TY Hi-Z F300M review

The TY Hi-Z F300M
Great sound in a small package…


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Introduction:

The TY Hi-Z F300M is the latest High impedance earbud of the TY Hi-Z family.

Peonon Audio purchase link

Disclaimer:

This unit was provided to me free of charge for review purposes. I am not affiliated with Penon Audio beyond this review. These words reflect my true, unaltered, opinion about the product.

 

Package and Accessories:

The TY Hi-Z F300M comes in a black card box with a removable transparent plastic cover.

This card box includes the following contents;

1 pcs TY Hi-Z F300M
1 pcs. of hard case
1 bag with various sets of foam tips
1 pcs. of shirt clips
1 pcs of Penon Velcro Strap

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Design, Fit and Build Quality:

The housing of the TY Hi-Z F300M is made of aluminum and is painted in a brown color. The build quality of the housing looks premium and feels much better than regular erabuds with plastic housings. There is a grill on the top of the F300M that looks like a vent, but seems not to affect the sound, so that I think that it is made only for esthetical purposes.

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The cable on the F300M is hand twisted and the wire material is SPC (Silver Plated Copper). The coating of this cable is made of a nice rubber material that seems solid and has a soft feeling. Btw, I didn’t notice any microphonics due this review.

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What I like about TY Hi-Z and K’s products is the plug quality. The gold plated 3.5mm TRS SE (single ended) plug looks amazing. The carbon fiber effect is eye-catching and is made of a solid feeling material (I think aluminum) that should last for a long time.

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The big left and right markings are a big welcome for me, good job TY Hi-Z.

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Technical Specifications:

  • Driver Diameter: 15.4mm
  • Impedance: ≈300ohm
  • Sensitivity: 115 ± 5 dB
  • Frequency range: 16-24000 kHz
  • Plug: 3.5mm TRS (Single Ended)
  • Cable length : 1.3M
  • Cable Material: SPC (Silver Plated Copper)

Drivability:

The F300M is a hard to drive high impedance earbud (300 ohm), that’s why it needs a powerful DAP, AMP or DAC/AMP like the Chord Mojo to show us it’s true potential. People who plan to use this with an Smartphone or Tablet should look for another product.

Albums & tracks used for this review:

  • Ophet – Heritage Album (Flac 16bit/44kHz)
  • Otto Liebert & Luna Negra – Up Close “Album” (DSF) – Binaural Recording
  • Max Richter – From Sleep Album (Flac 16bit/44kHz)
  • Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (DSF)
  • Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
  • Metallica – The Black Album (Flac 24bit/96Hz)
  • Yosi Horikawa – Bubbles (Flac 16bit/44kHz)
  • Melody Gardot – Who Will Comfort Me (Flac 16bit/44kHz)
  • Daft Punk – Get Lucky (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard – A Watchful Guardian (Flac 16bit/44kHz)
  • Dr. Chesky’s Binaural Album (Flac 24bit/192kHz)

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Sources used for this review:

Erabud : TY Hi-Z F300M
DAP/DAC : Chord Mojo, Aune M2 Pro, Smart Player (aka Yin Lu Mei) D200+, Zishan Z2, Ipad Air2

The Sound:

This review is written after an intensive burn-in process of 100 hours. I have used the stock provided donut foams due this review.

Tonality:

The TY Hi-Z F300M has a small amount of coloration that comes from the bottom, the bass, that gives this earbud a relative warm tonality that reminds me to the HD600.

Bass:

The bass of this earbud is one of its highlights. It has one of the fastest bass responses I have ever heard from an earbud in this price category. The bass is quick, has great rumble without loosening definition. The best thing about the bass is the control, so it doesn’t bleeds in to the midrange.

The warmth that comes from the 250Hz band gives the F300M a warm and musical sound experience.

The bass quality and quantity is good enough to give instruments like bass guitars and drums a realistic presentation that is a welcome for earbuds that have in general problems with the presentation in this region. I have found a good example in the song of Pamafunk of Dr. Chesky’s Binaural Recordings Album.

