Review on the TFZ Exclusive 5
Hi fellow readers, today I am here to bring you a review on the TFZ Exclusive 5. This is my first review on an iem, so do forgive me if I mix up some technical terms and I am open to constructive criticisms on how I may become a better reviewer in the future.
A little background information on myself, I am still a student and have somehow gotten myself into this world of audiophiles. While my passion or maybe just a hobby as an audiophile is limited by my budget just as most of you are I am sure. 😄 I listen mainly to J-rock, J-pop and Jazz do not ask me why do all of them start with the letter J because I have no idea too. My preferred sound signature is something that is warm, with a tight and authoritative bass, good bass presence, intimate and luscious vocals, treble that is detailed but not overly bright such that it overwhelms the lower frequencies. Despite knowing my sound preferences I will try to keep this review as objective as possible.
This iem was bought using my own money and is not a review unit. I have no connections to any of the companies that I will be mentioning. (TFZ, JVC, my local audio store)
Packaging
I felt the packaging was practical and very aesthetic in my opinion. It is not too big such that it awkwardly fits in a bag. These looks pleasing to my eyes too especially with its name Exclusive 5 in silver printed on the box, it exudes some sort of exquisiteness to it.
Opening the lid, which was really well sealed as I had some difficulties prying the lid open with my nails. You will see the Exclusive 5 (already fitted with medium wide bore tips) resting on a hard matte black plastic case, which feels a little bit like aluminium. At the bottom is just a black cardboard box to house your warranty card, instruction manual and your accessories. Lift up that hard plastic case and you will find the 2-pin braided cable wrapped around with a velcro strap. You could use the velcro wrap to keep your iems from getting tangled when keeping them too.
Accessories
Inside the black cardboard box, There will be a plastic bag to house the ear tips. This is the list of accessories.
1x Leather Pouch
1x Clip
In the image from left to right.
1 pair small wide bore tips
1 pair large wide bore tips
1 pair medium wide bore tips
1 pair small small bore tips
1 pair medium small bore tips
1 pair large small bore tips
1 pair of dual flange tips
1 pair of foam tips (not in image)
In total you will have 2 medium wide bore tips. 1 on the Exclusive 5 and 1 in the black cardboard box. They do give you quite a wide range of tips to use varying on your ear size and to tip roll. Personally, I use the JVC Spiral Dots on my Exclusive 5.
Design and Isolation
The Exclusive 5 are made of a metallic casing. One thing that I really did not like about it is usually my fingerprint smudges would be left on the shiny black surface. However, it is not visible when others were to look at you, it is just a small pet peeve I have when I see my things being stained with fingerprint smudges. The metal housing sure hold quite a bit of weight, it is by far the heaviest iem I have bought. It may contribute to your ear fatigue after awhile as the weight of the Exclusive 5 sits on your ear for a prolonged period of time. Isolation, it does okay here. While it does not offer as much isolation as the KZ ZS3. Playing music on the bus or just walking would drown out all other noises around unless you walk by a construction site or stand beside a bus engine, you get what I mean. The braided cable, I love it. It is 2-pin and the fact that it is braided. It looks good, it is strong it just makes the package looks more expensive than it should. Removable, so in case your cable spoils you can always get a replacement but since it is braided I doubt it is going to break any time soon.
Sound
These are my most expensive iems that I have ever own up to date. The Exclusive 5 sure justify its cost. Well I did audition iems such as the Sennheiser momentum in-ear and the Marshall Mode EQ. I apologise that they are not chi-fi. All of them are of similar price range. The Exclusive 5 easily blows away both of those iems, in terms of resolution, bass quality, soundstage is just way ahead. Separation and imaging on the Exclusive 5 just tops the list for all the iems I own. It was accurate, the separation sounded natural and not over-exaggerated and it complements the imaging of the tracks you play. All songs are played through my LG V20
Bass: I did audition the TFZ Exclusive Kings too. The Exclusive 5 has a more forward presentation of the lower frequencies as compared to the higher frequencies. It is not in any way dark sounding, neither do the mid bass bleed too, it is just a warmth sounding pair of iems that suits my sound preferences. Bass is really tight and has a quick decay. It is not boomy in any way even though it is warm. Coming from the Tennmak Crazy Cello, which I thought the bass was amazing. The Exclusive 5 gives a great presentation on the tom drums and the bass drums. At a lower budget, most of the iems I have heard the tom just sounds exactly like the bass. Listening to ONE OK ROCK - The Beginning (FLAC), I could differentiate the drummer hitting the toms and bass drums, which made my listening experience much more enjoyable.
