Headphones — Tanchjim Fola

The Fola is a corded IEM made by Tanchjim of China, built around a single dynamic driver from the company's DMT5 architecture. It pairs that driver with a modular cable, swappable nozzles and a metal and sapphire shell, and its regular price is USD 264. The design targets listeners who want to change the output plug and the tuning without buying a second pair of earphones.

Key specs that matter

Tanchjim rates impedance at 16 ohm with a tolerance of 5 percent and sensitivity at 126 dB per Vrms. The stated frequency range runs from 2 Hz to 48 kHz. Distortion is listed under 0.056 percent at 1 kHz and 94 dB. The detachable cable accepts three interchangeable plugs - a 3.5 mm single-ended jack, a 4.4 mm balanced jack and a DSP plug with a USB-C connector.

Engineering and use context

The driver uses an inner and outer double magnetic circuit together with a double chamber, which Tanchjim presents as the basis of the DMT5 design for high conversion efficiency and low distortion. Its diaphragm is a composite with a DLC dome and a suspended PU edge. A waveguide cover sits over the driver outlet to assist high frequency transmission. Three nozzles, labelled Light, Standard and Dynamic, screw onto the shell and each changes the acoustic path to the ear canal, so the balance can be altered without any electronics. The shell is an aluminium alloy chamber closed by a sapphire glass faceplate. The cable is built with a LITZ anti-oxidation structure, using an oxygen-free copper core plated with silver. Six pairs of T-APB air pressure balancing eartips are supplied, intended to reduce the pressure build-up that a sealed fit can cause.

Pairing

Low impedance and high sensitivity mean a phone dongle or portable player provides more than enough level, and the balanced plug suits balanced outputs on dedicated players and desktop amplifiers. When the DSP-S plug is connected to a computer, phone or console through USB-C, it adds HRTF-tuned virtual 7.1 and 5.1 surround processing, which suits gaming and film use without a separate converter. The 3.5 mm option covers laptops, older phones and portable players that lack a balanced socket, and because the plugs swap on the same cable, one lead serves all three kinds of source.

Alternatives

The Tanchjim Origin Lost Manor is a limited edition IEM of this brand, fitted with a 10 mm DMT5 Ultra dynamic driver and engraved metal shells.