Tralucent Audio 1Plus2

 

Ladies and gentlemen say hello to the Tralucent Audio 1Plus2 hybrid IEM. This little gem of an earphone easily falls into the group of pricey high-end mobile audio gear with its suggested MSRP of 1300 USD. On first glance this rather plain Jane piece of gear with its beefy silver cable may not look like much but you only have to give it a few minutes of listening time to realize it’s a brute like monster in the sound department. Before we get to the good stuff lets first get the small niggles out-of-the-way. At 1300 USD I expect a lot from an earphone both in the sound department and in the form factor department. Overall, I am generally pleased with the execution Tralucent Audio has taken form factor wise with this little beauty BUT there is room for improvement.

 

First of all, for such a pricey piece of gear I was rather put off that only 3 pairs of Ortofon tips were provided. These tips were useless to me and I found myself scrambling around going through my desk drawer trying to find tips that both fit the earphone as well as my ears. After a couple of hours and a lot of experimenting I settled on a pair of medium-sized Comply T-500 tips to give me a proper seal. The second little niggle I had problems with would be the removable cable. This cable is a pure silver 6n OCC cable with a very high MSRP all of its own. Overall, the cable feels quite sturdy and although a little stiff seems acceptably pliable enough for everyday use. The problem I have with the stock cable is for such a high-end cable I really am not to happy with its outer covering. The OC feels very rough to the touch and to the uninitiated gives an outward appearance that serves only to cheapen the product. At this MSRP I think a nicer more luxuriant feeling OC is a must have as well as a better selection of tips.

 

 

Now that all the little niggles are out-of-the-way let's get to the great stuff, the sonics. As stated earlier the 1Plus2 is a hybrid IEM. What that means is under the hood it sports dual Knowles TWFK balanced armatures (BA) that handle the high and mid frequencies but nestled behind the BA’s is a rather large 13mm traditional dynamic driver that handles all the bass frequency duties. The idea behind using a traditional dynamic driver is to try to give the bass frequencies a fuller more lush and natural sound. Because of how this dynamic driver is tuned, for me, the star of the show on these IEM’s is the bass.

 

It’s not a bass head-piece of gear by any stretch of the imagination but none the less it brings incredible speed, slam and punching power to the table. Because of its incredible speed and very tight control bass bleed into the mids is nonexistent. I’ve yet to hear an IEM that can throw out the amount of sub bass the way the 1Plus2 is able to and yet because note decay is so quick there’s no low-frequency smearing or bleed into the lower mids.

 

The mids are rather hard for me to explain. Edgy would probably be a good word to use. They’re very crisp, clean and almost thin on first listen when compared to the bass. After awhile of listening to more music you start to notice subtle nuances in the music made possible by the extremely high detail retrieval. Guitar plucks and other instrumentation such as horns etc sound more life-like and the listener feels like they’re sitting in on a jam session.

 

 

The highs, well the highs are a piece of work. They extend extremely high and give the listener a sense of air. It's a little peaky in spots but overall it’s quite detailed, controlled and lends to the IEM’s resolving sound. Cymbal crashes are clean and decay seems ludicrously fast. The best part, because it's so clean there’s no hint of grain that can be detected. And if that wasn’t enough there’s no metallic like tonality that lesser IEM’s sometimes exhibit.

 

If all I’ve written wasn’t enough we now move on to the icing on the cake, the soundstage. When you listen to these IEM’s they don’t sound anything like traditional IEM’s but instead sound far more like a high-end headphone. The soundstage is massive both depth and width and sounds completely out of the head. Strangely enough, these IEM’s especially excel with live music due to it being able to image in such a way that the listener feels like the music is coming straight head on at them. On top of that the 1Plus2 somehow is able to install an incredible amount of air between instruments giving the added feeling that the listener is sitting in a large stage arena somewhere near the front center floor area bopping along as the band belts out tune after tune.

