Closer Examination

Not much is known about the cable that comes with the Mangird Tea, although it does look a lot like the ThieAudio EST cable that came with the Monarch. It is an 8-core, 4-strand braided cable in a silver-colored insulator that presumably also uses silver-plated copper as the conductor underneath. The copper in question is OCC (Ohno Continuous Cast) copper, which should have much higher purity and larger single crystal size (more on this here if you are interested). The cable begins with a 3.5 mm TRS connector on my sample, although you can get it with a balanced 2.5 or 4.4 mm TRRS connector, too. Braiding and sleeving are both thick and durable and weigh more than the average cable too. There is a XENNS marked hook-and-loop strap for cable management, as well as the expected Y-splitter and cable cinch splitting the four strands to two per channel. We then have a see-through plastic sheathing towards the other end helping with the memory wire design that then terminates in two 0.78 mm 2-pin connectors. The packaging mentions an MMCX option, but I am told that is no longer the case with the company preferring the 2-pin route. The housing has L/R markings to denote which channel the plugs go to, and overall, cable is plenty fine for this price range with a measured resistance of under 1.5 Ω over the 1.2 m.


Given the premium unboxing and accessories thus far, I expected the ear buds to have a similar appeal in terms of aesthetics and finish and have to say XENNS did not disappoint with the Mangird Tea. There is in fact more information about the shells than the cable, which is usually alarming, but we are already past the cable leaving us satisfied, so bring on the shells! German EGGER resin is used, which is a dark amber in color and composition alike. It is not completely opaque, but far harder to look through to see the hardware inside. These are also larger than average, which is not surprising considering the 7-driver setup inside each ear bud. The predominantly black color scheme will go well with just about anything when worn, although the face plate is catchy if I say so myself.


The face plate is where the EGGER laminate is profound, with a clear finish over a more textured base that has gold foil accents strewn in. It comes off as more of a copper-orange than the yellow-gold you might be expecting, so this might be more of a rose-gold with the individual gold particles a different average size too. Mangird is currently written in cursive writing on the faceplate too, this time in more of the expected color when you think of gold. The resin laminate goes over smoothly, leaving no marks, with a slight 3D structure to it that has the Mangird writing closer to the top than the base with the gold foil. The shell design is ergonomic, following the ear concha design itself, but we will see how it fits on the next page. There are smooth curves throughout, and we see the latest iteration has filtered vents with colored rings to further indicate the left (blue) and right (ring) channels, again in a move that reminds me of the ThieAudio Monarch, which is a flagship class IEM, so this is not a bad thing at all.

The vent is large enough to where there is no need for any other, and there should be a good balance of comfort and isolation with the Mangird Tea in your ears. We also see the 2-pin receptacle soldered on and in-line with the plane of the shell, making it easier to install and remove the cable compared to inset receptacles, though it does not look as tidy. The acoustic tube terminates in a stubbier-than-average aluminium nozzle with a relatively large bore at 5.5 mm at the widest point and 4.5 mm at the body, where we see another mesh filter. I wish it were user-replaceable, but this is certainly not a deal breaker.


Fitting the ear tips is harder than you might think given the wider diameter nozzle and tighter bores on the ear tips. The silicone tips are certainly easier to handle since you can just fold back the flange and press the stem over the nozzle as seen above. Make sure the contact surface is good all around the nozzle and then push the ear tip back in shape. I tried for a few minutes and soon gave up with the memory foam tips, which is never a scenario you want to be in if you prefer foam tips. I don't know if XENNS just re-used the same tips as before the updated nozzles, but it is a struggle and a half to get them on. Depending on which of the three types of tips you go with, the next step is to re-connect the cable by carefully pushing the 2-pin connectors back in place. The TRS (or TRRS) connector then goes to your source. I know there are many who prefer to use IEMs throughout, but I like to use over-ear headphones when sitting down and IEMs/TWS earbuds on the go. As such, in the absence of other options at this time, I chose to use them primarily with my trusty FiiO E17.