[Junmoe62]

Hello,
Based on various reviews and tests - i BOUGHT AN ORIOLUS TRAILLII recently - it was -1000 USD discount from normal price, still a bit high but well - it's an almost life time decision - i plan to use it for many years to come. I listen 3 times a week for 1-2 hours and calculated that over the next 5 years this IEM will cost me around 10 USD per listening session - that is less expensive than going on Netflix or any other channel or even to buy concert tickets - and MY advantage is that the sound stage is almost as good (without audience of course).
Now I use the Traillii with a Luxury and Precision W1 DAC which is at a very reasonable price (and can be bought from the same company in the US as the Traillii) and which has outstanding sound qualities - these two get driven by a simple Huawei P30 pro smartphone with FLAC files of different recording resolution - from CD quality to 32Bit/96Khz - and i can only tell - this sounds absolutely heavenly !!!!
So yes, things have a price - but think of it - Oriolus put 12 !! drivers per side and they use a much better plastic material than acrylic AND they use a super cable also - Iam not Japanese nor do I get any benefit out from writing nice things about Oriolus products - it is simply the case that not many people outside of Japan use this IEM and so thought to share my experience with it. I am blasted away with this sound quality and can only confirm to buy a Traillii if you look for something with 3D sound.

Last point - my reference point is a A&K T8iE-Mk2 (now called Beyer Dynamics Xelento) which at 1200 USD is also already on the high end side - but this is no match whatsoever to the Traillii - sorry Beyer Dynamics...

I’m actually already convinced by the SQ of these monsters, they surely sound fantastic! The best I’ve tried so far For IEMs. But honestly I just feel the price hard to justify when you can buy a brand new Focal Utopia for $2400 here in China!!

I also have the T8ie II and as good as they are, they definitely don’t even compare to something like Traillii, i4 or Erlkonig. BTW, Xelento doesn’t have the same sound signature if I’m not mistaken, even though they look very similar.

 

[HiFyAK2020]

Man.. $2800 for erlky? Need those prices here in the states!

yes, Traillii is very expensive - but you can get it from the US dealer MusicTeck for 5K (if he still offers the promotion) or maybe from Head-Fi.org or a dealer in Shangai - there are some great HiFi shops in Shanghai !!!
I had exactly the same feeling as you, and was biting my fingernails but in the end I went for the Traillii - simply because it is the best one from what I read - and if I compare it to the Beyer Dynamics Xelentro which is already a good IEM - it is shocking how much more details the Traillii can produce across the entire frequency spectrum AND even more so - provide a true 3D sound stage - I mean you litterally can hear each instrument's position in the "virtual space" in front of you. Like a 3D glasses but for audio !

Since you are in China - a proposal as an Alternative: In my closest Shortlist was also the QDC Anole-VX - that is a Chinese company based in Shenzhen if I am right - and their IEM's also score very high in the rankings. I would have taken that one if the Oriolus is not just an inch better reviewed. You may buy in Reminbi ... and you can buy those from Head-Fi.org in China. I provide this on the basis of my personal views and studies up and down the road - One thing I like about the Top China Brands is that they really try very very hard and they can deliver outstanding products for a seriously lower price as the "classic" brands - think of the DAC from Luxury and Precision - a super product for a very reasonable price.... just my 2 cents.
Have a good time in Shanghai - I have even also some family there and love this place....

 

[aaf evo]

Seeing lots more people get to experience the Traillii gets me excited, lol. It’s a masterpiece.

 

[HiFyAK2020]

I’m actually already convinced by the SQ of these monsters, they surely sound fantastic! The best I’ve tried so far For IEMs. But honestly I just feel the price hard to justify when you can buy a brand new Focal Utopia for $2400 here in China!!

I also have the T8ie II and as good as they are, they definitely don’t even compare to something like Traillii, i4 or Erlkonig. BTW, Xelento doesn’t have the same sound signature if I’m not mistaken, even though they look very similar.

