[Sonic Ecstasy]

Yup. Tip rolling. it's a start. What did you sorta hear any how?

With the panasonic tips (which i found to have the best tonality with deep insertion) i'm wondering why @Virtu Fortuna gave them a 9.5 for bass response (not attacking anyone). It doesn't even hit hard or low, se535's bass sounded tighter and my sony xba a3 definitely had more bass impact and i'm not even a bass junkie.

Actually the low frequency is what i care the least about, it's the highs. They sound somehow grainy and lack refinement, but are clearly more extended. There's just one thing that i can't quite figure out that prevents me from closing my eyes and smiling when listening to the oriolus mk2 because the mids are pretty amazing in resolution and smoothness but the highs lets it down so much with that grainy/harsh character. I'm also wondering why people describe the oriolus mids as thick/lush because to me they just sound more resolving and smoother than se535, they aren't thicker or lush for mid lovers.

If i had to describe the oriolus mk2 vs shure se535 it'd be: oriolus is thinner, more resolving but grainy/harsh to listen to whereas the se535 is thicker, less resolving but smoother/lush.

 

[Sonic Ecstasy]

The MK2 blows the 535 out of the water. There's definitely something wrong in your source, cable or something else.

I use a questyle qp1r which i received 2 days ago, it was an open box display unit and i'm currently still burning it in. I don't think that it's the problem though as it already makes my other earphones sound great. I also use PlasticsOne cable from inear prophile8 because the original owner had a fault with the stock oriolus cable and i sent it to oriolus china for repairs so i've never even the oriolus in its stock configuration.

 

[1TrickPony]

Hm. I wouldn't rule out an impedance mismatch.

 

[Sonic Ecstasy]

Hm. I wouldn't rule out an impedance mismatch.

But the qp1r has an output impendance of 0.15 ohms. Others on this thread have also paired mk2 and qp1r and reported no issues.

 

[1TrickPony]

But the qp1r has an output impendance of 0.15 ohms. Others on this thread have also paired mk2 and qp1r and reported no issues.

Dunno mang. Could be the cable??? Anyhow, unless something is wrong with your mk2, I'm sure someone else might buy it if you don't like it. High frequency is pretty laid back, and the ultra highs sound pretty open. Nothing harsh on my end and I've got at least 5 daps on rotation

 

[papa_mia]

But the qp1r has an output impendance of 0.15 ohms. Others on this thread have also paired mk2 and qp1r and reported no issues.

Well, the qp1r is as good as a DAP that you can get here so at this point I really think these birds ain't meant for you.

 

[Hanesu]

With the panasonic tips (which i found to have the best tonality with deep insertion) i'm wondering why @Virtu Fortuna gave them a 9.5 for bass response (not attacking anyone). It doesn't even hit hard or low, se535's bass sounded tighter and my sony xba a3 definitely had more bass impact and i'm not even a bass junkie.

Actually the low frequency is what i care the least about, it's the highs. They sound somehow grainy and lack refinement, but are clearly more extended. There's just one thing that i can't quite figure out that prevents me from closing my eyes and smiling when listening to the oriolus mk2 because the mids are pretty amazing in resolution and smoothness but the highs lets it down so much with that grainy/harsh character. I'm also wondering why people describe the oriolus mids as thick/lush because to me they just sound more resolving and smoother than se535, they aren't thicker or lush for mid lovers.

If i had to describe the oriolus mk2 vs shure se535 it'd be: oriolus is thinner, more resolving but grainy/harsh to listen to whereas the se535 is thicker, less resolving but smoother/lush.

Hmmm...interesting. Though I would also agree with Virtu Fortuna that the Oriolus definitely have a higher quality sound than the se535 (I own the se530), me, too, I never really understood how some people described the Oriolus` highs as "dark" or "not as extended". To my ears they sound quite extended (more than Fidue Sirius, for example) and have lots of bright sparkle and kind of contrast the lush mids and heavy slower decay bass.

Seems Oriolus`sound is quite fit or tip dependent.
Also, I would never underestimate the procedure of getting used to new phones. The interpretation of "good" or "bad", (in this case "smooth" or "harsh") is very dependent on what you are used to...

 

[papa_mia]

@Sonic Ecstasy Probably you're so used to that dark, overly thick and smoothed out with zero treble sound sig of the Shure.

 

[Sonic Ecstasy]

@Sonic Ecstasy Probably you're so used to that dark, overly thick and smoothed out with zero treble sound sig of the Shure.

Probably, but i sold my se535 4 years ago because it also sounded dull, as you said: 'zero treble'. The comparison between the oriolus and the shure was based on my memory of the shure which is still fresh in my mind after 4 years because it was my first foray into audiophilia.

I think i just read almost all mk2 reviews, got hyped and expected to be wowed. Maybe i just had unreasonable expectations because these are unimpressive to me thus far.

