TANCHJIM - Nora

I'd say go with Tanchjim stuff — Nora, Fission, Bunny, Origin, Force... they all have a fairly neutral-ish tonality. In my opinion, they’re a safer recommendation than the Hexa. The Hexa is really divisive — people don’t seem to agree on how it sounds. Maybe it’s the odd hexagonal shell shape, but there’s a lot of variation in impressions. Nobody agrees on the sound. You got like 75% of people saying it has no bass and 25% saying it has the perfect amount of bass. Quite a number of people (myself included) just don’t like it. Go for Tanchjim instead. You really can’t go wrong with Fission. It's very very close to the Tanchjim Origin which is an awesome IEM.

These are what I feel are the best at their respective price points for 2025 releases(though older releases may be the best overall). Only included what I've tried, so there may be better out there. Bang for buck: Truthear Pure/Plunge Audio Unity Dynamic/Yu9 Que Best bass quality: Dita Mecha Best vocals: Letshuoer Mystic 8, Tanchjim Nora Best treble quality: Moondrop Meteor Most musical: ISN EST80 Most lifelike: Dita Mecha Disappointment: Craftears Omnium Ti, not because it's bad, just that midrange is too pushed back for my liking. Volk Audio Etoille- driver flex🥲 sounds great tho.

DUNU Kima 2. Regret selling it. The Tanchjim Nora I have right now is also good, but it's not an IEM that will wow me immediately.

Full review in: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/tanchjim-nora.28398/reviews#review-39437 Nora, the latest Single DD offering from the house of TANCHJIM encompasses the same DMT5 driver that’s present in their flagship product Origin. This time, the brand went with a more minimalistic design approach where the body is made out of plastic while the faceplate being aluminium with a tempered glass front. The design undergone a lot of R&D representing a pressure relief design, a proper resonant chamber etc. Regardless of the materials used, the product feels and looks premium enough. The stock cable however feels premium that does comes with interchangeable termination which is included in the package. Nora is another chapter for Tanchjim, where now it’s more of a culmination of all the Tanchjim sets available in the market namely the Bunny, 4U, Ola, One, Fission, Hana and Zero. It’s basically a refined version of all these budget-mid tier predecessors. It’s minimalistic and functional where there’s no tuning switches or replaceable filters, it’s just pure stock sound that leans more towards a balanced profile with analogue tint in its presentation. It’s natural, vivid and got that realistic warmth that never feels boosted or artificial. The forward and engaging mid-section accompanied with that controlled treble profile while maintaining that realistic tone makes the Nora an applaudable IEM. It’s technically competent enough which can be seen through its holographic stage and good transient response. For me, Nora is the best release in the mid-tier segment as of now from Tanchjim that ticks all the boxes. It’s CLEAR-CUT ANALOGUE sonic capability makes this my primary choice. Pros: 1) Balanced Sound Profile 2) Tight and Faster Analogue Bass Profile 3) Forward Mid-Section (Tonally Accurate) 4) Controlled Treble Extension 5) Holographic Staging 6) Stock Cable with interchangeable terminations Cons: 1) Unforgiving to poorly mastered tracks. 2) Occasional Hotness in Upper Mid (Source Dependent) DISCLAIMER: This unit was provided to me by my good friend Melody from Tanchjim in exchange for my honest opinion of the product. The whole views are based on my observations with the product and is not an influenced one.

