[RTodd]

Anyway didn't want to spam C9 thread but the thought is striking and discussable Imho
a) get a C9 and bring your IEMs closer to Traillii level
b) get a L&P W2 and connect a Traillii and get the same experience if not better thus saving lots of bucks previously spent on DAPs and amps...

I am just painting the scenario black-white here for the sake of discussion without ever having listened to either C9 or Traillii...

That is logical, though it is definitely not black and white because of preferences.

 

[FooFighter]

That is logical, though it is definitely not black and white because of preferences.

Didn't want to put the flashlight on you but I think you belong to the limited audience who can actually comment my statement as you re owning the mentioned devices...

 

[RTodd]

Going directly to Traillii is both a huge financial investment and also would destroy all other IEMs for you.

Kind of wish this had been true for me.
I am listening daily to three IEMs so Traillii did not kill everything else in my case. I found it needed partners.

 

[ian91]

That is logical, though it is definitely not black and white because of preferences.

Indeed. Also, I think the C9 is a good value proposition to have on your audio journey. And scenario 2) assumes you stop at the Traillii and never have an interest in further purchases in future.

 

[RTodd]

Didn't want to put the flashlight on you but I think you belong to the limited audience who can actually comment my statement as you re owning the mentioned devices...

I have S1s I gave to two of my kids, but not W2, the rest yes.

 

[Andykong]

I removed the screws from the C9 and put then into a protective case for storage in my C9 bag along with the screw driver. The C9 case holds the battery tray in place very nicely as it sits in the back. This will make changing the batteries a lot easier. I am going to try this for a while to see what happens. Anyone see any big negatives to operating the C9 in this way?

I have been doing that since I receive my C9 case. Just make sure you switch off the C9 before you pull it out from the case, once you developed this habit, it is quite safe to use C9 without the two screws that lock the battery module.

 

[aaf evo]

Anyway didn't want to spam C9 thread but the thought is striking and discussable Imho
a) get a C9 and bring your IEMs closer to Traillii level
b) get a L&P W2 and connect a Traillii and get the same experience if not better thus saving lots of bucks previously spent on DAPs and amps...

I am just painting the scenario black-white here for the sake of discussion without ever having listened to either C9 or Traillii...

@tawmizzzz can help here

 

[RTodd]

Indeed. Also, I think the C9 is a good value proposition to have on your audio journey. And scenario 2) assumes you stop at the Traillii and never have an interest in further purchases in future.

You could just have the Traillii and be very happy. Just have to select 1 pairing and your all set. And if I had a $7,000 budget and had to live within that, it would be very close to as good as it gets. I would pair with PAW6K, and call it done, I am sure Andrew could meet that 7K or a little less for you.

I would than miss out on M8 and Elysium
P6P and Traillii
PAW6K and C9 with Thummim

This is the three every day pairings for me.
They are significantly different sounding.
And all amazing in their own way.

These pairings are all very personal choices, so by no means should anyone think to simply copy any of them, it took me trying lots of things before arriving at this. And to be honest I am still new to this and have not tried as much as many of you have, even amongst what I have I have not tried everything with everything else.
So take it at face value please.

 

[425455]

Kind of wish this had been true for me.

It kind of was true for me - I was lurking here umming and ahhing about the Trailli for a while a month or so back.

But seeing as I've never had a headphone amp/headphone before thought I'd spend my Trailli money on a TOTL amp/hp instead.

Skipped a bunch of headphones and amps I think and I'm very pleased with the result.

But I am an impatient sort.

 

[RTodd]

It kind of was true for me - I was lurking here umming and ahhing about the Trailli for a while a month or so back.

But seeing as I've never had a headphone amp/headphone before thought I'd spend my Trailli money on a TOTL amp/hp instead.

Skipped a bunch of headphones and amps I think and I'm very pleased with the result.

But I am an impatient sort.

Confused a little bit, I read this a couple times.
You are using headphone not IEM correct?
Cannot tell from your signature?
Are you saying you used the money you could have spent on a Traillii and purchased a high end desk top amp instead?

What are you impatiently waiting for?

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Just some initial impressions from a few hours with my new purchase of the C9, paired with the Shanling M8:

Line in vs Pre (Tube/Class A)

Pre – warmer, less detail esp in harmonics and tonal nuance, mild hiss

Line – cooler, larger & deeper stage, more detail, blacker background

My preference with M8: Line out mode, Low gain (M8), Low gain (C9) - line in to C9 is a clear winner.