 

Is this IEM to me worth paying an MSRP of 1300 USD? Well, unfortunately I don’t own these IEM's. They’re a sample unit I received from Gavin, the mind behind Tralucent Audio, and as of tomorrow they’re being packed up and sent on their merry way to the next reviewer for product feedback. These IEM’s have made me stop and double think what the term flagship IEM is about and I’m finding myself doing some soul-searching on whether my next investment on mobile gear will be my very own 1Plus2. To answer the question to me they’re very much worth it.

 

Many special thanks to Gavin of Tralucent Audio for allowing me the pleasure of listening to his product. I hope he reads my final thoughts on his product and addresses the few minor niggles I pointed out. What an incredible sounding IEM.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tralucent 1Plus2 Summary

 

Ever wanted to know what all the fancy audiophile jargon means audibly ? The 1Plus2 can cover most of what you've read in a single pair of IEMs - soundstage, imaging, detail, high airy extensions, tight & deep bass, clarity, transparency, and the list goes on. 

 

1Plus2, Beat Audio Cronus Cable balanced, iPhone 4S, CLAS -dB Balanced, ALO Rx Mk3 (real use case in low gain setting, despite what the photo suggests)

 

 

 

Physical Design and Comfort

 

Before we go into the sonics, I'd like to describe more into the physical aspects of this IEM for my ears. The 1Plus2 looks more like a custom IEM with a universal tip and its made up of 2xbalanced armatures & 1x10mm dynamic driver.

 

Despite it's bulky and awkward appearance, it's actually average in weight. Fitting for my ears at least wasn't exactly perfect (I'm using large sized Orotfon tips), and due to the thick gauge of the silver cables, they aren't exactly flexible despite having a wire memory guide - the memory guide wire is actually too flexible that the thick silver gauge wire defines the bends more than the wire.

 

At least for me, I kept fiddling attempting to loop it around my ears and have to tighten the neck loop to keep the IEMs in place. To add, aside from fiddling, due to the gauge of the cable I find it somewhat microphonic too.

 

I also found wind noise to be a slight issue with this IEM. Funnily I've owned other ported hybrids and not noticed wind noise, this is the first hybrid that I have heard.

 

In terms of aesthetic appearance too, I have to admit it doesn't exactly scream finesse for a $1300 pair of IEM. However depending on your priorities this may or may not be important to you 'cos after all, it's all about the sound, isn't it?

 

In terms of what's going under the covers, there seems to be quite a bit of proprietary design going in inside the IEMs. As such please note that even though you think you can see through the translucent shell in my photos, you can be sure that I've photoshopped them somewhat to hide anything it may reveal. However, despite the average looking shell, that awkward stiff cable is a clear indication of true quality being a part of the IEM package. This was easily tested by swapping cables with a cheap $50 OFC copper of a thin gauge and the sonics changed dramatically. By the way, this also means the connector used is a typical UE-styled connector making the IEM to be quite cable-agnostic.

 

Red Wine Audio AK100 Mod, 1Plus2 Silver Cable

 

 

 

Sonics - That's what we're here for aren't we?

 

Before going into what it sounds like, I'd like to add a few brief statements of the journey to getting to the final sonics. Over the past 2 weeks, I've developed a love/hate relationship with this IEM.  I'll start with the love 'cos I heard it before purchasing it and it obviously it performed well enough to get my attention, however as some of you may have read in the Tralucent thread, I had some pretty major concerns of a new company charging so much for a pair of IEMs.

 

However, investment choices are eventually up to each individual so I decided to take a risk, bite the bait, focus only about the product and bought one. During the burn in process though the love-hate juggled from day to day. I have to give Tralucent a lot of credit and a thousand apologies for the daily e-mail exchanges, at times with the most undeserving analogies to some infamous headphone companies. Despite what appeared to be a chap having some major hormonal issues, Tralucent was extremely patient with me very step of the way and I truly appreciate them for it. The sonics mostly settled around the 160 hr mark and continued to change subtly until the 230 hr mark where I feel it's fully stable.