**Introduction** In the highly competitive and fast paced chi-fi market, releasing a lite version of a popular product is a common strategy for brands to capture more of the market. Fission was Tanchjim’s attempt to bring the sound of their flagship single DD IEM Origin into a more affordable price bracket and it succeeded in that. And Nora is a further trimmed down version of Fission at an even lower price. While Fission comes in at $129 compared to Origin’s $259, Nora is priced at $109, only $20 less than Fission. So, was Nora successful in carrying over the same strengths of Fission to a tighter budget? Let’s find out. **Build, Accessories and Comfort** Nora is made of clear resin with a glass faceplate. The IEM is small and fits my ear comfortably. As it is properly vented it can used for long listening sessions without discomfort. Thanks to the transparent shell, you can easily see the driver and acoustic chamber inside, which is fascinating to look at. The cable is similar to the one included with Origin but comes with a modular connection. It is a single wire design without braiding. It is built well, soft and very supple, making it easy to handle. However, unlike Tanchjim’s newer IEMs there is no DSP connector included. Instead, you get both 3.5mm and 4.4mm swappable connectors in the box, which is a nice addition at this price point. The package also includes three pairs of wide bore and narrow bore eartips. They are of decent quality and provide a good seal in my ears. Unfortunately, just like Fission there is no case included. You do get a high quality pouch that is apparently water resistant, but I would still recommend buying a proper case to store the IEMs safely. **Sound** Nora is tuned to a warm neutralish sound signature, with a strong emphasis on mid bass and prominent upper mids to balance it out. **Bass** The bass of Nora leans more toward mid bass punch than sub bass rumble. The mid bass is upfront in the mix and hits with a good amount of physicality. While the sub bass is present, it is never the main focus. Compared to Fission, Nora is slightly less mid bassy (at least with my unit) making the overall bass a bit cleaner and more balanced.  Personally, I prefer the way bass is tuned in Nora compared to Fission as I prefer a cleaner response while keeping the same warmth Fission provided. But in terms of the quality of the bass, Nora takes a slight step down compared to Fission. It can sound a bit slow at times and its texture is not as refined as Fission’s which is easily noticeable while ABing. However, the bass remains punchy and dynamic for the price. **Mid-range** The mids come across as warm and relaxed. Vocals sit forward enough to stay engaging without ever sounding shouty or recessed. The midrange sounds natural enough and avoids sibilance or harshness, making it smooth and comfortable for long listening sessions. However, due to less bass, Nora is a bit more energetic than Fission in the upper mids making it a bit more cleaner sounding than Fission. Due to this, in mid range tuning also, I prefer Nora’s tuning over Fission, since Fission leans more to the warmer side. While Nora still carries the warm tonality as Fission, but it is not as thick sounding as Fission, which gives vocals and instruments a cleaner, livelier character. **Treble** Nora’s treble is  smooth, well extended and free from peakiness or harshness, very much in line with how Fission is tuned. It avoids being sibilant and harsh and remains relatively smooth to listen to. But compared to Fission, Nora lacks that extra bit of brightness in the upper treble leading to the sparkliness.  As a result, Nora doesn’t bring out the micro nuances in a track as well as Fission does. But in isolation, Nora’s treble is well tuned for the price avoiding pitfalls of being peaky or too bright to bring the illusion of sounding detailed.  **Presentation** Nora performs well when it comes to subjective qualities, bringing out enough detail from the music and keeping the notes sharp without sounding dull or blunted. However, I haven’t felt the razor sharp imaging that some of Tanchjim’s single DD IEM delivers. Nora’s imaging feels less precise and lacks the same sharpness as Fission. The staging also falls somewhere in the middle, not too cramped but not wide enough either. With all that said, instrument separation is surprisingly good and keeps the sound from becoming congested during busy passages. Overall, Nora feels like a slight step down from Fission in these subjective areas. **Nora vs IE 200** IE 200 has a mild to v-shaped tuning with the tape mod, while Nora leans toward a warm neutralish sound signature. IE 200 takes the lead in bass and treble, offering a high-quality tactile bass response and excellent treble extension. On the other hand, Nora stands out in subjective qualities such as detail retrieval, imaging and bass texture, areas where IE 200 falls short. Between the two, I would choose Nora because getting IE 200 to sound this good requires taping the nozzle and using third party eartips. The included accessories with IE 200 are poor in quality, the cable needs replacing and the eartips don’t seal well. Its build also feels fairly cheap. In contrast, Nora is well built, comes with a solid set of accessories and includes a nice cable in the box. **Conclusion** Throughout this review, I have compared Nora with Fission because they sound very similar. However, by spending just $20 more over Nora, Fission gives you a metal build, a much nicer cable, a DSP adapter and better sound overall. I personally prefer Nora’s tuning, as it comes across as a slightly brighter take on Fission while keeping the same tuning style. But Nora falls behind Fission in technical performance by about 5-10%. Overall, Nora delivers about 90-95% of Fission’s performance at a lower price. Thus for anyone seeking Tanchjim’s house sound, I would recommend spending a little extra and going for Fission. But if you are strictly on a budget, Nora is still a solid choice as it has 90-95% of Fission’s performance, plus it comes with a cute waifu on the box. *Disclaimer: This IEM was sent to me by Tanchjim for review purposes. The brand had no input into the content and I am not paid for this review. All impressions and opinions are my own. And since this hobby is inherently subjective, my opinions should be taken as one perspective among many.*

Because pure is warm & bass boosted iem. Perhaps iem with more clarity is suitable, like dunu kima 2, tanchjim nora, moondrop aria 2. But if using eq you can fix your issue with its vocal, no need to buy a new iem.

Got my Tanchjim Nora with sancai wide bore tips and just missing a higher power dac. Only iem I have that lets me sleep peacefully.

for 70$ my default recommendation is currretly tanchjim nora

I like the simple look, but if you want an artsy faceplate, it's the wrong IEM. Sound wise, they should match your description.

It depends on what you want. Variations is tuned towards Harman. If you want something that is like the variations but a bit better I would either look into the I/O Volare or wait for the Mooondrop Meteor x Crinacle DE (The issue with the meteor is the lack of bass, only decent mids but really good treble and crin said collabed with mooondrop to fix that. Like with the blessing series). [https://graph.hangout.audio/iem/5128/?share=JM-1\_Target,Variations,Volare,Moondrop\_Meteor&bass=8&tilt=0&treble=-4&ear=0](https://graph.hangout.audio/iem/5128/?share=JM-1_Target,Variations,Volare,Moondrop_Meteor&bass=8&tilt=0&treble=-4&ear=0) If you want an iem next to your Variations that is just more vocal forward I would either go for something cheaper like the Tanchjim Lineup (Nora,Fission, Fola) or for a bit more something like the Softears studio 4. If you want something that has good vocals but also bass, I would look into the Softears Volume s or any other jM1 tuned Iem like the crinear daybreak, Ke4, Ziigaat Odyssey 1/2, Mooondrop Dusk (and many more) or something like the Ziigaat Luna. Ps. You could also consider to try out some EQ and add a bit more lower midrange and maybe a bit more mid bass. Something like this might work for you. https://preview.redd.it/zn3o9psp46tf1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a11b179c593b4f5707192bf77cd1be58c94e415