TRN V80 Review, what could we expect for a USD 40 earphone? (currently selling at $42.99 at Amazon) first I don’t expect that TRN V80 will have quad drivers. TRN V80 has 2 dynamic drivers and 2 balanced armature drivers. Second I don’t except that it comes with a metal shell (Aluminum) and well made too.

TRN is a brand by Dongguan Zaodu Acoustic Technology – China. There’s not much information about this company but I do know that they have a pretty wide range of earphone offering, starting from V10, V20, V40, and V60. TRN V80 is their latest release and their flagship IEM (In-ear Monitor).

Not only that but they do have a silver-plated copper cable and Bluetooth cable both has two pin connection.

TRN V80 has a low impedance at 24 Ohms, which means is very easy to drive even with a phone. frequency response from 7 – 40000Hz. It comes in 2 colors: Metalic Black / Metalic Blue.

TRN V80 UNBOXING

TRN V80 comes with a white box with a simple and clean design. at the back of the packaging, you can see the name, address, and contact with the company. One thing that certainly can be improved is the language for the specification, it was written in Chinese.

When you open the box, you can see the 2 parts, the upper part is where the foam holds the earphone. the bottom part holds the tips and cable. simple but nice representation I like it, especially how they design the placement of the earphone that’s not entirely flat.

there’s a quote below the TRN logo in Chinese and English

Listen to your world and listen to what you want to hear!

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What’s inside the box?

• TRN V80 earphone Metalic Black
• 2 Pin detachable cable + Mic 3.5mm ]
• 3 set of Tips (S,M, and L)
• Warranty Card (1 Year)
• User Guide
• QC card

TRN V80 Accessories

Cable

The cable is 4 cores cable, each with 5 strands oxygen-free copper reinforced with high-density 250D nylon fibers and woven into a PVC jacket for durability and flexibility.

The cable is light, looks durable, and it’s pretty good looking with its 4 woven wires. It has a transparent plastic cover near the 2 pin connector. The Pin connector has R and L marking, the marking is in the outside part facing away and when you wear it, it will be an upside down the letter. I hope that the R/L marking in the inner part facing inward.

I didn’t realize that the cable comes with a mic since it has a small form factor. there are no volume buttons, there’s only one button for you to answer/end call, play/pause/next/previous track. It’s compatible with iOS and Andriod device.

Y split is too far away to the bottom and it’s fixed. there’s no way to make it shorter.? At the end of the cable, it’s a straight 3.5mm jack.

TRN V80 Tips

The silicone tips are pretty smooth and comfortable. It has a pretty color combination grey with red. Pretty interesting that the middle size tips have a different design (The S and L doesn’t have the red rim).

The seal is ok, it’s not perfect because of the wide sized nozzle it put a little bit pressure on my ear. If you have a big ear canal, I don’t think you’ll have an issue with it.

Putting the tips into the nozzle is a little bit of struggle, nothing major drawback but you need to have the patient to do it. Even with the 3 holes vent, there is not much voice leak because of that.

TRN V80 Build and Design

For a USD $40 earphone, the build quality is good and solid. the shell made from anodized aluminum. Anodizing is a process to convert metal into a durable, corrosion-resistant and with a metallic look.

TRN mentioned that it doesn’t stop there, the shell is hand polished to a mirror finish and then varnished with 3 layers of tough enamel coating.

Looking at it personally, it’s indeed a beautiful polishing. I don’t see any rough edges, the joints are completely sealed. the surface is smooth without any blemish. There are R and L marks on the inner part to easily distinguish between the side. it also removes the confusion when you want plus the cable.

it does feel a little bit heavy compared to others earphone such as IT01, Kinera H3. It still comfortable to wear but I feel a little bit of weight and pressure after using it for a while (about an hour).

it has three holes on the outer shell, TRN called this Acoustic air vents to regulate the airflow and pressure for a fuller sound. there’s also a hole near the nozzle, I guess that’s a relief pressure as well to avoid the dynamic driver flex.

I don’t find any issue with the flex, driver flex is the crinkling noise caused by the air pressure against the driver’s diaphragm when you insert the earphone into your ear. with TRN V80 no matter how fast I put them in there’s no driver flex.

