My new King of IEMs (Tony's Triple.fi review)

[antonyfirst]

Originally Posted by IPodPJ

I don't know if I'd go that far. All IEMs seem to have that typical "tri-bubble" syndrome, meaning the sound seems to come from left, right, and center but nowhere in between. Fullsize cans don't seem to suffer from that. While they do sound closer to a fullsize can than other IEMs might, I'd still never forget I was listening to an IEM though. But as far as IEMs go, the Triple.Fi are definitely on top (for universal fit).

What I was saying is the bass sounds like it's coming from something big. I had this feeling only when I listened to my Koss A250, and it was what I loved more. Never experienced the same with any other IEMs.

[Musicdiddy]

Originally Posted by antonyfirst

At first I tried the silicon tips that came with the Triples. I didn't like normal tips, I was losing seal on my right ear every time. I switched to biflanges, which were better, but again, seal was being lost too often. Then I modded a pair of shure black foamies (cut them from their tube), and superglued them to the tubes of a pair of UE foam tips: perfect seal!

.

I love my Triple.Fi's but like you have trouble getting the right seal. I got some of the Shure Black Foamies but I found it was such a pain trying to get the plastic tube out of the Shures (I followed the mod elsewhere in the forum) that I gave up in the end. So did you cut down the side of the Shure's to get the tube out and then glued them together with the UE foam tube in place?

[cooperpwc]

Tony, I am delighted to read your review. I have been sitting quietly in the background in the 10 days since I bought the Triple-Fi's down in Hong Kong and I'm more pleased every day. The soundstage is surprisingly wide. There certainly isn't the soundstage depth of my Darths but for an IEM, it's quite remarkable. Mostly I love the quality of the treble detail up there. It makes the soundstage come alive. Bass seems entirely dependant on fit. I bought these because (unlike reviews I had read) I was getting a great fit right away. Then I switched to large tips which improved fit but introduced a kind of thud when I walked (admittedly I'm not light of feet). My revelation now is the biflanges. Once you figure out how to insert them (kind of angled backwards) you get a beautiful seal without the vacuum effect from the standard tips. Best sound yet and very quiet. (No thud from my sloppy feet!)

High quality bass. Full without a hint of boom. The mids certainly aren't forward but they're clean. These are nicely balanced headphones.

I'm using these straight from the headphone out of my H140. I find that they're so transparent that the my iPod Video doesn't quite cut it. Headsix on the way and hopefully things will get even better.

Anyway, great review. These really are nice IEMs. Add another fan here to the list.

[IPodPJ]

Tony,
I might just have to sell you my Go-Vibe V7 Max now so you have ultimate listening enjoyment with the TF. I'm still deciding whether or not I want to sell it.
I guess you'd have no need for my Qables Silvercab since you don't have an iPod.

[antonyfirst]

Thanks Phil, but I don't need it for two reasons. First, I'm not sure my JVC would benefit from it, as it features a very good built in headphone amp and doesn't have a lineout (I didn't notice improvements in sound quality when I amped my Kenwood HD10GB7 either, apart from the useful bass boost featured by the Supermacro LE). Second, 'cuz the Govibe 7 would be too big for me to carry around. I have a little amp (iBasso T2) I toy with, but it's all.
I might get a Supermicro one day, but currently Xin's lack of warranty (due to the extra long wait times) and known problems with loose jacks (which I've also stepped in) keep me at a reasonable distance from it.
Last option might be a Pico, nothing short of it.

[antonyfirst]

Originally Posted by Musicdiddy

I love my Triple.Fi's but like you have trouble getting the right seal. I got some of the Shure Black Foamies but I found it was such a pain trying to get the plastic tube out of the Shures (I followed the mod elsewhere in the forum) that I gave up in the end. So did you cut down the side of the Shure's to get the tube out and then glued them together with the UE foam tube in place?

Exactly. It's very effective.

Originally Posted by cooperpwc

Tony, I am delighted to read your review. I have been sitting quietly in the background in the 10 days since I bought the Triple-Fi's down in Hong Kong and I'm more pleased every day. The soundstage is surprisingly wide. There certainly isn't the soundstage depth of my Darths but for an IEM, it's quite remarkable. Mostly I love the quality of the treble detail up there. It makes the soundstage come alive. Bass seems entirely dependant on fit. I bought these because (unlike reviews I had read) I was getting a great fit right away. Then I switched to large tips which improved fit but introduced a kind of thud when I walked (admittedly I'm not light of feet). My revelation now is the biflanges. Once you figure out how to insert them (kind of angled backwards) you get a beautiful seal without the vacuum effect from the standard tips. Best sound yet and very quiet. (No thud from my sloppy feet!)

High quality bass. Full without a hint of boom. The mids certainly aren't forward but they're clean. These are nicely balanced headphones.

I'm using these straight from the headphone out of my H140. I find that they're so transparent that the my iPod Video doesn't quite cut it. Headsix on the way and hopefully things will get even better.

Anyway, great review. These really are nice IEMs. Add another fan here to the list.

Thanks for the beautiful words. I think the treble with the Triple fi is very special. I said "magical" for a reason. It's never harsh, always very sweet, intimate. If it makes sense, it's similar to the sound produced by fairies in Walt Disney movies. It's wetter than Etymotic treble, probably due to different frequencies being boosted. I'd say liquid treble, even if these two words don't go often together.

I am being told that the UE11 are even better (and Much better). I have a lot of reasons I can't (and don't want to) go for customs, including the hassle to get ear impressions in Italy, pay the audiologist a lot more than in the US, send them to Ultimate Ears, wait ages, risk the custom molds don't fit my ears and start the process again. Not to talk of the insane pricing (for me).
But it leaves many hopes for an ultimate Quad fi universal IEM for the time being.

[IPodPJ]

Tony,
I understand your need for portability. I was going to get a Pico myself. I was on the first preorder list but gave up my spot since I have no need for one. I'm sure it is a fantastic little amp.
As far as the iBasso T2 goes, it is a good sounding little amp. But having compared it to my V7 Max, I can tell you that the V7 is much better. But with all audio equipment, the smaller you get the more you have to sacrifice in SQ unfortunately. But the Pico is supposed to be remarkable for its size.

[cooperpwc]

By the way, Tony, you have to fix the link in your signature to the comparison of five DAPs. I'm really curious about the JVC Alneo.

[deusofhearts]

gah, now i'm even more eager to venture back into the IEM world and give these a try.

[antonyfirst]

Originally Posted by cooperpwc

By the way, Tony, you have to fix the link in your signature to the comparison of five DAPs. I'm really curious about the JVC Alneo.

I've fixed the link, now you can check the review.