HIFIMAN TWS600 True Wireless Earphone Review

Sound

Let’s get right to it. The HIFIMAN TWS600 is tuned neutrally with more emphasis on the upper-midrange. It’s quiet and cool. Holistically, it trades a euphonic character for a cleaner, crisper, and more detailed presentation.

In short, it’s a leaner and more pristine flavor for a TWS earphone. In contrast, most of the ones in the market today are warmer and is more V-Shaped.

Bass

Bass is on the lighter side but is refined and tight. If you want lots of heft and rumble, you won’t get an enormous amount here. It’s flatter.

But you’ll hear the gradations and the details in a kick drum, lower notes of a piano, and 5-string bass. Again, there isn’t a meaty or huge emphasis on the bottom-end of the spectrum. It’s just more quick and exuberant than it is authoritative. If you aren’t a basshead and prefer cleaner bass – it might actually work.

Midrange

I don’t feel the midrange is particularly forward – but voices come out very clear and well-articulated. Consequently, the lower midrange isn’t as fleshed out and there’s an obvious bump in the upper midrange. It’s just coarser and drier in that region. But again, you hear more of the lower-level details and textural cues.

The overall result is a cooler tone. And being able to hear the lyrics more clearly. Many will enjoy the insight given to vocalists in this range.

Treble

The HIFIMAN TWS600 supplies beautiful shine and brilliance to the highs. All without being fatiguing or harsh. I think the roll-off is done at the perfect level to ensure this. It extends just enough where there’s shimmer – but no edge.

Strings, in particular, have a wonderful zing and metallic palpability to the plucks and strums. In any case, it has more than enough shine and details up top. At least for my tastes.

Poof! They’re gone!

There’s also more of that “earbuds disappear” experience with these earphones. Other TWS earphones I’ve heard were much heavier and sounded more closed-in. The TWS600 simply breathes more outward from a pitch-black canvas. Simply put, spatial clarity is layered out very well.

Overall, I think it does a wonderful job presenting a wide and relatively deep soundstage. It’s probably the best I’ve heard from a TWS. Separation and focus also seem to be top-tier.

Phone Calls

Calls came in crystal clear and stable. Voices were a little more “lightweight” but I felt the TWS600 did a good job.

Although, when I pissed my girlfriend off, I did hear a bit more aggression and grain. But that was probably not from the TWS600.

Custom Ear Tips

For what it’s worth, I was able to incorporate a coat of warmth and a denser tone with aftermarket Comply foam tips. There’s even an improvement in timbre.

In essence, you’ll get a little bit of the best from both worlds. The only drawback was that my foam tips were too large to fit in the charging capsule afterward. It sticks out far enough where the charging contacts won’t touch. Bummer.

Equalizer

From my experience, most TWS earphones could benefit from some EQ. Spotify has a rudimentary one built-in – which is better than nothing. As with all EQ, don’t go overboard – especially with boosts. After some quick tweaking, these are my current settings:

I would keep the 60 Hz at 0 and adjust the Bass Boost to taste. Then move from there. The boost at 230 Hz adds more meat on the bones while the cut at 4 kHz alleviates some of that roughness. The slight boost at 14 kHz adds just a touch of air. I have to say, it sounds pretty damn good. It’s great that the TWS600 is EQ-friendly.