Mids: I felt vocal presentation was a bit more laid back. While the instruments gets a more forward presentation. Although, the vocals are laid back, the vocals have some intimacy. Playing Extreme - More than words (320kbps) on Spotify Premium. The falsetto in that song sounds luscious and intimate to me for a falsetto it did not sound sharp to my ears at all. Ed Sheeran - Supermarket flowers, for this song maybe because of how the track is rendered, Ed's vocals sounded more forward and in the same way intimate. Soundstage on the Exclusive 5 is not as wide as the Havi B3. I would say it is about the same width of the Tennmak Crazy Cello but what impresses me on the Exclusive 5 is it frontal depth. I could hear instruments in front and behind me. Is this what they call a 3D soundstage? I am not sure so I will refrain from using that term.
Trebles: Playing Dr Lonnie Smith - For Heaven's sake (FLAC) On slower music such as jazz, I love the swing on the cymbals. You could hear the drumsticks attack on the cymbals. It just adds more groove to the song I felt. Playing Chet Baker - Autumn leaves (320kbps) on Spotify premium. I could hear the swing on the cymbals but the attack was not as clear as the the track on Dr Lonnie Smith. However, this are on slower paced music. On ONE OK ROCK - Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer. Where there are a quick hits on the crash and cymbals, where I felt here the extra shimmer of the Exclusive Kings would come in handy. For the Exclusive 5, I could not really differentiate the crash and the cymbals anymore it felt a little messy but still listenable and in terms of resolution the Exclusive 5 sure loses out to the Exclusive Kings.
Conclusion
As a budget iem in this price range, compared to the iems I mentioned above the Sennheiser and Marshall, Exclusive 5 sure beats it hand down. As for other Chi-fi iems of similar price range, I can only save up or wait for a review unit to make a comparison. For about USD90, the Exclusive 5 sure packs quite a punch in the sound quality it produces. If you like a warm sound signature with clear intimate vocals this pair of iems is sure to be a keeper.
Thank you for your time,
TAL
A little background information on myself, I am still a student and have somehow gotten myself into this world of audiophiles. While my passion or maybe just a hobby as an audiophile is limited by my budget just as most of you are I am sure. 😄 I listen mainly to J-rock, J-pop and Jazz do not ask me why do all of them start with the letter J because I have no idea too. My preferred sound signature is something that is warm, with a tight and authoritative bass, good bass presence, intimate and luscious vocals, treble that is detailed but not overly bright such that it overwhelms the lower frequencies. Despite knowing my sound preferences I will try to keep this review as objective as possible.
This iem was bought using my own money and is not a review unit. I have no connections to any of the companies that I will be mentioning. (TFZ, JVC, my local audio store)
Packaging
I felt the packaging was practical and very aesthetic in my opinion. It is not too big such that it awkwardly fits in a bag. These looks pleasing to my eyes too especially with its name Exclusive 5 in silver printed on the box, it exudes some sort of exquisiteness to it.
Opening the lid, which was really well sealed as I had some difficulties prying the lid open with my nails. You will see the Exclusive 5 (already fitted with medium wide bore tips) resting on a hard matte black plastic case, which feels a little bit like aluminium. At the bottom is just a black cardboard box to house your warranty card, instruction manual and your accessories. Lift up that hard plastic case and you will find the 2-pin braided cable wrapped around with a velcro strap. You could use the velcro wrap to keep your iems from getting tangled when keeping them too.
Accessories
Inside the black cardboard box, There will be a plastic bag to house the ear tips. This is the list of accessories.
1x Leather Pouch
1x Clip
In the image from left to right.
1 pair small wide bore tips
1 pair large wide bore tips
1 pair medium wide bore tips
1 pair small small bore tips
1 pair medium small bore tips
1 pair large small bore tips
1 pair of dual flange tips
1 pair of foam tips (not in image)
In total you will have 2 medium wide bore tips. 1 on the Exclusive 5 and 1 in the black cardboard box. They do give you quite a wide range of tips to use varying on your ear size and to tip roll. Personally, I use the JVC Spiral Dots on my Exclusive 5.
