Ok, I guess I am part of the group of people who got bitten by the “trifecta bug”. I just went to my dealer in NY - Audio 46 - and listened to it. I got curious after noticing how polarizing the opinions about this IEM are and I am actually searching for that freshness and that wow moment that we are all pursuing in this hobby.
Just so you understand where I am coming from, I am currently using the fantastic (for me end game in fact) Cayin N30LE with the Jewel and the Orpheus cable. To my ears this setup is an audiophile's dream of resolution , finesse, controlled power and clarity. To the point where all TOTL IEMs that I’ve been trying lately doesn’t impress me anymore because they sound VERY similar (with emphasis on different things but with a familiar and commercially safe tuning).
My desktop rig consists of the Abyss and a Nagra Classic Pre-amp. I doesn’t get much “better” than that right?
After inserting the Trifectas in my ears while standing in the counter of Audio46, it took a few minutes for my brain to adjust to the quantity of information bombarding my head. After 10 minutes, I decided to play NIN’s March of the Pigs from the Downward Spiral Album and boom, this electrical energy just invaded my brain and almost melted my eyes (lol, I’m really excited with this thing). I was immediately sold into this incredible IEM.
What actually convinced me to get it was an emotion quite different from what I usually experience with the standard hi-fi gear: All of a sudden I stopped to analyze the technicalities of the system and I was transported to the couch in the living room where I grew up, listening to my dad’s grownup stereo system, loud volume, just listening to the song, connecting with it emotionally, without separating frequencies or instruments or trying to close my eyes searching for the musicians in the room. And as a musician and an audiophile I MISS connecting to songs that I like as opposed to listening to beautifully recorded albums because they will show up what the gear can do. And that for me is pure magic! I was desperately searching for that connection. I won’t bother with measurements, curves, analysis, nothing. I trust what I am listening and it is just extremely engaging and exciting.
I don’t know how many of you had the opportunity to try this IEM paired with the N30LE (and the mandarin earplugs) but seriously, it is a unique musical experience. It is almost like the DAP works as a catalyst for this wild IEM, guiding it to a more emotional path, increasing its clarity and bringing the lower frequencies to a level of power and control that I don’t see everyday in a portable system. It is remarkable!
Will I be replacing my Aroma Jewel? No, but I was able to actually find something to add to my collection that brings a new form of interacting with my music collection and for that I am extremely satisfied. Thank you Campfire Audio for daring and trying to offer something different and unique!