The comfort is pretty good, I do feel the pressure because of the wide-sized nozzle after using it for a while. for your info, I feel more comfortable with a small sized nozzle, I think that’s because of my small ear canal.

TRN V80 Audio Quality

For TRN V80 Review, the In Ear Monitor Earphone burned for about 50 hours. I don’t really hear a big difference. Perhaps I would burn it a little bit more and update this post if the sound quality improved.

Bass

TRN V80 has a good bass impact. Some Nights – Fun, 0:34 the kick drum sound good and with an authority. 1:14 the low bass is well controlled.

listening to Aston Martin Music – Rick Ross, the attack is good and the deep bass beat certainly is more satisfying compared to an earphone that only has balance armature driver.

the decay is just in the right spot, listening to Orinoco Flow -Enya, the decay lingered just nice before the next note kicked in.

The bass is a little bit thick and tight, feels like there’s not enough room to contain the powerful bass at times. overall it performs great in the bass region.

Midrange

the vocal is a little bit backward because of the authority in the bass and treble. Listening to Wide Awake – Kate Perry, I would say that the mid is recessed, there’s a little bit too much dip in the v-shaped sound. the lower mid is too thin, it could get lost in a demanding song like Bohemian Rhapsody, Lullaby – Bond.

Vocal could sound too thin and lack warmness but it still shines for songs with an emphasis on the vocal and less instrument and less on the bass and treble such as musical songs Tightrope – Michelle Williams, On My Own – Samantha Barks, Seven Wonders – Aaron Tveit.

High

TRN V80 has a strong emphasis on the treble, the treble is sharp (a little bit over the border in my opinion). It sparkles, some people will love this because of treble clarity.

You may feel fatigue listening to TRN V80 especially if you are coming from a warm sounding earphone and find it too sharp. give yourself a little bit of time to adjust, the sharpness will be better over time after your brain adjusted.

Even though it sharp, it’s not harsh but there’s sibilance. Sibilance is present in a song like For the Stars – Elvis Costello, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, All I ask of You – Sarah Brightman.

Soundstage & Separation

soundstage is okay, you can sense the height and weight. the soundstage gives an impression of a small studio recording. I can imagine the placement of the instruments but it feels crowded at times.

Separation is average, the separation is lacking in certain songs when there’s a lot of Instruments playing at the same time.

TRN V80 Review Summary

My final impression for TRN V80: Affordable price, great shell quality and good sound for its price.

I can’t believe that with USD 38 we can get this kind of quality. it’s not plastic but coated aluminum, there’s a lot of earphone with more than USD100 price that even can’t beat the quality of TRN V80. The cable build quality is also great even though the Y split is too low. It has quad drivers! I don’t think I could find this kind of price a few years back. don’t get me wrong on this and please take a note that the number of a driver is not equal with the sound quality.

While I might be a little bit strict in the sound impression, I keep reminding my self about the price 🙂 I would still say that it does sound good for an USD 40 earphone, especially when you compare it with Apple earpods(selling at USD 29).

The bass is great, it’s really satisfying to hear this kind of bass. I believe bass head also will appreciate the bass quality on TRN V80.

What’s lacking overall on the sound is the balance and harmony, it sounds too technical. The treble is too sharp with sibilance. In my opinion, TRN could improve the V80 by making the treble warmer, fuller midrange.

If you are someone that like a bright sounding IEM (In-ear Monitoring) with clarity and great bass, this is a great earphone for a wide range of music as long as the song is not that demanding.

If this is your first step towards an in-ear monitoring and does not want to invest more than USD 50, TRN V80 will be a great earphone for you!

Side note:

Unboxbear.com want to thank you Hill Audio (Vincent) for providing me the TRN V80 earphone for review. Hill Audio is an online store based in Malaysia. They are very friendly, because of that I’m interested to dig a little bit more about them.

Their focus and vision currently is

To bring high-value audio products closer to our local audiophile community and ultimately to poison even more people into this hobby by bringing in more budget range product which makes it more affordable and attractive for those interested. Bridging the gap between poor quality personal audio to high-end professional audio.

I like the word poison, getting into audiophile is pretty poisoning… if you are from Malaysia, do not hesitate to talk to them via Facebook. For international buyers, they do accept PayPal. Oh and do look out for their OEM products 😉