Intro
Oriolus needs no introduction, the “culprit” of IEMs price spike. Despite the insane price of Traillii, Oriolus as a brand also has a lot of “affordable” or “value” offerings that worth check out. I recently tried their Isabellae and Szalayi, I also own a pair of Oriolus MK2 years ago. Monachaa should fit in the line with Szalayi and may be a replacement of Percivali according to the driver configuration.
Technology
Monachaa utilized four dynamic drivers including 1 10mm Carnon Nano diaphragm driver, 1 10mm inert material diaphragm driver, 1 5mm titanium driver, 1 square diaphragm driver. It has an impedance of 24ohm and sensitivity of 111db SPL/1mW. The frequency response range is from 20Hz all the way to 28kHz.
Fits and Comfort
I was quite surprised by the size of Monachaa and how it is possible for Oriolus to fit in four different dynamic drivers in such a small chamber. The nozzle is on the shorter side, it helps relief a lot of pressures from my ears. They fit in securely and effortlessly in my ears and do not touch my auricles at all. There are minor driver flexes, it is annoying but acceptable. It is something I’ve been used to, many thanks to EE and UM.
Sound Impressions
Summary
Before I put Monachaa in my ears, my biggest concern was the multi dynamic drivers’ harmonic distortion. It is almost unavoidable and ineliminable for this type of configuration. Usually, a multi-DD IEMs would have the distorted upper-mid and treble results an unnecessarily bright lousy sound or a boomy, fake bass. Freakingly, Klipsch S4 had both ends distorted back in the day, which was my first multi-DD IEMs and hindered me to try another one for so many years.
Luckily Monachaa didn’t have that many distortions, the treble only gives me a touch sense of compress when paired with a less powerful source. The laidback R2R DACs would also help with reducing the brightness at treble. Across different DAPs I have on hand, P6Pro is yet again my favorite pairing with Monachaa. Thus, P6Pro will be my default testing DAP for this review, I will have a DAP rolling section in the later part of this review.
Monachaa is also very sensitive to cables, or I should say the stock cable really restricted the potential of Monachaa. Don’t get me wrong, the stock cable is not nearly as bad as Aroma Jewel’s “so called” cable. The synergy between the stock cable and Monachaa is probably my least favorite among my cable rolling experience. I will share a few of my findings in the cable rolling section, and I hope you can find the right cable for Monachaa. A good cable can really help this beauty shine.
Soundstage and Image
Monachaa shows a very wide and tall picture in front of my face. It could be the hugest soundstage I have ever heard, at least in recent months. The soundstage is also the most noticeable improvement over Szalayi. It is insanely wide with a lot of roomy space between instruments and sections. The vertical layering is excellent as well, for strings, especially cymbals, you can “see” them placed near the top of the stage. For most recordings, the front to back soundstage of Monachaa is adequate my enjoyment. For some live recordings, I hope Monachaa can have a little extra space front to back that makes the music livelier and more realistic.
Bass
The bass of Monachaa reaches very deep and have a lot of sub-bass rumble. With P6Pro, the bass decay becomes natural and impactful. For lower output AK players, the bass does not expend very much, giving a more controlled bass hit. In the mid-bass Monachaa focuses more on details and definition rather than punchy hits. I thought the quad-DD would give Monachaa a more playful bass performance, however, after a few weeks audition, it is surprisingly neutral and well controlled. The detailed and controlled mid-bass keeps Monachaa in a neutral tone and emphasizes the excellent technical performance and resolving sound.
Mid
Monachaa is one of the few IEMs that has a neutral, clean, uplifting, semi-bright mid to upper-mid frequency that doesn’t fatiguing. The highly resolving and neutral mid-bass/lower-mid transit smoothly to the core mid-range. The mid-range is pronounced, forward and revealing. The sibilance control is excellent for an uplifting sound mid-range. With the stock cable there is a slight metallic tune at around 2kHz, with upgraded cable like FTS and OTL, those metallic notes can be effectively tuned down.
Treble
The treble of Monachaa is very well extended, crisp and intriguing. The ultra-high is reasonably elevated to create more sense of air. Combined the wide soundstage and the well extended treble together deliver a wide open, vivid and fresh sound. The extra air helps cymbals sound livelier and more “wet”. For audiophiles who prefer a darker treble, switching to foam tips can be very helpful.
Tip Selection
Comply Foam: Comply tips can help warmer the sound of Monachaa. It increases the thickness of lower-mid and increases a little bit of the sub-bass. The treble was tuned down a bit and the sibilance is even more controlled. Generally speaking, Comply foam tips offer a more balanced sound vs silicone tips are offering a more engaging sound.
