Charlyro222
500+ Head-Fier
Let's go for another awesome DD iem.
Oriolus Isabellae DD IEM discussion thread
- Thread starter Charlyro222
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drbluenewmexico
Headphoneus Supremus
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- Dec 21, 2009
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Incoming......go musicteck.....
Charlyro222
500+ Head-Fier
On preorder.
Shippment est. end June
Shippment est. end June
Cross-post from Oriolus Products thread! This thread deserves more activity.
First impressions, 1-2hrs listening time, stock tips (wide, shallow bore) & stock cable, Shanling M8 (high gain).
Cable supple and without memory. No issues with fit, very comfortable, despite initial concerns regarding nozzle diameter.
Bass: Well extended, textured, impactful, tight and well controlled.
Comment: Reaches deep enough with a mid-bass focus, rumble may be slightly lacking for electronic genres for my tastes but is perfect for instrumental. The bass has a wonderfully natural touch with plenty of texture to convey the lower frequencies.
Mids: Detailed and warm without grain or shout. Placed forward in the presentation and with vocals sitting about 1-2cm away from the ear
Comment: Bright-leaning, wonderfully expressive midrange. I’m finding it very hard to fault for my tastes. Vocals, instruments of all sorts, very well done.
Treble: Smooth, no sibilance and catching plenty of detail and air without feeling artificially air bringing out grain.
Comment: retains the warm cohesion of everything below it, rarely offensive. I’m not a treble head and don’t have great demands in the first place – certainly plenty here for me.
Technicalities:
Staging does not feel restricted, good lateral extension, minimal forward extension, some height to it. Impression is of a 10cm plane around the head. Things do not feel congested, separation is very good, imaging is also very good. Does great with ambient. This is a very snappy DD which helps convey the complexities of busier tracks in my electronic collection.
Comparisons:
Traillii – Isa’s big sister trumps her in technicalities across the board. Isa exceeds Trailli in coherence and timbre. Isa has a lighter touch throughout and conveys nuance in the midrange better. Traillii has much more air but sometimes at the expense of intimacy which I value highly.
BL-03 – The Blon has a cooler approach with the sub-bass focus which I do like but there is a lack of control in the driver with much less detail in mids. Sluggish driver in the 03 limits technicalities. Both equally coherent, but the 03 has a cooler tonality.
BL-A8 (KBear filters) – My newly acquired friend, timbral accuracy with better technicalities than the 03 at the expense of bass quality – a quantity over quality situation. The Isa is much more refined and has far better tuning – as you would expect for the price. The A8 is my go-to fun IEM for electronic where bass texture is less important and I just want to feel the thump
3DT (Tanchjim filters) – I haven’t listened to my 3DT in a while as I may be selling it. From recent memory however, both are technically proficient (maybe 3DT slightly better with instrument separation, maybe due to having 3 drivers?). The 3DT has a more sub-bass emphasis and a cooler, less gracious and more forward mid-range. I would choose Isa for vocals/acoustic many times over. I would still probably choose 3DT for metal/rock for its more ‘exciting’ emphasised bass. Both are very respectable IEMs and I think Isa vs 3DT will be an ongoing debate. I believe there is room for both in a collection and I may yet hold onto the 3DT. However, I do have to give due credit to the tuning of the Isa which is just hands-down more thoughtful and towards my preference.
Conclusion:
Having owned the Traillii I can hear The Old Mans tuning expertise in this set and can appreciate why it may have taken years to produce. I was stunned by Traillii’s effortless expression of whatever I threw at it, it was able to capture the heart of most tracks regardless of genre. The Isabellae feels similarly capable across a wide repertoire of music. While I was left with a lingering need for the timbre of a DD driver in the bass with Traillii, I’m no longer left wanting with the Isa. In very broad terms: timbre, coherency and intimacy is more important to me and I’ve found that here.
If I had to describe Isabellae in a few words it would be ‘grace & refinement’. From the bass to the treble, detail is captured and presented with a tenderness that brings out emotion and momentum of the music.
