Audio Bluetooth Reviews

Tronsmart Element T6 Plus in test – trough or toad? Balconies sounds different.

Measurements

So, dear friends of the lukewarm bathtub, now you really have to be brave! The green curve shows the default state, red stands for the 3D-something bass and violet for the mega-bass boost. It is normal to grease the upper bass in order to cover up the low-tone deficits caused by the design. But this would have been better done at 120 Hz, because this one brutally goes to the level strength of the already weak arms of the small power stage crawling group.

At approx. 200 Hz beats the first valley of tears, then in return at 2.6 KHz pushes the middle mercilessly to the helpless outcry. At 8 KHz, acoustic fasting is the order of the day, after which there is hardly anything left. This is a sonic roller coaster that pushes even a well-trained stomach to the limits of resilience, not to mention the ears. This is like crank phone 2.0 with a lot of lard down.  I could not measure the microphone in the chamber for technical reasons, because no BT connection was possible.

Cumulative Spectra

The cumulative spectrum denotes different types of diagrams that show time-frequency properties of the signal. They are generated by successive application of the Fourier transformation and suitable windows to overlapping signal blocks. These analyses are based on the frequency response diagram already shown above, but also contain the element time and now show as a 3D graphic ("waterfall") very clearly how the frequency response develops over time after the input signal stopped. In colloquial terms, such a thing is also called "end" or "swingout".

Normally, the driver should also stop as fast as possible after the input signal has been dropped. However, some frequencies (or even entire frequency ranges) will always subside slowly and then continue to appear in this chart as longer-lasting frequencies on the time or period axis. This is a good way to see where the driver has glaring weaknesses, perhaps even "squealing" or where, in the worst case, resonances may occur and disturb the overall picture.

With the NOW no longer common CSD, the plot is generated in the time range (ms), while the burst decay plot used here is displayed in cycles. And while both methods have their advantages and disadvantages (or limitations), it can be said that the display in periods may be more useful to determine the decay of a loudspeaker with a wide bandwidth.

And that's where it continues to comfort. We see a resonance vibration in the upper bass at approx. 90 Hz, a few small trailers at approx. 500 Hz and 3.5 kHz and later also the brutal mid-inferno. The entire spectrum wobbles cheerfully and still resounds even when the output is abruptly suspended.

Let us now come to the subjective assessment of things and simply leave the measurement curves to the left. The assessment is based on the normal setting with the deactivated DSP games, which can't improve anything anyway.

Bass

Test the lowest bass in the subcontraoctave (16.4 Hz to 32.7 Hz) with a recording of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor (19 and 25 Hz) and the Festival Overture 1812 by Tchaikovsky (10 Hz and 12.5 Hz). The same applies to the lower ranges of the contraoctothe (32.7 to 65.4 Hz). The big bass drum (kick drum), which in the U-music is a welcome companion and usually on approx. 55 to 60 Hz, this assessment will then be rounded off.

The bass goes downhill from about 70 Hz into the steep fall flight, which is normal with the housing size. It has a certain wealth, but lacks any clarity and differentiation. This is deep, but wobly and wrong like a diabetic chocolate pudding.

The upper bass up to 150 Hz, in which also the Great Octave (65.4 to 130.8 Hz) is located, houses the basic language frequency of the male voice and decides very strongly on the true-to-life reproduction of male vocals.

This area is fine, even if the male vowel is mapped too bold at the basic tone. The rest is present, but plentifully undifferentiated and really muddy.

Frequency range

The lower middles (also basic tone range) are approx. 150 to 400 Hz. Together with the already mentioned upper bass, this area plays a very important role for the subjectively perceived heat or bass. Fullness of the sound. The basic language frequency of female voices can be found in this area.

It scrapes and dumps something at first, then at approx. 250 Hz to crash completely. Female vocals degenerate into extras and go down smoothly. The timbre of the voices and recorded instruments seem completely misinterpreted and pale. The further course upwards, on the other hand, is again nicely balanced. What is missing, however, is any spatiality.

The upper mids between 400 Hz and about two KHz contain a mark at a KHz, which is still considered a reference for many measurements. Unfortunately, this is often noticeable with cheaper devices, as manufacturers often try to overemphasize this frequency. This area does not play an insignificant role in gaming either, and balanced playback contributes significantly to good spatial resolution.

The stage is close to zero, also due to its design. The subjectively perceived quality of spatial dissolution is thus a new fall. The voice reproduction in this area is at least hardly lost, after all. Only that the basic tone range of the female vowel has been lost. But I already had that.

High-pitched range

Between two and about 3.5 KHz, human hearing is most sensitive, especially since this area of the lower heights is responsible for the good overtone reproduction of the human voice. This frequency range is crucial for the recognition of a voice or instrument; in this context, one also speaks of the respective timbre.

What colour? Shrill Orange? This is where the hearing is most sensitive and then the manufacturer puts this nasty sounding on top? The extreme overemphasis between 2 and 4 KHz is not only completely superfluous, it sounds really oblique and scrapy. Those who have voted for this are either senile and over 90, alternatively using a sham hearing aid or both. You just can't do that, for all your love of Asian sound over the DSP.

The middle heights (3.5 to six KHz) decide on the sound or failure of the speech reproduction as a whole, because the S- and hissing (Sibilants) fall into this range. The upper heights then reach up to approx. ten KHz to move into the super high tone.

The highs here are really the low point. From approx. 7 to 8 KHz is almost nothing anymore and we are back at the imperial crank phone.  I can't write more about it because nothing matters.

Summary and conclusion

With such small housings, a lot can be tolerated as long as the price is right. But it is not true. The Tronsmart Element T6 Plus, with its 66 Euro (99 Euro RRP), is not to be tolerated, at most still to be ignored. And actively. There has been an impressive non-purchase recommendation from me for a long time and if you don't really have a hearing damage, it's better to make a wide arc around the product here. This is an acoustic laxative of the very first quality and at least pharmacies are subject to it.

I don't want to write any more about it now, because it's just not worth the effort.

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About the author

Igor Wallossek

Editor-in-chief and name-giver of igor'sLAB as the content successor of Tom's Hardware Germany, whose license was returned in June 2019 in order to better meet the qualitative demands of web content and challenges of new media such as YouTube with its own channel.

Computer nerd since 1983, audio freak since 1979 and pretty much open to anything with a plug or battery for over 50 years.

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