 

I won't go through what I heard during the burn-in as the signature then was merely transient.

 

So the real question is what do I hear now that it's settled? As mentioned in the introduction, if we look through most of the audiophile jargon, the 1Plus2 comes up with top marks for them. This IEM screams detail, transparency, airy trebles, deep tight bass, wide soundstage, nice 3D imaging, etc.

 

Soundstage and Imaging

 

When I listen to Vivaldi's Four Seasons (take your pick on any conductor & orchestra…Isaac Stern & The Jerusalem Music Centre Chamber Orchestra, or Moskow Chamber Orchestra, etc.) the soundstage presented by this IEM is wide akin to say a good closed isolating high end headphone like the Ultrasone Signature DJ/Pros or Edition 8's. I will say though the Fostex TH-900s do have a wider soundstage but the TH-900s, despite being closed back, are not isolating. Even listening to John William's Star Wars Trilogy, I could imagine myself in a huge hall with the the orchestra performing before me.

 

Imaging performed reasonably well too. It struck a nice balance between it's wide soundstage and it's 3D depth perception. I have to admit that I'd actually prefer the imaging of the FitEar TO GO! 334 however, doesn't have the wide soundstage of the 1Plus2. However I felt with these two aspects, the choice of which IEM it would vary from genre to genre - e.g. I personally preferred vocals such as Lana Del Rey, Adele, Michael Buble, and Anne Murray with the TG!334 than the 1Plus2. But with classical, electronic, and even pop I'd prefer the 1Plus2.

 

Detail

 

These IEMs are no doubt very detail. In fact even rather unapologetically! It will scrutinise the mastering quality of the track. It will further scrutinise the ripping quality, etc. At times I felt some tracks were excruciatingly painful to listen to due to too much detail. At least to my ears, I find that the 1Plus2 does this through the forwardness and extension of the trebles. For subtle music such as classical, this is fine. However for music such as Michael Jackson's Billie Jean from the SACD version of Thriller, or the 1992 Australian Cast Recording Highlights of Jesus Christ Superstar, I felt daggers were thrown into my eardrums.

 

At this point, one may question what source/transport and amp I'm using and I found even using the RSA SR-71b which is known to have a somewhat darker/warmer signature it was barely tolerable.

 

As such, I feel the way detail is portrayed on this IEM through trebles primarily is pushing my eardrums to the limits. At best on a rather mellowed track, the detail is simply amazing. At worst with some brightish recordings, it's unlistenable.

 

Clarity/Transparency

 

I feel these factors also are closely related to my thoughts about the detail feature. With classical, acoustic instrumental, and simple vocals even, the presentation is impeccably clear and transparent. It's as though the microphone & pop filter is placed just next to the instruments or the lips of the artist. Everything is unbelievably crystal clear. Listening to Tony Bennett's "The Shadow Of Your Smile" from the Ultimate Tony Bennett, you can hear him smack his lips before singing, and even every breath he takes before he sings.

 

But like a doubled edged sword, if you have something that's (again) badly recorded, this IEM will pick it up. It doesn't even have to be the recording quality but possibly just the way the master was mixed. Listening to Cher Lloyd's Sitcks + Stones album, at times it's hard to discern between poor mastering or if it's how the mixing engineer intended it to be.

 

It gets to the point whether you're listening to detail, clarity, and transparency, or if you're listening to music.

 

Separation

 

Due to the wide soundstaging, detail retrieval, clarity and transparency, I feel these features have a great influence on instrument and vocal separation. As mentioned before, it feels each instrument and vocalist was recorded directly and independently then put together later by the mixing engineer. Separation is also impeccable.