Design and Isolation
The Exclusive 5 are made of a metallic casing. One thing that I really did not like about it is usually my fingerprint smudges would be left on the shiny black surface. However, it is not visible when others were to look at you, it is just a small pet peeve I have when I see my things being stained with fingerprint smudges. The metal housing sure hold quite a bit of weight, it is by far the heaviest iem I have bought. It may contribute to your ear fatigue after awhile as the weight of the Exclusive 5 sits on your ear for a prolonged period of time. Isolation, it does okay here. While it does not offer as much isolation as the KZ ZS3. Playing music on the bus or just walking would drown out all other noises around unless you walk by a construction site or stand beside a bus engine, you get what I mean. The braided cable, I love it. It is 2-pin and the fact that it is braided. It looks good, it is strong it just makes the package looks more expensive than it should. Removable, so in case your cable spoils you can always get a replacement but since it is braided I doubt it is going to break any time soon.
Sound
These are my most expensive iems that I have ever own up to date. The Exclusive 5 sure justify its cost. Well I did audition iems such as the Sennheiser momentum in-ear and the Marshall Mode EQ. I apologise that they are not chi-fi. All of them are of similar price range. The Exclusive 5 easily blows away both of those iems, in terms of resolution, bass quality, soundstage is just way ahead. Separation and imaging on the Exclusive 5 just tops the list for all the iems I own. It was accurate, the separation sounded natural and not over-exaggerated and it complements the imaging of the tracks you play. All songs are played through my LG V20
Bass: I did audition the TFZ Exclusive Kings too. The Exclusive 5 has a more forward presentation of the lower frequencies as compared to the higher frequencies. It is not in any way dark sounding, neither do the mid bass bleed too, it is just a warmth sounding pair of iems that suits my sound preferences. Bass is really tight and has a quick decay. It is not boomy in any way even though it is warm. Coming from the Tennmak Crazy Cello, which I thought the bass was amazing. The Exclusive 5 gives a great presentation on the tom drums and the bass drums. At a lower budget, most of the iems I have heard the tom just sounds exactly like the bass. Listening to ONE OK ROCK - The Beginning (FLAC), I could differentiate the drummer hitting the toms and bass drums, which made my listening experience much more enjoyable.
Mids: I felt vocal presentation was a bit more laid back. While the instruments gets a more forward presentation. Although, the vocals are laid back, the vocals have some intimacy. Playing Extreme - More than words (320kbps) on Spotify Premium. The falsetto in that song sounds luscious and intimate to me for a falsetto it did not sound sharp to my ears at all. Ed Sheeran - Supermarket flowers, for this song maybe because of how the track is rendered, Ed's vocals sounded more forward and in the same way intimate. Soundstage on the Exclusive 5 is not as wide as the Havi B3. I would say it is about the same width of the Tennmak Crazy Cello but what impresses me on the Exclusive 5 is it frontal depth. I could hear instruments in front and behind me. Is this what they call a 3D soundstage? I am not sure so I will refrain from using that term.
Trebles: Playing Dr Lonnie Smith - For Heaven's sake (FLAC) On slower music such as jazz, I love the swing on the cymbals. You could hear the drumsticks attack on the cymbals. It just adds more groove to the song I felt. Playing Chet Baker - Autumn leaves (320kbps) on Spotify premium. I could hear the swing on the cymbals but the attack was not as clear as the the track on Dr Lonnie Smith. However, this are on slower paced music. On ONE OK ROCK - Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer. Where there are a quick hits on the crash and cymbals, where I felt here the extra shimmer of the Exclusive Kings would come in handy. For the Exclusive 5, I could not really differentiate the crash and the cymbals anymore it felt a little messy but still listenable and in terms of resolution the Exclusive 5 sure loses out to the Exclusive Kings.
Conclusion
As a budget iem in this price range, compared to the iems I mentioned above the Sennheiser and Marshall, Exclusive 5 sure beats it hand down. As for other Chi-fi iems of similar price range, I can only save up or wait for a review unit to make a comparison. For about USD90, the Exclusive 5 sure packs quite a punch in the sound quality it produces. If you like a warm sound signature with clear intimate vocals this pair of iems is sure to be a keeper.
Thank you for your time,
TAL
Really nice review man, your writing style was so clear and precise which impressed me a lot. Now talking about Ex5, I do feel the mids are a bit recessed and the soundstage seems to be the least expansive as compared to other TFZs or even KZs(maybe because its a strong V-shaped sound earphone) due to which I sometimes miss my ZS5. I do feel ZS5's are more detailed or its just my ears deceiving me ? Lol
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