TRN JAWS Review: Ruler of the Sea
Disclaimer: The IEM was bought with my own money; the opinions and impressions are on my own.
My bias/tuning preferences: My target is something between the JM-1 (meta) target, mixed with HBB and Rikudougoku approach to the bass and low and pinna gain in the mids department, so is something like a Neutral with a bass boost tuning. My usual music genres to go is rock, metal, hip hop, sometimes pop and Salsa, and no, I don't like reggaeton and other Latin genres.
Introduction: The TRN JAWS is a high-performance in-ear monitor with a tribrid driver configuration, combining three dynamic drivers, four balanced armatures, and one planar driver. The Jaws is the big brother in the sea themed IEMs launched by TRN recently, with a more than impressive 3DD + 1 PD + 4 BAs config, delivering a perfect balance between a Technical beast and a smooth experience into the HiFi world.
TRN Jaws is priced at 129.99 USD, and you can get it at Linsoul: https://www.linsoul.com/products/trn-jaws?sca_ref=8269020.1yfaOVx7nc (Affiliate link, so I can continue making some reviews for you people, thank you).
Sources used: Dunu DTC 480 (my main source), Venture Electronics ODO, Tanchjim space lite, the included dongle dac from TRN (the chip is KT Micro), and my phone, an old Xiaomi Mi Note 10 pro with an internal dac/amp from ESS Sabre.
Services used: My local files (mp3 320 kbps, flac, other formats), YouTube music, Spotify, tidal. No equalization was used in the test of the IEM.
Here's a breakdown of its technical specifications: - Driver Configuration: - 10.5mm Beryllium-Plated Dynamic Driver - 8mm PET Dynamic Driver - 6mm Titanium-Plated Dynamic Driver - 6mm Planar Diaphragm - Two 30095 Balanced Armature Drivers - Two 50060 Balanced Armature Drivers - Frequency Response: 20Hz–20kHz - Impedance: 27Ω - Sensitivity: 114dB - Connector Type: 0.78mm 2-Pin - Cable Length: 1.2m ± 3cm - Weight: 7.8g (earphones) + 10g (cable) - Jack Type: 3.5mm
Pros: - Good bass shelf, is no basshead IEM by any means , but is some quality bass here!, the sub and mid bass is incredible fast, defined and resolving.
The mid bass bleeds enough in this IEM and take a nice and enjoyable lower mid dip “into the sea”, the pinna gain is excellent, the vocals and instruments are forwarded, well putted in place, the presence is so noticeable, male and female vocals excels in quality.
Highs, so crisp and with certain tracks not so sibilant, with enough upper highs to feel al the plates and cymbals in the drums, the treble having that 6 mm planar is very well extended.
Technicalities: Is punching way above in this department, is very airy and it feels like an open pair of cans!, wide and depth soundstage, excellent imaging and the macro and microdetails retrieval is what more impresses for the price. I think this could be a gaming beast.
The noteweight is a delight and the quality of the natural and enjoyable timbre it have.
The shell is not heavy at all, it has a mid-sized nozzle, so comfortable to the ears (I'm using m size eartips), the seal it makes in the ears is perfect, and is zero fatiguing for long listening sessions.
A premium packaging, full of accessories, the box is gorgeous, sturdy and well build, the inclusion of the TRN T eartips (I putted that tips as the stock I’m using with the IEM), an excellent stock cable with a premium look and feel to making honor to the IEM itself.
Is benefited of a warm source (dongles using the CX31993 chip) to improve a little the bass shelf and giving a little more musicality, but is not a must.
Easy to drive, a good and humble dac/amp is enough to crank the volume at a more than enjoyable volume.
Cons: - Is a premium IEM with a price very apart from the Shell, who is a cheaper IEM with just the BAs removed, a more smooth tuning, so maybe there's another option from the own TRN more appealing to more persons, this Shark is an IEM more appealing for an experienced audiophile or people looking for critical listening his/her/they music.
- The bass shelf is enjoyable, but maybe a little more of sub and mid bass is something I wanted more (you can boost it with eq, and this con is no more a “problem”, in fact, the Beryllium DD TRN putted in the Jaws is more than capable of it).
Comparisons:
TRN Jaws vs. Simgot Supermix 4: The Supermix 4 is a 150 USD MSRP iem (usually you can get it for less, https://www.linsoul.com/products/simgot-supermix-4?sca_ref=8269020.1yfaOVx7nc), with a very different tuning, but similar MSRP, the bass quantity in the Sm4 is better, but I have to give the Jaws the victory in this case, the quality in the Shark is superior, the lower mids in the Sm4 are maybe more enjoyable, but the pinna gain and the rest of the tuning is better in the Jaws, is more clean, resolving and crisp, and by my surprise is handling so much better the sibilance in a lot of music, definitely the Sm4 is starting to show its age, and that’s nuts because it was my previous point of reference talking about IEMs!.
TRN Jaws vs. KZ PR2 (Modded): My KZ PR2 (modded), (https://www.linsoul.com/products/kz-pr2?sca_ref=8269020.1yfaOVx7nc) is praised as one of the best planar drivers IEM in the market. Period. It is crisp, clean, with a huge soundstage and treble sparkle, lots of air and openness. But come on, it is obvious the Jaws excels the Pr2 in all cases, the bass have even more quality, the mids are best in place, the noteweight, pinna gain and presence is more noticeable, the highs are more in place and better extended.
TRN Jaws vs. Dunu Kima 2: The Dunu Kima 2 is a more vocal oriented IEM, at 120 USD MSRP ( https://www.linsoul.com/products/kz-pr2?sca_ref=8269020.1yfaOVx7nc) I previously reviewed and think of it as a more than capable IEM for its price, with a nice bass shelf, more mid and vocals oriented, with in certain tracks a spicy feeling who can be a reason to step down the volume knob a little to keep enjoying the music, in this case the Jaws excels as a more neutral with bass boost driven IEM, with a more “humble” but equally premium packaging, so I prefer more the Jaws in this case, is more of my jam.
The TRN Jaws is an exciting, fun, analytical, resolving and a technical beast who punches way above its range, is such a good product by TRN I’m putting my seal of quality and recommendation for it. Go Sharky!
Final score: 9.3/10.