 

Frequency Range

 

Along the lines of all the other aforementioned aspects of sound quality, the 1Plus2 screams quality. It has a deep reaching bass that's tight with little decay (unusual for a dynamic driver?!?), it's treble as mentioned before extends high and has a very airy presentation. The midrange is pulled back somewhat for my personal tastes. To be more precise it's the cusp of the upper bass to low midrange that feels more pulled back whereas the upper midrange. I'd personally prefer a low midrange that filled a little more. This slight pull back in the upper bass/lower midrange gives a somewhat more analytic signature rather. By comparison something like the FitEar TO GO! 334 feels more warm, rich, and immersive.

 

At least to my ears, contrary to what other 1Plus2 owners feel, I find the 1Plus2 to be somewhat U-shape in signature. As such, I'd actually disagree that this is a natural sounding IEM. At least to my ears, it's far from natural - however the exaggerated features of this IEM makes a quick immediate impression.

 

By comparison what I'd personally consider to be more is the Stax SR-009. Naturally it is unfair to compare a $5000 pair of headphones to a $1300 IEM, however I'm merely challenging the definition and use of "natural" in the Tralucent thread to be quite different to what I perceive to be "neutral".

 

Sonic Summary

 

I feel overall, my impressions is somewhat of a mixed bag. It seems I'm praising each aspect of the IEM but at the same time criticising it. If I were to surmise my thoughts into a few quick sentences I'd say that despite this IEM performing well in each discrete components, I have a hard time integrating all these components into one single musical piece. Somewhat more descriptively, I feel like I'm listening to each musical instrument independently but playing together, instead of taking a step back and listening to an entire orchestra. In contrast to the FitEar TO GO! 334, the Stax SR-009, or the Fostex TH-900, I find those other earphones/headphones to be more natural sounding and (especially with the SR-009) a more accurate representation of music than the 1Plus2 which at least to my ears, feel somewhat exaggerated. As I've told some members privately, every individual aspect in the 1Plust2 is almost too perfect, and somewhat too upfront (or as another listener said to me, too aggressive). I think for my personal tastes, I'd prefer a more natural sounding IEM that educate me these components of sound quality in more subtle ways rather than, wham, right in my face.

 

1Plus2 Silver Cable, Ortofon MHd-Q7, iPad 3

 

 

Where does the 1Plus2 Succeed to my ears?

 

A quick learning lesson on what detail, soundstage, clarity, instrument separation means.

 

Where does the 1Plus2 Fail to my ears?

 

The ability to present a musical piece as a whole with natural presentation.

 

Update 1st February 2013: 1Plus2 Impressions Update With The Silver/Gold Cable

 

 

I managed to get my hands on a pair of sliver/gold cables today and can compare the silver & silver/gold side-by-side - well can't A/B immediately since I only have 1 pair of 1Plus2's.

 

 

Let's get the quick summary out of the way, then delve in a little bit into the details.

 

So I find the silver/gold still somewhat sibilant but different and in a way more acceptable. The reason is that the silver/gold (as previously mentioned by others here) alter the sonics of the IEM quite differently. Is it noticeable? Yes quite so - although I never was a skeptic on cables causing sonic changes, trying these two silver vs sliver/gold cables merely confirms my beliefs.

 

A few noted comments others have made about the silver/gold is that it's warmer, slightly smaller soundstage, not so sibilant, etc. I'd agree with most of them but I may describe my thoughts somewhat slightly differently.

 

Frequency Response

 

As with others, I'm finding that the upper bass or lower mids are filled more which makes it nicer for vocals. Others have said that it's more TG!334-like. Although I won't say that they're (the 1Plus2 and TG!334) alike but with the silver/gold cable, the signature starts to sway more towards that TG!334/XBA-3 direction.

 

Whilst with the silver cable, I described quite a bit of sibilance, I didn't really put down too much detail but (and here's where I may start pulling numbers out of thin air), around the XkHz and above, the trebles start to sound quite forward. Whilst with the silver/gold cable, it's more around the upper trebles of YYkHz that starts to exhibit sibilance.

 

As such I find I have less sibilance issues with the silver/gold than I did with the pure silver cable. There's more about sibilance later.

