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flinkenick's 17 Flagship IEM Shootout Thread (and general high-end portable audio discussion)
Nov 5, 2021 at 4:51 AM Post #36,497 of 39,414
After the initial shock and awe of the bass, I am slowly coming back to earth and doing some more critical listening with the EVO. I do think the upper mids are forward. Not as much as the Odin, but it's elevated. It can make certain types of music sound harsh. I have started to apply some EQ to address it. Still the best bass I've heard in an IEM, but overall maybe not as perfect for my preferences as I thought at first, without EQ. But still a keeper most likely, due to the unparalleled bass quality.
 
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Nov 5, 2021 at 8:15 AM Post #36,498 of 39,414
Can't wait until Phönix units start shipping. I'm extremely curious to hear what would happen in a Bird-off. I suspect the main differentiation between Traillii and Phönix will be in the bass tuning and the intimacy of the mids based on what I've heard so far. Looking forward to future impressions. It's been an exciting second half of the year for releases.
 
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Nov 5, 2021 at 8:51 AM Post #36,501 of 39,414
Deezel177 said:
We already know the winner in packaging, aesthetics and build. That’s for sure. :p
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😂

I'm so glad I owned the Elysium before the bird so that I at least got to experience a nice unboxing. Thankfully knowing what I was getting into made it not sting much to see the little cardboard box.
 
Nov 5, 2021 at 8:55 AM Post #36,502 of 39,414
Deezel177 said:
We already know the winner in packaging, aesthetics and build. That’s for sure. :p
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To be fair some $300 IEMs would beat the (original) Bird in those criteria, so it's not much of a challenge. The real tests will be fit/comfort and sound. Game on!
 
Nov 5, 2021 at 12:48 PM Post #36,503 of 39,414
DunkFealer said:
Can't wait until Phönix units start shipping. I'm extremely curious to hear what would happen in a Bird-off. I suspect the main differentiation between Traillii and Phönix will be in the bass tuning and the intimacy of the mids based on what I've heard so far. Looking forward to future impressions. It's been an exciting second half of the year for releases.
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I'll make some generalizations, since I have not yet heard phonix, but my thoughts are based off my experience listening extensively to bird/erlky-2 (and phonix is indeed based on erlky-2.)

Listen for major differences in the overall thickness and closeness of the sound.

Traillii is relatively laid-back in its presentation; you are placed slightly farther back from the music. erlky-2/phonix is a much more in-your-face sound with an extremely thick and lush presentation. vocals on erlky-2/phonix (and ve iems in general) are filled with body and emotion, which to me is one of the most distinguishing characteristics of ve's house sound. Indeed, vocals on the bird are also very emotive, but presence comes more from micro-detail and texture vs the heft and weightiness that ve breathes into vocals and midrange.

Treble is a bit more subdued and "rounder" on erlky-2/phonix vs. traillii, but erlky-2 extends nicely to my ears. I am guessing treble will still likely be calmer on phonix vs. the estats on the bird, even though of course ve did focus on enhancing treble on the phonix. I am definitely curious to hear what ve did here.

Lastly, erlky-2 is far more mid-bass focused vs. sub-bass focused. I sometimes wish erlky-2 had more sub-bass (and am surprised that ve focused on enhancing the treble rather than the bass for the phonix.) that said, erlky-2 makes the best use of mid-bass I've ever heard and creates an extremely engaging, punchy, and fun sound. traillii has a solidly present midrange, but sub-bass is also extremely well done with great texture.

Again, this is all somewhat speculative since I haven't yet heard the phonix. I don't normally give impressions for what I haven't heard, however, considering phonix is based on erlky-2 with relatively minimal changes, I feel confident these impressions will still be at least somewhat relevant.

Looking forward to getting an ear on both the phonix and ext soon...
 
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Nov 5, 2021 at 1:25 PM Post #36,504 of 39,414
toaster said:
I'll make some generalizations, since I have not yet heard phonix, but my thoughts are based off my experience listening extensively to bird/erlky-2 (and phonix is indeed based on erlky-2.)

Listen for major differences in the overall thickness and closeness of the sound.

Traillii is relatively laid-back in its presentation; you are placed slightly farther back from the music. erlky-2/phonix is a much more in-your-face sound with an extremely thick and lush presentation. vocals on erlky-2/phonix (and ve iems in general) are filled with body and emotion, which to me is one of the most distinguishing characteristics of ve's house sound. Indeed, vocals on the bird are also very emotive, but presence comes more from micro-detail and texture vs the heft and weightiness that ve breathes into vocals and midrange.

Treble is a bit more subdued and "rounder" on erlky-2/phonix vs. traillii, but erlky-2 extends nicely to my ears. I am guessing treble will still likely be calmer on phonix vs. the estats on the bird, even though of course ve did focus on enhancing treble on the phonix. I am definitely curious to hear what ve did here.

Lastly, erlky-2 is far more mid-bass focused vs. sub-bass focused. I sometimes wish erlky-2 had more sub-bass (and am surprised that ve focused on enhancing the bass rather than the treble for the phonix.) that said, erlky-2 makes the best use of mid-bass I've ever heard and creates an extremely engaging, punchy, and fun sound. traillii has a solidly present midrange, but sub-bass is also extremely well done with great texture.

Again, this is all somewhat speculative since I haven't yet heard the phonix. I don't normally give impressions for what I haven't heard, however, considering phonix is based on erlky-2 with relatively minimal changes, I feel confident these impressions will still be at least somewhat relevant.

Looking forward to getting an ear on both the phonix and ext soon...
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It's very interesting you say that, because the PHoNIX falls fairly suarely into the laid-back-with-instruments-further-back category for me. Based on your descriptions of the Erlkonig and the Bird, it looks like the PHoNIX falls somewhere in the middle. While the PHoNIX certainly isn't as visceral in the sub-bass as the EXT, I'm curious to see what effects the treble modification has had on the low-end. Theoretically, a further-extended treble should add to the clarity and headroom of the bass, so rather than mushing out like you're describing, it'll have more space to thwack and decay clearly. Perhaps, that'll fix your issue with its low-end, but the EXT still is the specialist there for sure.
 
Nov 5, 2021 at 1:32 PM Post #36,505 of 39,414
Deezel177 said:
It's very interesting you say that, because the PHoNIX falls fairly suarely into the laid-back-with-instruments-further-back category for me. Based on your descriptions of the Erlkonig and the Bird, it looks like the PHoNIX falls somewhere in the middle. While the PHoNIX certainly isn't as visceral in the sub-bass as the EXT, I'm curious to see what effects the treble modification has had on the low-end. Theoretically, a further-extended treble should add to the clarity and headroom of the bass, so rather than mushing out like you're describing, it'll have more space to thwack and decay clearly. Perhaps, that'll fix your issue with its low-end, but the EXT still is the specialist there for sure.
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Very doubtful on that, but speculation only gets us so far, sadly.

Hopefully, we’ll both get more listening opportunities soon 🤞
 
Nov 7, 2021 at 5:34 AM Post #36,507 of 39,414
Incognito... :)

6AD024CD-F4CC-49F0-B3B4-EEED1436F05D.jpeg
 
Nov 7, 2021 at 12:15 PM Post #36,508 of 39,414
Nov 7, 2021 at 1:39 PM Post #36,510 of 39,414
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