The funny thing about the Traillii is that it is rather small - on photos it looks big - but frankly my ears are rathers small/average and this IEM fits like it was made for them ! I am European and NOT Japanese - wonder how this guys managed to do one fits all ? So not only is Traillii rather small - it is also very very light - due to the exceptional Material they use from Germany - again a big surprise - i almost do not feel them in my ears - and they simply fit perfect - no ichy no tweeking - just "plug and play" as you may say - well you would want to expect something exceptional for such a price tag.

SADLY - other IEM's like the QDC Anole, or the Focal Utopia or the Erlkoenig or a 64... no chance to compare them anywhere - there is NO SHOP WITHIN 5000 Km around me where I could compare the Oriolus with the other brands - so who knows really - we all buy as to our wallet and our best guesses but we all depend a little bit on each others's reviews and honest comments....

 

[Junmoe62]

Great write-up! As a fellow i4 owner, I’ve stopped searching for a pair of IEMs that can match i4’s sound as I feel none of the current offerings are better than i4. I’ve settled on Erlky as the “closed-back” alternative and owning the two is the ideal case for me to have the ultimate portable setup. Perhaps if Kennerton (and 64 Audio) do release a planar IEM this year, it would be a great alternative to i4 but most likely they’re going to be open back as well so not an ideal use case for you.

Thanks pal!
i agree with you! Maybe the answer could be a new version of i4 with some sort of noise cancellation to activate in noisy environment!

 

[toaster]

I‘m currently living in Shanghai. Not the worst place to be for audio gear... probably one of the safest place to live in the world but one of the most dangerous for the wallet!!!

Well, yes I might very well buy one from the groupe 1 or 2 from my post. I might even consider second hand, which I never did before. Sadly I didn’t manage to find any second hand Traillii (my preferred choice)... I saw some Elrky around $2800, Elysium & Titan around $1600... it makes it very hard to justify the $5-6000 of the Traillii ...

erlky traillii combo is

traillii is quite new (and quite good,) so we probably won’t see too many used sets available.

 

[toaster]

The cable... you're not accounting it in the equation

the erlky stock cable is quite meh, and it’s only a ~$250 - $300 cable. I run a 1950 on it and ergonomics and sound are substantially improved.

I think oriolus should also offer the traillii for $4k without a $2.2k cable...that said, the custom 1960 on the bird is absolutely magnificent in both sound and aesthetics.

It’s crazy expensive, but to my ears the traillii clearly breaks new ground in the iem world.

 

[Wyville]

So for those of us who are interested in using their IEMs with desktop gear to help push performance that bit further, I did an interesting little test with the Violectric V380. Violectric claimed an inaudible noise floor and so I took up the challenge with the Campfire Audio Ara to see of those would pick up any hiss. The result: Super clean even without any pre-gain reduction. I ended up setting the pre-gain to -18 dB and that gave quite a lot of room to play with on the volume dial, which I think makes the V380 very practical to use with IEMs. Not something I have come across very often and I am really impressed because the V380 can push 5 W into 50 ohm and 21 Vrms into 600 ohm, so pretty powerful. Feels like a reviewer's dream DAC/amp. (Of course I am trying not to think about the V590...)

 

[Frankie D]

I’m actually already convinced by the SQ of these monsters, they surely sound fantastic! The best I’ve tried so far For IEMs. But honestly I just feel the price hard to justify when you can buy a brand new Focal Utopia for $2400 here in China!!

I also have the T8ie II and as good as they are, they definitely don’t even compare to something like Traillii, i4 or Erlkonig. BTW, Xelento doesn’t have the same sound signature if I’m not mistaken, even though they look very similar.

I think you are answering your own question. As you stated, Erlk and Traillii are your two favorites with the Ely in third but a tier below ( going by your own analysis). I also feel the Erlk and Traillii are at the summit for the moment. I love both. As the Traillii is more comfortable, I might advise you to move in that direction if you have the wallet. If not, if you can get the LE Erlk ( I like it’s looks better ) is a fabulous choice and you can always resell it for roughly the same money or the lowest loss. One option you might also consider, is the Ely as a custom. If you are willing to have an impression made, VE makes great customs. If you do not own a custom IEM, this might be an excellent alternative and you will also get the greatest amount of isolation.

