Borrowed a unit from a good friend for this after seeing that Xenns had a new model on the market. To be fair, Xenns had been making decent (not great by any means) IEMs ranging from the Tea, Tea 2, and Up, a staple for bassheads seeking out thick, high quality rumbly bass. When their flagship Top came out, I was honestly not excited given the amount of "so-called" flagships that have flopped or became obsolete too quickly. However, I am happy to share that the Xenns Mangird Top is indeed a fantastic IEM in its own right, and pretty much nails the shortcomings of Moondrop Variations. Of course, it is not devoid of quirks, and with a considerable price tag of $530, these may swing purchase decisions according to your listening preferences.
Xenns Mangird Top
 |
| It's a beauty that's for sure |
Lows
If you've heard how the Variations sound like, you would immediately recognise the similar characteristic subbass focused rumble of the Top. Better still, there's no steep midbass tuck that plagued the Variations. There have been rumors of silent revisions from Moondrop after receiving feedback about the powerful yet thin bass region, but let's not waste time with speculations. Thing is, I've owned and reviewed the Variations for Hifigo previously, but could not bring myself to negate the purchase bias I felt. Long story short, I felt the midbass was lacking, resulting in male vocals not having enough weight to them, and bass guitars actually sounding tonally off. I sold them off a week later. However, with the Top, not only is the subbass extended, it also comes across clean, textured, meaty. Overall, one of the best bass responses I've heard around the $500 price range.
Midrange
In my opinion, the midrange frequencies are actually really difficult to sound correct, since the bulk of instrumentals and vocals live here. The only gripe I have with this region is that strings can be a hit or miss. In orchestral settings (e.g. Rapid as Wildfires), plucking of strings don't sound as extended or natural as bowing. Woodwinds like flutes also sound less shrill at the higher frequencies. Regardless, Top is one of the few IEMs which can reproduce the grandness and staging of such music. The midrange isn't too lush nor overanalytical, nor is it the cleanest. Balanced is probably not the best word but something I'll use anyway. It strikes a good balance of ensuring instrumentals are reproduced at similar levels without any dominating. Vocals are also neutral despite the low end having a sizable bass shelf. Male vocals and well separated from the main bodies of horns and bass, while not sounding too dry. Perhaps what I enjoy most about the Top's midrange is the female vocal presentation which never sounded too forward nor shouty even when I cranked up the volume. For really powerful singers like Akino from bless4, this is a huge welcome. I wished more IEMs adopted a tuning where the 3khz is very slightly dialed back.
Treble
This is where the Top shines, albeit a little too brightly. The treble can be considered sparkly, and slightly too shimmery especially past lower treble. What you end up with is an extremely airy yet slightly grainy treble which reveals every bit of sibilance and piercing harmonics on tracks. This may be great for treble heads and detail seekers, but less so if you're sensitive to any frequencies in the treble region. I'm especially sensitive to 6khz and 16khz, so quite a lot of Akebosi Rockets stuff isn't that enjoyable to my ears. However, listening to pop or orchestral is really quite a joy since these genres don't have clashing cymbals throughout. Overall, the treble is neutral-bright, extremely revealing with impressive levels of detail.
Technicalities
When compared to previous models, Top pretty much comes out on... top. Is it the best in this price bracket? I can't be sure, since I haven't heard every other $500 product out there. But to my ears, it easily makes it to the top 3 as a cohesive package. Clarity is on par with the Variations, sounding fuller and less clean due to Variations having a bass tuck. I would pick a fuller sounding IEM any day over another that is slightly cleaner sounding but with lifeless male vocals. Imaging is surprisingly accurate, and staging is pretty close to TOTL models. Soundstage width is more horizontal than vertical, so this does impact the layering for live recordings. A nitpick for sure, since there aren't any models in this range that can replay live recordings well. Generally, I have absolutely no gripes for the techs you get with the Top at this price point.
Conclusions
There really isn't much to conclude, except that the Top is indeed worthy of being the flagship model in the entire Xenns lineup. It's a familiar safe tuning that deviates slightly from Harman, but in a good way that emphasizes both detail and toning back on potential shouty female vocals. I wouldn't be surprised if people consider the Top as end game even after hearing more expensive sets. For treble sensitive ears who prefer a darker signature, you may want to consider the Up instead.
Score: 8.33 A+
Value: A
Personal enjoyment: 7.5 (Variations: 6.5)
Pros
- Safe, yet fun tuning capable of handling any genre
- Bass quality, treble extension
- Clarity and imaging
- Build quality
Cons
- The cable is slightly wispy and prone to tangle
- Occasional sparkly treble
- Extensions in strings
 |
| The massive box size compared to the Top |
Comments
Post a Comment