need proper power to shine.

Treble

The No3 treble packs very good energy in the lower treble with a smooth delivery, something very few IEMs in this price range manage to pull off. Color me impressed. Snare drums have good sizzle and hi hats are crisp, upper piano notes are faithfully reproduced with nice overtones and I didn’t expect such performance in that price range. Note that things are significantly better run balanced either on PAW S1 and DX160, there is extra energy and air with the extra power and separation provided balanced.

Verdict

If you’re looking for a budget IEM that packs excellent and punchy bass, smooth mids and energetic treble with good sparkle and shimmer the TFZ No3 19th is quite the engaging listen and impressive performer at the price granted you feed it appropriate power which out of DAPs will mean reaching for a balanced cable.

Listening notes
I spent approximately 30 hours with the TFZ No 3 19th, listening on iBasso DX160 and Lotoo PAW S1 using the stock cable and a balanced 8 wire SPC. 

Special Thanks
Thanks to Penon Audio for providing a review unit of the TFZ No3 19th. As usual, this review is my honest opinion. No incentive was given for a favorable review.