 

Soundstage and Imaging

 

Others have noted that with the silver/gold cable the soundstage is less. In the short time I've had with the silver/gold, I'd say that the apparent soundstage does sound somewhat narrower. But this isn't bad - where I found the silver to be unrealistically wide, If find the silver/gold to be more realistic. In general though with other headphones/earphones I've tried, I've noticed that with more pronounced U or V-shaped signatures, the apparent soundstage sounds wider than those headphones/earphones with a more forward midrange.

 

On the other hand, a more prominent midrange doesn't always necessarily mean deeper imaging but well made IEMs with rich mids (coupled with rich bass) do seem to exhibit a deeper imaging. I find that the 1Plus2 with the silver/gold cable to have a deeper imaging naturally.

 

Now back to the sibilance topic again, with the silver cable the soundstage was unnaturally vast and at least to my ears seem to start earlier on in the treble frequencies. As such the sibilance on the silver cable seems to me to be "all around" which is probably where I had a problem with. On the other hand with the silver/gold cable, as mentioned above the apparent soundstage seems narrower (and more realistic), and the treble forwardness seems to start later in the upper treble region - therefore the sibilance seem to be more focused rather than "all around". I actually feel there's more room for other instruments to breath, and therefore doesn't feel overshadowed by the sibilance.

 

This inadvertently seem to imply that instrument separation seems to be more distinct with the silver/gold cable.

 

Detail

 

I can't remember if I read somewhere that the silver/gold has less detail. If someone did say that, I'd have to say that my ears disagree. The details and micro-details aren't as obvious smacked right in front of your face, but it's there in a more subtle form that you'd hear more naturally. This is something I learnt through my ownership of the TG!334, TH-900, and SR-009, and as such appreciate in the silver/gold cable more so than the silver.

 

Silver/Gold Cable Conclusion

 

As such, I actually find the silver/gold cables of the 1Plus2 to be more agreeable to my ears. Though the upper treble region forwardness is still there, most of my music genre don't venture that far (at least excessively).

 

Does this mean there's no room for the silver cable for my 1Plus2? Well, not entirely....the silver cable is quite useful in determining the quality of a rip or mastering of a CD/SACD. However, that's more critique rather than listening for enjoyment.

Hi all my head fi ers friends

The first time I heard my 1+2 plus was impressed me
the soundstage so big like I hear from home rigs.
The separation is very good , that I can imagine where the Sanger and the orchestra like to be there in live concert hall.
The transparency is top notch
The natural and neutral iem I have heard, if your rigs set up increase the sound quality from 1+2 increase too
Follow your set up

My portable set up as follow
Source : iPhone 4 s
Dac : class - dB and class solo old
Dac amp : : go dap x LME upgrade version
Amp : alo Rx 3 B , RSA intruder and RS 71 B upgrade version
Iems : Tralucent 1+2 with silver cable
Fit ear 334 with alo scx 24 upgrade cable ( sold )
Fit ear MH 335 DW custom iem with alo scx 24 upgrade cable

Burn in process : about 100 hours

Note : during burn in process at about 30 - 40 hours if you hear sound quality so dull , please don't worry it is
Normal with your 1+2 , after that dull experience , my 1+2 open up very good that you hear the detail
More than before .

High : so open , and very clear and clean high but not harsh at all , you have your high should be like that in
Live concert

Mid : very sweet , clear and clean sounding mid and so neutral and natural
The position from the Sanger is on the right position

Bass : very good and very detail sounding bass and very clean too , in loud passage you still can hear the
Bass detail very good , the bass speed is very fast too
Compare to my previous fit ear 334 , 334 has better bass impact , but my 1+2 has better bass detail
And is there like in live concert no coloration.

Separation : after 100 hours has some improvement , that you can feel where the placement from the
Individual instrument .

