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My new King of IEMs (Tony's Triple.fi review) - Page 9

post #121 of 171
12/20/07 at 4:46pm
This is moving from funny to downright scary
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 Pro Earphones Gun Metal Blue with Roadie Case
$489.99 at
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post #122 of 171
12/20/07 at 5:05pm
Thread Starter 



I wanted to know how you compare your Triple fi to your beloved Livewires (and which tips you have used with the Triples).
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post #123 of 171
12/20/07 at 5:52pm
Thread Starter 
Amping "Recabled Etys" and "Triple fi" with iBasso T2


I've been amping Jan's recabled Etymotic with my iBasso T2 for two days. The T2 is very warm, and matches well with the Etys. I'm using it with the bass boost, which is very clean and not bloated like that of my JVC player. I'm amping my JVC's headphone out (at full volume). The T2 contributes with its warm sound signature and the bass boost, plus it improves soundstage. I'd say the improvement is around 15-20%.
Too bad the Etys are still too sharp in highs and upper midrange (guitars, trumpets and so on), and even if the T2 tames this, it doesn't cancel completely the sharpness/sibilance. It must be said that I'm using Etymotic black foam tips now, which give to the sound more sibilance than Shure olive tips.

I have also tried to equalize the JVC's headphone out (some people could find it a blasphemy, but the JVC's eq doesn't distort, so it's fine), then go into the T2. I tried to boost 45Hz and 200Hz, and subdue 3kHz an 14kHz. The bass gains more slam and becomes more fun, Ety's sharpness becomes a bit lower, but it is still very noticeable.

The Triple fi, instead, don't gain much from the T2. They become slightly warmer, but they don't need it. The best way to make the Triple fi sound warmer is to use the Shure black foamies with them, instead of amping them.
For knowledge's sake I've tried the Triple fi with T2's bass boost active, but they sound too dark... it's had to be expected, as they already have big bass.

Overall I'd recommend the T2 as a very warm, minuscule portable amp for the ER4P, ER4S and Apuresound ER4S. It makes them sound warmer than what I could do with my previous Xin Supermini III.
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post #124 of 171
12/20/07 at 6:35pm
Have you tried to use the TFP airline attenuator with the Ety ? It softens the sharp top a little.
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post #125 of 171
12/20/07 at 9:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by antonyfirst View Post
but the JVC's eq doesn't distort, so it's fine), then go into the T2. I tried to boost 45Hz and 200Hz, and subdue 3kHz an 14kHz.
All EQ distorts if you are boosting the frequencies. Whether or not the distortion is audible to your ears is one thing, but it is adding distortion to the sound. No EQ circuits are noiseless.
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post #126 of 171
12/20/07 at 10:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by IPodPJ View Post
All EQ distorts if you are boosting the frequencies. Whether or not the distortion is audible to your ears is one thing, but it is adding distortion to the sound. No EQ circuits are noiseless.
Well. yes. Also a non-flat frequency response distorts, then.
Anyway, some equalizers seem to work better than others. I'd rather having a better sound signature and acknowledge there could be distortion than having to deal with a tonal balance I don't like. I'm a fan of eqalizers.
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post #127 of 171
12/20/07 at 10:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by IPodPJ View Post
All EQ distorts if you are boosting the frequencies. Whether or not the distortion is audible to your ears is one thing, but it is adding distortion to the sound. No EQ circuits are noiseless.
Digital EQ operates differently and is noiseless from that perspective. Different story is how well it is implemented, since digital data is not the Fourier transform of the signal.
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post #128 of 171
1/2/08 at 4:00pm
Any new impressions on the Triple.fi, nc8000? Do you prefer it to the Etys or you're keeping the two?
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post #129 of 171
1/2/08 at 4:12pm
Mine are up for sale...
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post #130 of 171
1/2/08 at 5:31pm
I think I'm keeping both but as Tony has still got my recabled version I have not been able to compare it to the TFP. I seem to have overcome the fit problems using the biflanges and cabling them in normal mode (not flip-flop). Pairing the TFP with the SuperMicro produces a fair bit of hiss but with my SuperMini (that has just returned from Xin) there is no hiss at all and I think I prefer the sound from the SuperMini to the SuperMicro. Also the fit of the SuperMini glued to the back of the 3rd gen Nano is much better, they were made for each other.
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post #131 of 171
1/2/08 at 7:02pm
is there a possibility to do a FS mod to trile-fis ? Could sb please shooy a phoyo in ear ?? Thanks!
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post #132 of 171
1/2/08 at 10:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nc8000 View Post
I think I'm keeping both but as Tony has still got my recabled version I have not been able to compare it to the TFP. I seem to have overcome the fit problems using the biflanges and cabling them in normal mode (not flip-flop). Pairing the TFP with the SuperMicro produces a fair bit of hiss but with my SuperMini (that has just returned from Xin) there is no hiss at all and I think I prefer the sound from the SuperMini to the SuperMicro. Also the fit of the SuperMini glued to the back of the 3rd gen Nano is much better, they were made for each other.
Thanks for the reply! I really want to try them, but I'm still afraid that comfort will put me off and recabled ER4S is almost perfect, the exception being bad produced music like most of rock and metal.

