TRN V30 Review



The TRN V30 is one of the latest budget IEMs on the market and priced at around $20. It's just below the price point of the TRN V20, which I disliked, and half the price of the TRN V80, which I enjoyed. This new one was provided to me by Linsoul for review.

The TRN V30 comes with a similar package to their other units -- a basic box, with a nice black braided cable and, in this case, a basic mic. There is also a small selection of tips. The V30 itself has clear plastic shells with a circuit board look to it that is reminiscent of KZ's latest set of IEMs like the AS10 and ZS10. The plastic shell looks rather cheap and you can see the mold and shell lines pretty easily and overall looks a little tacky and something that looks like a freebie. It is also extremely lightweight.

In actual listen, I found the V30 to be very bright. It's a single dynamic driver with two balanced armatures -- triple driver at $20. That's pretty incredible really, but it sounds quite mediocre. The bass is actually pretty clean and generally lean, which is nice to hear in this price range where many earphones are very bass heavy. The mids are recessed a little bit but aren't really a problem. The problem lies in the extra boost in treble, which I found very harsh and sibilant in some cases.

The accentuated treble makes the V30 have more clarity and brings some upper end details out but it makes it a tough listen for any long period of time.

For the same $20, the KZ ZSN, Focal Spark, and even the new KZ ZSN Pro are better buys. All three of them are more balanced, and despite all having boosted treble, they are more listenable than the V30 overall due to a more well-rounded profile. The ZSN Pro will be reviewed in the near future, and is a brighter, and perhaps more detailed ZSN but some may not like it's brighter signature either.

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