Soundstage : the best soundstage I ever heard from my iem collection
About the same level like my new MH.335 DW

Conclusion : I love the natural and neutral from 1+2
Until now only one custom iem that can challenge my 1+2 , that is my fit ear MH.335 DW
It is unfair competition from price wise between my 1+2 and my fit ear MH. 335 DW

This is my personal impression

 

Welcome, one and all, to the V-ZERO impressions extraordinaire! Today we have a heavyweight bout, and the card is as follows:

 

On the Blue Corner, in sleek black and rigid 000 cables, the FitEar To Go! 334!

On the Red Corner, in black with a nice and less rigid (+1 already!) Gold Cable, the Tralucent 1plus2!

 

No hitting below the belt! FIGHT!

 

 

Kidding aside, here are my impressions (this is with the Tralucent out-of-the-box and the FitEars with a lot of me time already, mind you all.)

 

Before the music:

I thought the FitEars were huge but the Tralucents just make them feel TINY as HECK. Even the cable is huge! Also on the cables, the Tralucents have a thicker but more supple cable, as compared to the incredibly rigid FitEar cables.

 

Source:
MBP Retina 15

AQ Dragonfly

Fidelia PRO

 

FitEar To Go! 334:

FitEar 000 Upgrade Cable

Stock double-flange tips

 

Tralucent 1plus2:

Tralucent Gold Upgrade Cables

Large stock tips

 

Note: Upon plugging in the 334s to the AQ Dragonfly you immediately hear a little bit of hiss, very very very tiny hiss. It isn't noticable (unless you really try to look for it) and doesn't bother me, but its there. In comparison the 1p2 doesn't have any, but the volume on the 334s is at one to two bars on the Apple volume control while the 1p2 is around 4 bars. These 334s are mad sensitive.

 

Round 1: "Be Still and Know", Machine Head - Death Metal (Instrument Separation)

334s: When I first put on this song with the 334s a few months ago, It completely blew me away. And it still does up to this day. The guitars sound great, the drums sound amazing, the vocals are clearer than ever, I love it. When the solo comes up, the instruments are clearly separated and well "imaged". The 000 cables really make you feel as if you were in a large room as the band performs all around you.

 

1p2: These babies feel and sound like headphones. That's the first thing that goes through my head as the song begins. Also the tips are incredibly comfortable, compared to the pain I felt after an hour wearing stock 334 tips (which is why I use the stock dual-flanges). As the song progresses I really feel its a more up-front and smaller soundstage (something akin to the FitEar ALO Cable) but this is like <1 hour of playback, so I'll have to get back to you guys on that.

 

It may be just me but the 1p2s actually make the instruments, I dunno, sound... better? They're more textured on these bad boys, which makes me cry. There's a bit of reverb in the 334s especially when some instruments go disappear but the 1p2 has a tight sound to the instruments. Right now, I'm reminded of how my PS1000 sounds, talking about the 1p2.

 

Round 2: "Something About Us", Balance and the Traveling Sounds - Jazz (Instrument Separation)

1p2: I love instrument separation. I love how different instruments just seem to synergize well together. Definitely a more up-front presentation of the song, but wow the instruments are rendered so smexily on these 'phones on this track that its hard to just listen to the song once and give impressions. I can really feel the bass in my chest as it punches ever so smoothly throughout the track.

 

334: This track on these 'phones are one of the reasons why I love the 334s. The music is nice and laid-back with the sound just washing over you and letting you relax. Noticeably, the bass is a bit weaker compared to the 1p2s as there is no "punch" but I don't necessarily look for that in my 'phones, but I know some of you guys out there do :) .

 

Round 3: "Angel With A Shotgun", The Cab - Rock/Pop (Vocal Sibilance Test)

334: No sibilance. Great job, FitEar!

 

1p2: Minor sibilance, noticeable on louder volumes. Good job, Tralucent!

 

Round 4: "Domination", Pantera - Thrash Metal (Cymbals Sibilance Test)

1p2: Same issue, minor sibilance but not noticeable on normal listening levels.

 

334: No sibilance.

