TFZ X3: Best Sounding TWS?

*We get our review unit of TFZ X3 from Stars Picker Audio Library, review unit will be sent back to them, the review will write in an honest and unbiased manner.   

I have never tested any TFZ (The Fragrant Zither) earphone before although I often hear good things about them over the internet. It is only until recently Stars Picker Audio Library sends me this review unit only then I have the chance to have a detail audition on it.

TFZ X3 (RM539, 123 USD)

X3 is not only just a typical True Wireless (TWS) earphone that you see, for instance, X3 uses dual Balanced Armature (BA) drivers in each of the earpieces, this is quite rare for a TWS IEM. At the same time, BA can’t warrant good audio quality. However, BA always has the so-called ‘BA sound’, which still being related to clarity and cleanliness, BA according to my experience, most of the time sounds faster and more transparent too. I am pleased to see TFZ done something different here.

Both of the casing and IEM built nicely, the housing is constructed by chrome metal(?) and very robust, the hinges though are quite floppy and not steady (and can mistakenly open at another side), the solid build quality is reflecting in the casing weight, which although small but is quite heavy/hefty, you can feel the weight of it. The IEM itself is super well made as well, very solid and small in size, it is not heavy, but the construction is excellent, I will not worry a bit to torture it, it is solid, it is small and lightweight too, so wearing it in your ears for day-long should not be a problem.

I don’t have any issue with the comfort level as well, to my ears, it is quite lightweight and small. However, sometimes, I do think the ear tip should have inserted a little deeper to have a more secure fit. Still, I don’t experience any discomfort and drop off the IEM from my ears, so it is all good for me, I have seen some people complaining about the original ear tip, not an issue for me but your mileage might vary for sure, I have some Spinfit ear tips come alone (specifically for TWS), I will report again if I can get more comfort out of better tips. Isolation is average, and it can seal up reasonably well, of course, you will need to have a secure fit first.

Battery life is rated at 6 hours and casing can provide extra three full charges. Sadly there are no quick charge features on it as far as I am concerned, Bluetooth 5.0 and Qualcomm Chipset is used to provide better connectivity, aptX is onboard too. No, there is no LDAC support.

Touch control on the X3 is quite excellent, although you can’t customize it like the higher end TWS, tap the left and right earpiece for up or lower the volume, long press to stop or play, tap three times for previous or next track, which is good and making sense, the touch control process is also one of the best in my experience, which to me at least on par with something like the Sony WF-1000XM3, bravo and marvellous for the price, the implementation is excellent. I hope to see most manufacturer can put more attention in the control and usability on their TWS, control, usability and connection quality is very important for a TWS earphone.

Speaking of connection quality it is excellent, I didn’t experience any lip-syncing issue, nor there is any lag or disconnection between earpiece, I am impressed by the quality. However, there are one or two times that I found it disconnect with my phone but will connect back, so it is not an issue for me, something like my Haylou GT1 Plus (which use Qualcomm QC3020 chipset) always get a disconnect between right and left earpiece and also losing signal quite frequently, I am happy to report that X3 is quite excellent in this regard, on par with the best in the game.

Complain? Yeah, there are few. First of all, I hope there are more steps in the volume control level, sometimes I just want to turn up the volume slightly, but it is too loud when I turned up and too low when I lower down the volume level. Second, there is a white colour light indicator to light up when you charge the casing, but the light never goes off no matter how long I charge, not a big problem and I am not sure if it is just the demo unit, but if I don’t complain one or two things, it will make me sound like a fanboy.

Now, shall we talk about the most exciting aspect of this TWS, the sound quality?

Audio Quality

I have tested the TFZ X3 with my Huawei Mate 20, in high sound quality mode (aptX), streaming Tidal Master and Spotify Premium, I rarely listen to lossless music files with TWS because I don’t see the need of it. X3 is a demo unit in an audio shop, an additional 12 hours of burning in time with ISOTEK Burn-In CD and Taralabs Cascade Noise.

The audio quality is gorgeous; the decision to use a dual balanced armature driver in each earphone has really pay off. The sound signature is clean, bright and speedy, all of these accompanied with an adequate amount of ‘meat’ in it, I never think that it is thin sounding. Still, if you were coming from some warm and bassy IEM, you might think that it is a little thin sounding, but to my ears, X3 is the most balanced and neutral IEM and has enough meat to the sound.

