Pros:
Detailed and resolving treble presentation
Full, rich and natural midrange
Bass is always there but really slams when called for
Spherical staging
Excellent imaging
Comfort
Build quality
Pad-swapping mechanism
Cons:
Only a 3.5mm/6.3mm single ended cable supplied
Lack of a suspension strap may upset some (not an issue for me)
At the prices, nothing else comes to mind
Product links: https://www.linsoul.com/products/tangzu-ox-demon-king
Preamble:
This is Tangzu’s first foray into full-size headphones. They are very well known for their large array of quality iems and accessories (I just bought some of their iem tips on recommendation).
The Ox Demon Kings retail for $349 USD and utilise a massive 85mm Planar Magnetic driver with an impedance of 25 ohms and a sensitivity of 92dB.
Note - The Ox Demon Kings showed up via an autonomous informal audio gear international migration program……………wink wink…….
I like to add on all my reviews –
I’m listening with my dual-mono aural side-pancakes, not yours.
I’m listening with my gear, not yours.
I’m listening with my love of audio, and not yours. YMMV…..
Now let’s get our aural hands dirty!
Gear:
For the review, my main rig consists of my Gustard R30 Dac, Erzetich Bacillus II+ amp, (review soon) fed from my Eversolo DMP-A6 streamer, listening to Tidal.
Unboxing and first impressions:
First up, a lot has gone into producing the box – it’s very premium. And huge. It’s bigger than Uncle Yamil’s blast zone after he’s exited the outback thunderbox (and destroyed all the surrounding wildlife)…………
A black box with white patterned splattering all over and the headphones adorn the front with the name written in Chinese and English – striking. On the back, we get a backstory of the Ox Demon King and specs.
Inside is a simple affair but I like it. Foam top layer and a foam headphone stand with Tangzu inscribed into it. The only accessories are a 2m black cable with only a 3.5mm termination and a 6.3mm adapter. The adapter is a screw in too which is good.
I have a few single ended tube amps now and the Erzetich Bacillus II+ puts out a ton of volume from its 157 mW single ended output, so this isn’t going to be an issue on this occasion, but may be for some who prefer a 4.4mm balanced termination.
How do they look? Well, like an upmarket pair of Hifimans. The silver and black and cup shape and headband is reminiscent of the Hifiman HE 400SEs, but with a sexier cup grille!
Similar size, similar style. The headband is nicer looking on the Oxs, with a quality leather top layer and a Tangzu metal plaque on each side adds a touch of class also.
Construction is improved over the Hifimans and they look more technically accomplished too.
The holes in the cups are large and the soft leather feels very comfortable. Some folks however, might complain about the lack of a suspension strap (like on older Hifiman models).
I love the pad swapping mechanism. It’s a twist and click, like some of the Hifiman cans too. Super simple.
Under the pads, the huge 85mm planar driver is covered with a grille then a thin fabric membrane.
Placing them on my ugly nut, they feel good. Medium weight that seems to be well distributed across my luscious curls…………
When placing them on a flat surface, they lay flat one way and still have a bit of give on all other axes.
Clamp force is right for me and the height adjustment method is a solid clicky one – no complaints there.
Playlist:
A desperate disjointed, discombobulated discothèque folks:
Alive and Living – Lee Basilio
Kill It Queen – Ava Max
Void – Alan Walker, Sorana
Broken Strings – Alan Walker, Isabella Melkman, Katharine O’Ryan
Toccata - Marcin
Catherine Howard – Rick Wakeman
Cike Cike – Bebe Rexha
Let the Bass Kick – Marie Vaunt
The Important Stuff:
Ok first up, let’s address the eggplant in the room…….these on paper, shouldn’t be the easiest headphones to drive. 92 dB is not overly sensitive but not on the other end of the spectrum either. Susvara are 83 dB and need a lot of current to drive them (not necessarily watts). Headphones with 102 dB sensitivity can generally be run off a phone or dongle easily. The Ox Demon Kings are somewhere in the middle on paper.
I pulled out a good quality XLR balanced cable and listened first with that (I’ve always preferred the sound quality of balanced connections and outputs – that’s a discussion for another time…..).
I actually prefer the supplied 6.3mm termination this time. There’s a tad more treble energy and air up top than there was with the XLR AND there is no loss of volume between the 2 cables, despite the XLR outputting 314 mW and the 6.3mm outputting just 157 mW……. This amplifier is possessed………..
When I initially put these bad boys on and listened casually for a number of hours, I said to myself I like these headphones. The tuning leans a bees-knee warm and they are not offensive in any way.
Nor did they excel in any way either.
Bass was good for a planar, mids sat nicely in the mix and sounded natural and treble seemed detailed without any harshness. I thought they were safe. Friendly. Like Aunty Dorna, 15 cream sherries in, with that leer she gets towards the new young barman…….....I digress.