It's funny, I sold my 60GB iMod last week and I'm waiting for my 8GB iPod 3G and SuperMini IV (bought from another head-fier) to arrive this week, so I'll have pretty much the same setup as you. I looked at the specs and they're almost the same size, so I may have found my ultimate portable setup. iMod + SuperMacro was nice, but it's so damn big and ugly that's it was not really portable. I still have my Macro though so I'll be able to compare between Macro and Mini.
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post #133 of 171
1/3/08 at 12:01am
Anyone got any comparisons of the TF10 vs LiveWires?
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post #134 of 171
1/3/08 at 4:04am
I've been listening to my Triple.fi for a while now and I find them very detailed and articulate. You can hear everything and I mean everything in any song or piece you play through them.

However, I still miss my ER-4P/S. I know the Etys are known for being super-detailed and analytical, but I find that the Triple.Fi is more analytical IMHO. I think the Etys actually do a better job of presenting the emotion in the music than the Triple.fi. In fact I feel that the Triple.fi is the more analytical IEM.

It is an amazing sounding IEM with loads of bass (in fact I think an almost borderline excessive amount of bass), and detail across all frequency ranges. Every instrument is clearly audible and to me these phones sound like studio monitors (not really surprising considering that the company caters primarily to the professional market). However, the Etys as detailed as they are, don't have the top to bottom resolving power of the Triple.fi, but they sound more musical to me. In a way the Triple.fi is very enjoyable on-the-go due to their strong bass, but the mids actually are a little recessed and while detail in the midrange is not lacking at all, the "impact" of the midrange isn't quite there. It just doesn't communicate the music to me as well as the Etys. I will do a real comparison after my Etys get fixed. My comments about the Etys are based on memory.


Another thing about the Triple.fi: are they serious about how fat the end of those have to be? I mean even with the smallest tip it seems like it was designed to be put into a nostril and not an ear. Does everyone but me have huge ear canals? Even with foamies they are absolutely brutal on my ears.
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post #135 of 171
1/3/08 at 8:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gp_hebert View Post
Thanks for the reply! I really want to try them, but I'm still afraid that comfort will put me off and recabled ER4S is almost perfect, the exception being bad produced music like most of rock and metal.

It's funny, I sold my 60GB iMod last week and I'm waiting for my 8GB iPod 3G and SuperMini IV (bought from another head-fier) to arrive this week, so I'll have pretty much the same setup as you. I looked at the specs and they're almost the same size, so I may have found my ultimate portable setup. iMod + SuperMacro was nice, but it's so damn big and ugly that's it was not really portable. I still have my Macro though so I'll be able to compare between Macro and Mini.
That is almost exactly what I did. I had a 4th gen iMod plus a Xin Reference and it was wonderfull but just too big so I sold it. The SuperMini plus 3rd gen Nano are so perfect for each other stuck together with thin double sided carpet tape.





I run the cable twice round the amp and loop it through the micro dock for a very compact system with a cable length just the right length for my inside jacket pocket. Only gripe with the SuperMini is that the volume wheel is so easy to turn that it often gets turned by accident just sitting in the pocket.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sxr71 View Post
I've been listening to my Triple.fi for a while now and I find them very detailed and articulate. You can hear everything and I mean everything in any song or piece you play through them.

However, I still miss my ER-4P/S. I know the Etys are known for being super-detailed and analytical, but I find that the Triple.Fi is more analytical IMHO. I think the Etys actually do a better job of presenting the emotion in the music than the Triple.fi. In fact I feel that the Triple.fi is the more analytical IEM.

It is an amazing sounding IEM with loads of bass (in fact I think an almost borderline excessive amount of bass), and detail across all frequency ranges. Every instrument is clearly audible and to me these phones sound like studio monitors (not really surprising considering that the company caters primarily to the professional market). However, the Etys as detailed as they are, don't have the top to bottom resolving power of the Triple.fi, but they sound more musical to me. In a way the Triple.fi is very enjoyable on-the-go due to their strong bass, but the mids actually are a little recessed and while detail in the midrange is not lacking at all, the "impact" of the midrange isn't quite there. It just doesn't communicate the music to me as well as the Etys. I will do a real comparison after my Etys get fixed. My comments about the Etys are based on memory.


Another thing about the Triple.fi: are they serious about how fat the end of those have to be? I mean even with the smallest tip it seems like it was designed to be put into a nostril and not an ear. Does everyone but me have huge ear canals? Even with foamies they are absolutely brutal on my ears.
Yes, I'm hard pushed to say which phone I prefer and think it depends on my mood and the specific track I'm playing. Both are really great phones. The APS Ety wins hands down for comfort and portability but the TFP gets me as close as I've been with anything portable to my L3000's sound so it's a very hard choice.
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 Pro Earphones Gun Metal Blue with Roadie Case
$489.99 at
See it »
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