The treble is present and might be a little too pronounced (because detail level is above average and sound signature is also clean so you might has this bright impression). Still, the treble to my ears is never overdone, it provides useful extension, details and transparency up here, transient at the treble is very good, I quite enjoy the treble here, performed so well that those cymbals and high hat come alive (with energy) but don’t necessarily will give you too much fatigue over the top, if you are too treble sensitive you might have some problem here, but I beg you to adjust yourself here, some earphone just being bright, not so with the X3, the treble here is a blessing, has so much quality to accompany the presentation of it. There is a lot of energy in the electric guitar when I play Money for nothing by Dire Straits (Brothers in arm), the presentation is so balanced that the treble blend well with the vocal and drum beat with right presence as well. The treble might be a little bright, but it blends well with the music and is a very high-quality treble.

The midrange is what I love the most in the X3, not only it is clean, it also has some kind of sweetness with nuances and details, the midrange sound remarkably open and there is no hint of ‘harsh’ at all, I can quickly tell you if you love those love songs and pop like those from Tsai Chin, Sam Lee, Dire Straits, Wakin Chou, Jacky Cheung, Norah Jones, Emi Fujita and Amanda Mcroom, you will directly love this TWS once you have listened to it, the vocal is clean and clear with no trace of colouration, the vocal also has adequate weight in it. What? Do you doubt X3 will only sound good with audiophile-grade of recording? Nop, I am equally impressive when I listened to Michael Learns to Rock through Tidal, the vocal is emotional and has enough presence, it stays flatter than the music, but you probably won’t notice it because of the ‘feel’ you get from it, really impressed here and I like it.

If you are coming from those heavily V-shaped and bassy IEM you might think the bass is not ‘power’ enough, I have to be clear here, the bass is not overpowering for sure, but it has good ‘kicking’. However, not ‘thumping’ hard and slow enough like those bassy IEM, but the bass is clean, has a good kick, and indeed it is not lacking. However, we have to understand that dynamic driver still has an edge when we talk about the thumping, the thick and raw power of hit in the bass, BUT, the bass in the X3 does not lack in any degree, it is there and stay quite well within the three frequency range, it is super clean, fast and tight, the timing is timely and precise. Honestly, I think X3 has the best timing of all TWS that I have ever tested. What? You still don’t believe that Balanced armature won’t give you enough bass? Then listen to MOON, particularly on the track ‘Hydrogen’ and ‘Quixotic’, the bass is very, I mean very bass-heavy with excellent impact and thump, sub-bass rolling fast there in the frequency, the ‘ambience’ is not up to dynamic driver level, but the cleanliness and the bass power is impressive, especially when you turning the volume slightly higher than the average listening volume.

Nah, we don’t expect too much on the soundstage. However, the imaging capability is excellent, and the soundstage is typical IEM kind of soundstage, imaging though is different, imaging and positioning performance are quite high in that small soundstage, quite good for a TWS, although I can see similar price IEM should able to do better and have a more proper soundstage and imaging, but worry not, the sound is remarkably open so that you won’t have the closed-in feel.

Will  I use it for critical listening on Classical and Jazz music since it is already so good for vocal and contemporary music, I have complete listen to Beethoven Symphonies No:5 & 7 (my favourite album so far for Symphonies No5 and seven by Beethoven), it is more than listenable, mainly because of the excellent transient response and micro-dynamic capability, to be frank though, it is quite good, but I prefer listening to this album through my full-size headphone. However, the tuning is correct and proper, making even Classical music sound ‘correct’ (which is one of the most important aspects of listening to Classical music).

Final Thought

It is no surprise how much I love about the TFZ X3. I found that TFZ X3 not only sound right for its price but personally I think it sounds the best among the TWS that I have tried, some of them are even the best in the game if talking about sound quality alone, I really can’t dislike the sound, it is a V-shape tuning but with good quality of midrange, now if you are a bass head X3 won’t give you satisfying thump when you listen at a lower volume, but turn up the volume it can be quite satisfying, if you love those bassy and coloured sound you should look at those big names, the X3 is exquisitely sound musical but still retain balancing of the music, the BA in use is certainly not a gimmick, it sounds terrific.

X3 does not only sound good, the usability and battery life are very good too, I have seen some TWS offer more battery life and has a lighter weight, but I actually like the touch control of the X3 very much, from my usage I rarely have fault when I want to change volume or change track etc., it is quite intelligent, the microphone quality is quite ok too, I don’t have anything to dislike about it, the price seems gentle enough as well, it is the only 123USD, True Wireless is still a segment that we can see much and much better quality of product keep coming out every few months, the technology seems to get mature very well, I wish to see one day there is some true audiophile TWS came out, for now, X3 is the best sounding TWS for me, regardless the price in TWS. I highly recommend it.