Time for critical listening and things have changed.
Alive and Living is up first – A brilliant Brazilian guitarist with influences of Satriani and Vai to name but a few.
Clarity and detail are excellent here. Every smack of the drum is tight and snappy without being harsh. The guitar itself is natural, full and succinct. It’s tight.
I reviewed some very good quality iems recently and the upper registers on this track were crisp, harsh and sibilant. I put it down to the mixing and recording. Maybe it wasn’t. The clarity and resolution is excellent – I can hear everything. Imaging and separation is also very technically proficient. The instruments are spaced out well and easily identifiable. The bass isn’t deep but its presence is certainly heard. It’s playing nice in the background. I can hear some subtle sub-bass. MIds and upper-mids are the strengths on this track – clean and distorted guitars sound very natural and realistic.
A damn good start to the Ox Demon Kings.
On Kill It Queen, the punch and snap of the drums and synth is again very resolving and tight. Ava’s vocals are powerful and all around inside my nut, but not forward.
Bass is plentiful when it hits. It’s not 6-foot under deep but it’s present and you can’t miss it. It’s mixed in well but doesn’t shine or flex its guns. Ava’s voice is forthright with a lot of weight and body but not in my face. Drum snaps are clean and her upper register singing is detailed and resolving without ever becoming harsh.
The Oxs are snappy and exciting on this track, for sure.
Void presents a similar sonic presentation. Rain at the start is very resolving and clean. Piano sounds rich and natural. Sorana’s vocals are beautiful. They are front and centre and lush. They are also all around. Imaging is excellent and staging is very proficient. It’s quite 3D, front to back as well as left to right. Synth pops and cymbal hits are electric and transients seem very fast. It gives a real sense of attack and decay (snappy, punchy).
Bass is supporting in the background but it’s not the shy kid in high school, writing secret love letters to the gorgeous Cheerleader, knowing he has ABSOLUTELY no chance……….oops am I rewriting my teenage years??????? Awkward………
Another Alan Walker track – Broken Strings. A lovely choral chant sets the song up. The sweet harmonious voices of Isabella Melkman and Katharine O’Ryan are angelic. Piano in the background compliments the honeyed vocals and birds tweet off to the left. It’s a clean and detailed presentation. Then the drums hit. They have more charisma and weight on this track. Deep synth notes are easily identifiable, and the lower registers aren’t just hiding in the shadows anymore. The vocals are still the hero of the song – very rich and rounded, but never shouty or honky. I would say they are very well mixed and shine on the Oxs.
At this stage, I would hazard a guess that the Ox Demon Kings are tuned for fun, for excitement and for vocals, particularly female. Bass is sufficient but not dominant. Mids are lush and rich and treble is very clean and detailed but not crunchy or sibilant.
A very affable tuning and sonic presentation. Typical planar???? I think of my Hifimans and there is a similar bass and treble presence but The Oxs have managed to bring out a much warmer and fuller midrange and upper midrange, all the while keeping it from getting out of hand. It has more body than I can remember on my old Edition XS and HE1000 Stealths.
I would not call these V-shaped.
We move to Toccata by Marcin and it’s crisp, clean and punchy from the beginning. The guitar sounds natural, full and tonally spot-on. Every strum can be identified easily. Bass notes on his Ibanez are succinct and hard-hitting and Marcin manages to create a room of sound – it envelops my aural shoulder-pumpkin.
A throwback to the early ‘70s with Rick Wakeman and Catherine Howard (one of the 6 wives of Henry VIII). What a great song!!!!
Piano sounds natural and rich. Bass notes come in and sound deep and lifelike. There’s plenty of synth and keyboards in Wakeman’s music (well he WAS the keys man for the Prog Gods Yes) but piano, electric guitar and bass, and drums are the heroes.
Imaging on this track is simply excellent. It’s spread all around my noggin and easily pinpointable. Staging is holographic also.
At 2:04, synths and bass come in and the bass guitar kicks like a mule. It’s deep, snappy and clean, not bloated or bleeding. It’s such a great bass run. Western movie style piano begins, and the bass guitar compliments it perfectly. It’s not the shy kid anymore. And it remains like this for the continuation of the song. Each instrument is separated so well and the overall sound on the Oxs is just joyful.
Probably time to shout out to the Gustard and the Erzetich for doing their jobs bloody well.
I really wanted to test the bass on the Oxs. On Cike Cike, it pounds like a drunk at 3am at the local Pizza shop that’s been closed for the past 2 hours……. It’s not just deep but full and visceral. It does go 6-foot under and has such a nice weight to it. There’s no struggle either, it does it with ease.
On our final song, the bass REALLY gets to show what it can do.