 

Round 5: "Drama Queen", Family Force 5 - Rap Rock (Boom Boom Bass Test)

1p2: I love the different kinds of bass on this track, on great headphones you get the tinny punchy bass and the big boom boom bass in the backgrounds. Right now, as it is, I can't hear much of the tinny bass (though it is there) but the big boom boom is just whack. Love it.

 

334: The big boom boom is lessened on the 334s. I can't feel a punch on them. Though the tinny bass is a little bit more prominent, but not by a lot.

 

Round 6: "Take The Power Back", Rage Against The Machine - Rap Rock (Bass Guitar Test)

334: This bass guitar intro is so smexy you could die. The 334s render it amazingly and the track just sounds great, especially on higher volumes.

 

1p2: PUNCH. Just, wow, that punch. I really like it. The bass sounds just so much more controlled, I don't know why but that's what I can feel. Also I just noticed, the soundstage sounds a little bit taller on these 1p2s.

 

Round 7: "Some Nights", fun. - Pop (Group Vocals Test)

1p2: The 3D-ness of it all just sounds more complete on the 1p2. You can hear the heights (is that even a thing?) of the vocalists as they sing in chorus. It makes you feel as if you are in the action, with the performers, as they do their thing.

 

334: The vocalists sound like they're in a nice row, separated very well and the vocalists can all be picked out very well. It sounds as if the performers are in front of you, singing to you as you are in the crowd.

 

Round 8: "Terrified", Katherine McPhee ft. Zachary Levi - Pop (Male and Female Vocals Test)

334: The 334s are just BEAUTIFUL on vocals. Very intimate, very heartfelt. Katherine McPhee's vocals are jsut beautiful on this track. Zachary Levi's vocals are amazingly rendered as well. The emotions can truly be felt with these 'phones. True vocal synergy.

 

1p2: Though I use this track for vocal testing I should note that as soon as it begins one of the things I really notice is how nice the instruments sound in the background thanks to the 1p2. Vocals are very well controlled but there is a little less of the emotion, but that's not really noticeable unless you really love this song (which I do). It still sounds intimate and emotional, though, so never worry.

 

Round 9: "Beethoven's 5 Secrets", The Piano Guys - Classical (Classical Test, Strings)

1p2: "Sweeping" is how I'd like to describe how the 1p2s render classical music. It literally sweeps you off your feet. The strings sound very intimate and amazing on this track. I'm honestly discovering new things I haven't paid attention to listening to this track with the 1p2s.

 

334: Classical just sounds so grandiose on the 334s. It feels as if an orchestra is serenading you and lifting you up. Absolutely stunning.

 

Round 10: "Hotel California", The Eagles - Classic Rock (192/24 Test)

334: The track just sounds great on the 334s. Feels like listening to vinyl without the static :) Really smooth and calming. "Such a lovely place, such a lovely face."

 

1p2: No complaints, amazing track is all I can say. Though I'd like to note the 334s sound more "surrounding" with this track. Like they're all around you and performing for you. 1p2 feels like a concert setting with this track.

 

Round 11: "The Root of All Evil", Dream Theater - Progressive Metal (Just for kicks)

1p2: Though this isn't one of my test tracks, I thought it interesting to give it a spin on the 1p2s. I really love the way the instruments just come together on the track. I can also say with confidence that I can hear more of the drums with the track. The smaller cymbals are rendered a bit better on the 1p2.

 

Round 12: "Who I Really Am", Lazarus A.D. - Metal (Just for kicks)

1p2: One of my favorite tracks of all time. I can say for sure now that I like metal and rock more on the 1p2s than on the 334s. All the instruments are just more... textured, shall we say? It also further cements what I've been saying, that the 1p2s feel like headphones...

 

And so that's it. The impressions went the distance, but for me, I think I'm really liking these Tralucents. I may keep them on for a few more days and see what happens after then. Definitely I can say for certain in the bass department the 334s are stumped. But they're pretty evenly matched in all the right places. I guess its all up to your ears whichever is best for you guys.