 

[papa_mia]

Probably, but i sold my se535 4 years ago because it also sounded dull, as you said: 'zero treble'. The comparison between the oriolus and the shure was based on my memory of the shure which is still fresh in my mind after 4 years because it was my first foray into audiophilia.

I think i just read almost all mk2 reviews, got hyped and expected to be wowed. Maybe i just had unreasonable expectations because these are unimpressive to me thus far.

Yeah, blind buy is always a gamble, maybe try to live with them for sometimes and see if they will grow on you?

 

[Hanesu]

Probably, but i sold my se535 4 years ago because it also sounded dull, as you said: 'zero treble'. The comparison between the oriolus and the shure was based on my memory of the shure which is still fresh in my mind after 4 years because it was my first foray into audiophilia.

I think i just read almost all mk2 reviews, got hyped and expected to be wowed. Maybe i just had unreasonable expectations because these are unimpressive to me thus far.

Welcome to the world of flagships! It`s a highly subjective world! A world where mostly taste matters! A world where 1k or 2k price difference can make 0 difference in sound quality!

Oriolus is one of the few phones that really hit my personal sweet spot (even more than Andromeda), but I also know the feeling very well that some phones that are hyped by other people leave me thinking "meh...?!"

 

[Jephre]

When I first got the Oriolus MK2s, my initial reaction was more of a "meh". I have a couple of amazing IEMs already, the InEar Prophile-8, Aurisonics ASG-2.5, IMR R1, and UE 18+ Pro 2nd Gen.

After burning it in the last 2 days, and giving it a chance, I'm finding that the Oriolus is a great daily driver. Comparisons below:
vs. InEar PP8 - Oriolus cannot match the resolution of the PP8, but then again, none of my other IEMs can. The PP8 mids came closest in emotionality and engagement to the Oriolus. The bass on the PP8s is less bloomy that the Oriolus, but has great attack and thickness. I'm a sucker for Dynamic Driver decay, so I would say I prefer the Oriolus mids and bass to the PP8.

vs. Aurisonics ASG-2.5 - this is a bass machine. At first I thought the mids were decent, but having listened to both recently - the ASG-2.5 has a veil on the mids, whereas the Oriolus has great clarity and better treble extension. The ASGs were my daily driver for a while, but I can't go back now.

vs. IMR R1 - another bass machine, but with better mids and highs than the ASG-2.5. I use the blue filter. Again, I found the mids much more engaging on the Oriolus than IMR R1. Soundstage on the IMR R1 is better though b/c of the open-back design.

vs. UE18+ Pro - this one is interesting. the UEs are soft and almost unobtrusive. Least bass out of all these headphones. The texture of musical instruments and voice is amazing, but for some reason couldn't bring out the emotion of the music like the PP8 and Oriolus could.

 

[ranfan]

+1 on inquiry. Where does that extra 400$ go that might make it worth the extra mile?

To the higher cost of making stuff in the US, and EA cable maybe?

@ranfan thanks for your impressions. What about isolation & sound leakage? Event seems pretty large. Bravado isolate very well & no leakage!
Thanks

It seals pretty well IMO. No problems with it, and leakage.

I received my oriolus mk2 about 3 weeks ago and paired it with my s7 edge but was unimpressed, i didn't think much of it as that time because the s7 edge is a pretty crappy source. Ordered a questyle qp1r which arrived yesterday and i'm still struggling to understand what the hype surrounding these iems are. My se535 had better mids and the mk2 sounds thin in comparison but the mk2 edges it out on treble extension and is more resolving.

I am using an aftermarket cable called PlasticsOne which supposedly comes with inear prophile 8 because the original cable from the original owner had a damaged jack. Sent it back to oriolus china almost 3 weeks ago and still haven't received a response from them, talk about customer service

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how i can unlock the 'wow' potential of these iems because thus far i'm really not impressed and considering returning them to the owner or just listing them for trade.

N.B. I've tried them with symbio mandarines w and jvc spiral dot tips.

Hypnotism, and auto/self-suggestion. JK . But in all seriousness, basically it all comes to synergy. Between first and foremost your music selection, sound preference, and the tuning of the IEM, and player.

Biggest issue for me with these Oriolus is the lack of engagement. Not vivid enough. But I understand why some are really liking them. Fit & comfort were superb too.
So there are just not for you. I'm using Andromeda now and I'm completely satisfied

The V2 I agree, wasn't vivid enough in the midrange. But the Mellianus though is very accurate IMO.

 

[Virtu Fortuna]

I'm not sure the QP1R is the ideal DAP for the MKII. In fact, I personally think the QP1R is not a good DAP in the first place, but that's my opinion.

 

[tim0chan]

Finschi with Final audio tips are awesome