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Mids:

The midrange of the TY Hi-Z F300M is detailed and transparent in its presentation. It has good amount of clarity and the level of detail is above this price tag. The midrange of F300M is a bit leaned back due the V shaped sound signature.

The 2 – 3 Khz band on this earbud is adding a good presence and resolution to the sound, but I wouldn’t recommend to use the F300M with sources that have a bright and thin sounding presentation that would otherwise cause to sibilance.

The upper treble region has a bit of stress that could be solved by using some sort of double foaming.

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Treble:

As I mentioned before, the F300M is a relative bright sounding earbud with crispy and vivid highs.

The treble presentation of the F300M gives a good amount of air to the overall presentation. This factor is a welcome for instrument intensive genres like jazz, classic and blues, which is a pleasure to listen with the F300M.

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Soundstage:

The Soundstage and the openness of this earbud are really impressive and the first thing you will notice, right after the bass quality. I love to listen to live and binaural recordings with this earbud due the great presentation. The width and depth is better than I have expected form a sub 100 USD earbud.

Recoding of Dr. Chesky and Otto Liebert (Up Close Album) are good test tracks and examples how good the F300M excels.

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Comparisons:

Now, I will compare some higher priced erabuds with lower (16 ohm) and same (320ohm) empedance. Those earbuds are the Rose Masya and the VE Zen 2.0.

Rose Masya vs TY-Hi-Z F300M :

The Rose Masya is one of my favorite earbud since the beginning of my earbud journey.

First of all, the F300M has a much better fit and feels more comfortable than the Rose Masya with its bigger housing. The Masya on the other hand is easier to drive due the lower impedance of 12 ohm vs. the monstrous 300ohm of the F300M.

When it comes to sound; The subbass of the Masya is great while the midbass of the F300M has better rumble and definition.

The Midrange of the Masya is who it excels; it has a more natural and organic tuning, but the F300M has the upper hand in resolution.

The Masya and the F300M have many similarities in the treble region, because both earbuds have a crisp and vivid treble presentation. It looks like that the F300M is a HD600 and the Rose Masya the HD650 in the world of earbuds.

Both earbuds share a fantastic soundstage with an out of the head presentation.

VE Zen V2.0 vs TY-Hi-Z F300M :

The TY Hi-Z F300M has again the upper hand when it comes to fit and comfort. The F300M looks as it has a bigger housing, but it sits better in my ears then the V2.0.

When it comes to the sound, we all know that the V2.0 is a monster :o2smile: Both are high impedance earbuds, 320 Ohm for Zen V2.0 vs 300ohm for the F300M, but the similarities ends in the sound department.

The Zen V2.0 has a fuller and warmer sound that gives us a pleasure for the first 10 minutes. Bu after you chance to the F300M you will notice that the bass of the Zen is to overpowered end slow in comparison. The bass, especially the midbass department bleeds sometimes in to the midrange, so that that vocals can sound muffed in some bad recorded tracks.

The bass of the F300M has more control and sounds more organic in direct comparison to the V2.0.

The midrange of the Zen sounds warmer, fuller and more intimate then the more recessed tuning of the F300M. Bu this doesn’t mean that the F300M is not good for vocals. I love the Zen V2.0 more in this department but don’t forget that this is my personal choice and that there is a high price difference between these two erabuds.

The treble presentation of the F300M has better definition and presence than those of the Zen V2.0, as result; the F300M sounds more detailed and airier then the Zen 2.0. Both earbuds have a good soundstage presentation, the Zen V2.0 wins in depth while the TY Hi-Z F300M has the upper hand in width.

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Conclusion: 

TY Hi-Z did a good job by making the F300M one of the best high impedance erbuds of the sub 100 USD price rang. I can easily say that the bass, the great fit and the good amount of detail of this earbud worth every penny!

Pros and Cons:

+ Great Fit
+ Nice cable and solid build quality
+ Good bass response
+ High detail for a sub 100 USD earbud
+ Soundstage

– Hard to drive (300 ohm)
– Recessed midrange

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