Timbre/Amp

Class A/B – impact, Class A – less aggressive

Tube – more transparent & forward mids, slower attack – greater decay

SS – balanced presentation

Tonal accuracy hard to choose, Tubes have slight advantage

My preference with M8: Tube / Class A for the majority of my music

Shanling M8 (high gain) + MEST MK2 vs Shanling M8 LO mode (low gain) – Cayin C9 (Tube/A/low gain) + MEST MK2

With C9

• Bass tighter, reaches deeper
• Mids brought forward (towards my preferred signature!)
• Deeper & more spherical staging
• Greater transparency
• Possibly blacker background (may be due to the deeper staging and tighter dynamics giving the impression of greater contrast?)

Without C9

• Looser macrodynamics / ‘smoother’ presentation
• Mids lacking body (for my preference)
• Shallower & less spherical stage / greater intimacy
• Less detail (but not necessarily in a bad way at times; can make for easier listening)
• Less transparent

Overall, several steps up for both the 3DT + MESTMK2. My concern prior to purchase was producing a warm-on-warm signature that would detract from things (due to a lack of true LO on the M8). While we all have our preferences and point at which things may become ‘too warm’, I certainly haven’t reached that point – thankfully! In fact, there was an almost immediate appreciation that things sounded less congested, more transparent and more detailed with the C9 which, I feel, has offset any cumulative effect of double amp’ing in this scenario that could risk warming things too far.

What’s clear in the few hours of listening is that the line in (and line in mode on the M8) is superior in presenting the technical ability of the IEM when compared to the preamp function. For those pairing M8’s, ensure that when you switch to line out mode that you then alter the gain to low gain as it defaults to ‘turbo’.

Another point is that my MEST MK2 has seemed to benefit more from this upgrade than the cheaper 3DT, likely because the C9 helps it work to its strengths, seeing an improvement in technicalities which were clearly hamstrung to a degree with M8 alone.

Obviously take my initial impressions with a pinch of salt, but its all good so far! Thanks for all the help and advice along the way guys.

Nice review. I have a UM 3DT and I observed the same thing. The UM 3DT did not improve much with the C9. It's already optimized for what it can do with lower tier sources.

 

[FooFighter]

Staying with my initial post what I find amazing is that C9 can actually scale IEMs up in order to come to a Traillii level with their own signatures and in these areas even surpass it such as Thummim + C9 (just speculating as I haven't listened myself).
For some it works better than others (see: 3dt)
So actually I want to get a feeling of where money is invested in a future proof way and at the same time come to a maximum possible listening experience.
I guess that's something many of us are after right?

Edit: what I am starting to understand is that Traillii is maybe the best Allrounder there is but not surpassing the best IEMs in their specific categories.
That possibility to taste different flavours scaled to their maximum capabilities is I guess a strong argument for C9

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Kind of wish this had been true for me.
I am listening daily to three IEMs so Traillii did not kill everything else in my case. I found it needed partners.

I am the same way. I like different experiences. No matter how good the Traillii is, I will want to enjoy something else with it. It's like having a favorite restaurant. I don't want to go there every day as variety is important. But, when I am there, It's a total treat. This is probably the main reason I didn't get the Traillii yet. If I got it now, I would have to forgo other options for a longer while. I am not ready to do that yet. Ironically, I have crossed the threshold of wanting one now. I think I will own one sooner or later, just not right now.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Staying with my initial post what I find amazing is that C9 can actually scale IEMs up in order to come to a Traillii level with their own signatures and in these areas even surpass it such as Thummim + C9 (just speculating as I haven't listened myself).
For some it works better than others (see: 3dt)
So actually I want to get a feeling of where money is invested in a future proof way and at the same time come to a maximum possible listening experience.
I guess that's something many of us are after right?

Quality is not linear. In other words, in audio, products don't get a number representing its quality and if one product has a higher number, that means it's better than another product with a lower number. IEMs and Headphones have many dimensions. Usability, fit, comfort, beauty are all important dimensions as well. Even within sound, there are many dimensions such as sound stage, resolution, detail retrieval, macro and micro dynamics, timbre, etc and no headphone or IEM can be better than all other choices in every dimension. So, I don't think of levels the way you are thinking about it.

What I can say is that the C9 improves every product I've paired with it. Some more than others. The biggest thing it has done is made my IEMs sound more like my full sized headphones to the point that I don't miss them anymore. In fact, I feel that I am losing isolation when I put on the full sized cans. I think with the C9, I could almost live without full sized headphones. I may not travel with them anymore and use them only at home.

 

[RTodd]

Staying with my initial post what I find amazing is that C9 can actually scale IEMs up in order to come to a Traillii level with their own signatures and in these areas even surpass it such as Thummim + C9 (just speculating as I haven't listened myself).
For some it works better than others (see: 3dt)
So actually I want to get a feeling of where money is invested in a future proof way and at the same time come to a maximum possible listening experience.
I guess that's something many of us are after right?

Okay clarify my earlier comments Thummim with C9 is no match for Traillii with P6PRO that is what my ears tell me. My heart on the other hand is much more engaged with the former. Hope that makes sense.