On Let the Bass Kick, it is genuinely subwoofer level and I’m bloody impressed. It’s at my toes and I pick it up, bit by subterranean bit. It’s not just deep but it is some of the snappiest and punchiest bass I have heard in a long time! There is no bleed or bloat. It is visceral. I can feel it. I can listen loud and I hear zero distortion. These things were made for EDM/Electronic, that’s for sure.
Female vocals sound good, but they take a backseat here. The snap of the synth and drums is powerful, the bass and the keys’ melody are the headliners of this show, that’s for sure. Absolutely unapologetic. Goliathan, Mammothian and all, the other ‘ians’…………wow!!!!
The Oxs have either opened up like Grandpa Alan’s casket after we realised he hadn’t died, or I just wasn’t listening closely in my initial relaxed sessions.
On every song I throw at these, I hear a beautiful, rich midrange where vocals shine, particularly female. Instruments sound natural and full and the clarity and detail in the treble frequencies captures each subtle nuance that the mixing/recording offers the listener.
Bass is present but not the headliner, but when it’s needed, it comes out like a warrior king clawing back his land and people….dramatic but that’s how it is.
A quick comparison (or 3):
I referenced my Hifiman HE400SEs a bit before in looks and build but they aren’t in the same price category. BUT……my HE6SE V2s are!!!! They were originally $1799 USD when they first came out years ago but are now just $399 Open Box on the Hifiman site. They are Planars too, but at 83 dB, much harder to drive. Let’s test them.
Ok, on Kill It Queen, the Oxs are punchy, clean, have full and rich mids and are quite dynamic in presentation.
The HE6s need the volume at 2pm, not 11am but DAMN, the Bacillus can drive them and drive them well.
Remembering folks, this is single ended, producing just 154 mW, driving 83 dB Planar magnetic headphones.
The HE6s have lovely clean treble (an airiness), decent bass, maybe a hair less in quantity than the Oxs and a slightly dipped out midrange. Ava’s vocals are pulled back a bit. This is not good or bad, it just is. Imaging and separation seem fairly similar and I personally like the sound of both headphones.
Let’s test a set with closer impedance and sensitivity. The Hifiman Edition XS (comparison review vs XV in soon) has an impedance of 92 dB so identical. The XS retails for about $250 USD currently but was released at $499 USD, so relevant in terms of value and overall pricing.
The XS again has a greater sense of treble openness, giving the impression of more detail. And it probably does but not by much. The bass on the XS is again very good for planars but the Oxs seem to dig deeper with more weight and power, when called for (Let the Bass Kick).
The midrange and upper mids are richer and fuller on the Oxs, giving an overall sense of realism and naturalism. The XS come across a little thinner in this regard, even moreso than the HE6s.
An easy win to the Oxs here – that overall sense of body and impact outshines both Hifimans for me.
It’s a Hifiman-off here folks – I’ve pulled out the Edition XV. They retail for $399 and have an impedance of 92 dB as well.
Ok, so this is a closer match. The XVs bring more body and weight to the table now but they are also a warmer and more easy-going listen. Bass and mid bass have increased, and the midrange seems to have a bit of extra oomph but the treble sparkle that the Hifiman planars are known for, has been pulled back marginally . They now lean towards a relaxed and more mature listening experience, rather than a precise, clean airy aural experience.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the sound of them a lot – it’s just not what I’m used to from Hifiman planars.
I’m looking forward to reviewing them soon in detail, and they are a huge step away from the Edition XS.
But now, against the Oxs, I’m actually preferring the Oxs.
The Oxs have a lovely quality of bass (that goes Rave-style when called for!) with a rich and solid midrange. They sparkle up top, giving a clean and detailed presentation that allow female vocals to shine.
The XVs have a wonderful sound now and I appreciate the extra depth and weight in the lower registers and will reserve judgement on the upper mids/treble when I really dive deep in my upcoming review.
Conclusion:
Well, the Tangzu Ox Demon Kings started out being a good solid pair of planar headphones for me.
I think they look great, are very comfortable and for their price tag, represent decent value.
When I begin my critically listening on the Erzetich Bacillus II+ and the Gustrad R30, they open up like Aunty Delilah’s…….never mind. The midrange is lush, weighty and natural. Female vocals shine. Guitars sound accurate and precise. The treble is extended well with great detail and resolution. Bass is present at all times but really digs deep when called for.
Imaging and separation are of a very high quality and staging is holographic. Not super wide but spherical around my nut.
These are a great inaugural set from Tangzu – I’m impressed. I look forward the future of Tangzu’s over ear adventures!
Thanks to the autonomous informal audio gear international migration program for randomly sending out the Ox Demon Kings to review – I’ve really enjoyed them.
And thanks again readers for sticking with me, it means a great deal!!!