 

Long live universal fit customs! May they continue to grow even more awesome :)

 

Again, sorry for your wallets, guys :)

Introduction: The Tralucent 1Plus2 is an amazing IEM. I wasn't expecting it to sound this good. At the time I also had the AKG3003 on hand and directly compared them for a couple weeks. It was apparent within hours of listening to the 1Plus2 that I vastly preferred it to the AKGs. I kept thinking to myself, are the AKGs more detailed? That wasn't the case at all. They are on par in detail with each other just that the AKGs are brighter giving you a false sense of detail at times. It's all there on the Tralucents yet you don't get the fatigue of long listening sessions. At least that is the case for me.The Tralucents also play better with more genres than the AKGs do so they are more versatile, better all-arounders.

 

Bass: The bass IMO is the best part of these IEMs. It reaches very deep, is well controlled yet has such presence. It very much reminds me of full-size headphone type bass yet with the excellent extension known to dynamic IEMs. You get great quality and quantity. The texture and depth are superb.

 

Mids: Mids are also wonderful on these IEMs. I always like my mids to be upfront and personal. Not overly so but in a convincing manner. There's just the right amount of thickness to it which is very pleasing to these ears. More of a natural sound to it. Plus the detail (micro-details) are really good. I'm finding myself hearing nuances I haven't heard before in songs I've listened to several times before. It's like rediscovering your music again. This is particularly evident in busy Rock tracks where some of the lyrics can just blend in and not really make themselves known. The Tralucents make them that more apparent.

 

Treble: Now when it comes to treble I tend to be quite finicky. I love detail just as everyone else does yet I don't like treble spikes. I'm very sensitive to that and I can tell you the treble on the Tralucents are quite smooth. I'm a sucker for smooth and detailed treble. It's in no way laid-back or rolled off. The detail is all there. Nothing is masked IMO. What you get is a very euphoric and enjoyable sound. I guess you could say an organic yet detailed experience?

 

Sound-staging/Imaging: The sound-staging is yet another noticeable characteristic of these IEMs. It is both deep and wide. It really reminds me of the IE80 sound-stage just better in every way. Much more detailed IMO yet you still get an expansive and engaging sound. Imaging is also great. These IEMs are a bit harder to drive (I think they are 50 Ohms?) but you still get great detail at low volume listening. No issues there at all.

 

Coherency: I bet many of you are curious regarding coherency. I know there have been many cases where coherency has been an issue with Hybrid IEMs recently released. I can confirm this even on the AKG3003. While it wasn't a complete deal-breaker for me. It also left me feeling disconnected from the music at times. I felt like something was missing and for $1,300.00 I did not like that aspect of the sound. Well regarding the 1Plus2 I don't hear any coherency issues. It all flows together so well. It's effortless. To be honest if I did a blind test I would be more apt to think these are super detailed dynamic drivers. That is how well they paired the TWFK and 10mm dynamic drivers together. The design is ingenious IMO. I don't feel disconnected from the music whatsoever.

 

Conclusion: The Tralucent 1Plus2s are wonderful IEMs IMO and are well worth their price-tag. I was very fortunate to get to demo them and even purchase my demo unit outright. I just couldn't part with them after spending a couple weeks with them. I originally was intending to purchase the AKGs at that point because up til then they were the best IEMs I had tested to date. Once I tried the 1Plus2 that changed everything and even saved me money in the process. I still sold the W3000ANVs and used the funds to purchase the 1Plus2s. I think that is saying a lot as the Audiotechnicas have their own amazing technical abilities as well.

 

The price may still be considered steep to some but as you move up the chain prices do go up. Keeping in mind that I find these better than the AKGs which are significantly more expensive in comparison. These are a steal of a deal when comparing price tags. Customer service is also top-notch. I can see this company really going far with their products. A lot of detail and effort goes into their products and the end result just oozes quality. Hopefully my review was somewhat helpful to you all and I hope to hear some similar reviews in the near-future to confirm what I am hearing.

 

Aloha!