As a side comment, the prices you are quoting are fabulous. Enjoy.

 

[KuroKitsu]

So for those of us who are interested in using their IEMs with desktop gear to help push performance that bit further, I did an interesting little test with the Violectric V380. Violectric claimed an inaudible noise floor and so I took up the challenge with the Campfire Audio Ara to see of those would pick up any hiss. The result: Super clean even without any pre-gain reduction. I ended up setting the pre-gain to -18 dB and that gave quite a lot of room to play with on the volume dial, which I think makes the V380 very practical to use with IEMs. Not something I have come across very often and I am really impressed because the V380 can push 5 W into 50 ohm and 21 Vrms into 600 ohm, so pretty powerful. Feels like a reviewer's dream DAC/amp. (Of course I am trying not to think about the V590...)

Nice tryyyyyyy Erik, piqued my interest and I googled the price tag.

I've now bought the RME twice as a compromise for not getting the TAZ. This is even more, ny brain just liquified.

 

[Wyville]

Nice tryyyyyyy Erik, piqued my interest and I googled the price tag.

I've now bought the RME twice as a compromise for not getting the TAZ. This is even more, ny brain just liquified.

The V380 is an affordable version of the V590...

 

[FangJoker]

Where are you that you're allowed to go into shops to demo such great IEMs...I'm jealous. I'm curious about Erlky and Trailli...but only in the same way I'm curious about a Lambo...I'd love to try one but have no realistic chance of ever owning one. That said I think what you're looking for (essentially a closed back that sounds as nice and open as an open back without all the invasive noise limitations of the latter) doesn't yet exist I don't think. Do you think you'll end up purchasing any of the IEMs you tried?

If you ever come to Las Vegas, there's several places that you can rent different cars to drive on their private racetrack. I've done it a few times to help me with car buying decisions. Here's the link to the places that rent exotic cars to drive on their racetrack. I'm partial to Porsche cars, but I'm sure you'd enjoy the lambo more as its much more of an attention grabbing car and Porsche interiors are boring imho, but the Porsche cars are overall the best handling cars.

https://www.dreamracing.com/the-experiences/
https://exoticsracing.com/las-vegas-supercar-driving-experience
https://speedvegas.com/supercar-packages/
https://vegassupercars.com/
https://www.royaltyexoticcars.com/ You rent the cars for several hours and go wherever you want to around the city
https://dreamexoticrentalcars.com/ same deal as above

 

[riverground]

Just sharing on here as well!

@DUNU-Topsound created such a photogenic IEM!
It was so much fun doing the shoot!

And since the shoot is done, I've been listening to the ZEN for quite a bit now. So far, I can confidently say that it's performing above its weight class. The review is gonna be a fun one to do for sure.

On a side note... Anyone willing to send me their IEMs for a photo session?

 

[HiFyAK2020]

the erlky stock cable is quite meh, and it’s only a ~$250 - $300 cable. I run a 1950 on it and ergonomics and sound are substantially improved.

I think oriolus should also offer the traillii for $4k without a $2.2k cable...that said, the custom 1960 on the bird is absolutely magnificent in both sound and aesthetics.

It’s crazy expensive, but to my ears the traillii clearly breaks new ground in the iem world.

Can concur entirely - i love the cables - they are not as flimsy as many others i tried- very solid and comfortable as light. It is - grumps - worth the money - grumps... swallow hard... and close the eyes when making the order !

 

[riverground]

Can concur entirely - i love the cables - they are not as flimsy as many others i tried- very solid and comfortable as light. It is - grumps - worth the money - grumps... swallow hard... and close the eyes when making the order !

You actually went for the custom design option? That's not the stock faceplate I see.