Symbio W Hybrid: Compared to the comply tips, Symbio W Hybrid offers a more open sound. The sibilance is more pronounced and the upper-mid has more metallic tune. The mid-bass hits harder and tighter, the bass frequency in general has better definition and more articulate.
P
entaconn COREIR Brass Silicone: These tips have some magic to the soundstage in both width and depth, the soundstage is noticeably wider and deeper than both foam-based tips. At the same time the mid-range is more forward, the mid-bass also hits harder. I highly recommend these tips if you are not very sensitive to the relatively bright treble.
Cable Rolling
The stock cable is not bad, but mediocre to the best. I have tested 4 different cables from different price ranges: from under $500 up to $3000+.
Liquid Links Evua II: Evua II is my favorite cable under $500, and it is also tied with Cleo II Octa as my favorite pure silver cable. Evua II and Cleo Octa share some similarities as high-quality silver cables. They are silver cables that have bass. They both reveal tons of details that I haven’t heard before without making treble sounds fatiguing. Evua II gives more impact to Monachaa’s sub-bass and add bones to the mid-bass. The bass of Monachaa is now have a stronger figure and more physicality. At upper-end Evua II gives more pop-up sparkles, the stock cable is more laid-back in comparison.
Vortex Lavinia: Lavinia is also a high value cable; it pushes the sub-bass even deeper. The soundstage becomes more holographic compared to the stock cable. The front to back dimension is almost 1.5x larger than the stock cable. The upper-mid to lower-treble stays about the same as the stock cable with just a little extra lower treble presence with Lavinia. However, at 10k+ frequency, Vortex fills in more air and details.
UMxPWAudio Deep of Universe (Mentor Stock Cable): DOU is a very “mid-centric” thick sounding cable. I thought it could be a decent pairing with Monachaa based on the sound signature of Monachaa. The result is mostly positive but not as good as I expected. The edginess in the upper-mid and treble was completely smoothed out. The upper region sounds very natural and laid-back. However, the soundstage seems to have become narrower. The bass and lower-mid has a thicker body with DOU, but the texture and details are sacrificed a little bit.
PWAudio FirstTimes Shielding: I almost shouted the F word out of my mouth when I heard this combo. I know it is kind of stupid to pair a cable that costs almost two pairs of Monachaa, but they sound so good together. FTS seems to have a superpower that can smooth all the edginess in the upper-mid and treble, then thicken the bottom end effectively. This combo maintains the wild soundstage of Monachaa while building up a thicker image throughout the entire frequency. That is all I need for Monachaa and that’s all FTS is good at.
DAP Pairing
L&P P6Pro: P6Pro is the least powerful DAP I have tested. I think it is the threshold for what Monachaa might need. The P6Pro offers a very organic sound, with a lot of sub-bass rumble and smooth top-end frequencies. The soundstage is super wide and tall, but the depth is average.
N30LE: N30LE offers a little extra soundstage depth and width. The bass hit even deeper than P6Pro. The sound is more dynamic and authoritative than the P6Pro. At the top end, N30LE traded the smoothness with extra air and sparkles.
Lotoo Mjolnir: Mjolnir has the best layering across all three DAPs I have tested. The image and separation are extremely accurate. The overall sound goes to a more analytical side vs the analog sounds from N30LE and P6Pro.
Comparison
Monachaa vs Szalayi
Monahcaa and Szalayi have similar tonal balance when use Comply tips on Monachaa. The biggest difference is at soundstage, resolution and treble texture. Monachaa is a clear upgrade in those regards. It offers more way larger soundstage in all three dimensions. The resolution is also a step up over Szalayi. Treble texture on Monachaa is more realistic while on Szalayi is softer.
Monachaa vs Canpur 54E
This is a hard debate between which one would be my favorite IEMs for $2000 price range. Both of them have great sub-bass for the price. 54E has more quantity, though it is a BA bass. Monachaa has more natural bass decay and timbre. The mid-bass is stronger on 54E, the Monachaa has a more modest but physical mid-bass. The upper frequency is smoother and creamier on 54E, Monachaa is crispier and has more air. The 54E has a more balanced tonal balance, however, the soundstage and imaging cannot catch up with Monachaa.
Conclusion
Monachaa is not a bass monster as I expected for a quad-DD configuration. It is a very neutral, highly resolving and detailed flagship level IEMs. The soundstage is second to none, and I was truly amazed by how large the soundstage is. It reminds me of the Sennheiser HD800 to some extent. As a multi-DD IEMs it does not have the annoying distortion as some others. With proper source and cable pairing, Monachaa is truly a high-end IEMs with natural DD timbre and insane technical performance.