I’m looking forward to more burn-in, tip rolling and playing with the Isa + C9!
First impressions, 1-2hrs listening time, stock tips (wide, shallow bore) & stock cable, Shanling M8 (high gain).
Cable supple and without memory. No issues with fit, very comfortable, despite initial concerns regarding nozzle diameter.
Bass: Well extended, textured, impactful, tight and well controlled.
Comment: Reaches deep enough with a mid-bass focus, rumble may be slightly lacking for electronic genres for my tastes but is perfect for instrumental. The bass has a wonderfully natural touch with plenty of texture to convey the lower frequencies.
Mids: Detailed and warm without grain or shout. Placed forward in the presentation and with vocals sitting about 1-2cm away from the ear
Comment: Bright-leaning, wonderfully expressive midrange. I’m finding it very hard to fault for my tastes. Vocals, instruments of all sorts, very well done.
Treble: Smooth, no sibilance and catching plenty of detail and air without feeling artificially air bringing out grain.
Comment: retains the warm cohesion of everything below it, rarely offensive. I’m not a treble head and don’t have great demands in the first place – certainly plenty here for me.
Technicalities:
Staging does not feel restricted, good lateral extension, minimal forward extension, some height to it. Impression is of a 10cm plane around the head. Things do not feel congested, separation is very good, imaging is also very good. Does great with ambient. This is a very snappy DD which helps convey the complexities of busier tracks in my electronic collection.
Comparisons:
Traillii – Isa’s big sister trumps her in technicalities across the board. Isa exceeds Trailli in coherence and timbre. Isa has a lighter touch throughout and conveys nuance in the midrange better. Traillii has much more air but sometimes at the expense of intimacy which I value highly.
BL-03 – The Blon has a cooler approach with the sub-bass focus which I do like but there is a lack of control in the driver with much less detail in mids. Sluggish driver in the 03 limits technicalities. Both equally coherent, but the 03 has a cooler tonality.
BL-A8 (KBear filters) – My newly acquired friend, timbral accuracy with better technicalities than the 03 at the expense of bass quality – a quantity over quality situation. The Isa is much more refined and has far better tuning – as you would expect for the price. The A8 is my go-to fun IEM for electronic where bass texture is less important and I just want to feel the thump
3DT (Tanchjim filters) – I haven’t listened to my 3DT in a while as I may be selling it. From recent memory however, both are technically proficient (maybe 3DT slightly better with instrument separation, maybe due to having 3 drivers?). The 3DT has a more sub-bass emphasis and a cooler, less gracious and more forward mid-range. I would choose Isa for vocals/acoustic many times over. I would still probably choose 3DT for metal/rock for its more ‘exciting’ emphasised bass. Both are very respectable IEMs and I think Isa vs 3DT will be an ongoing debate. I believe there is room for both in a collection and I may yet hold onto the 3DT. However, I do have to give due credit to the tuning of the Isa which is just hands-down more thoughtful and towards my preference.
Conclusion:
Having owned the Traillii I can hear The Old Mans tuning expertise in this set and can appreciate why it may have taken years to produce. I was stunned by Traillii’s effortless expression of whatever I threw at it, it was able to capture the heart of most tracks regardless of genre. The Isabellae feels similarly capable across a wide repertoire of music. While I was left with a lingering need for the timbre of a DD driver in the bass with Traillii, I’m no longer left wanting with the Isa. In very broad terms: timbre, coherency and intimacy is more important to me and I’ve found that here.
If I had to describe Isabellae in a few words it would be ‘grace & refinement’. From the bass to the treble, detail is captured and presented with a tenderness that brings out emotion and momentum of the music.
I’m looking forward to more burn-in, tip rolling and playing with the Isa + C9!
Last edited:
HiFlight
Headphoneus Supremus
Are the inside components solidly encased in resin or is the shell hollow?
Appears solidly encased up to slightly below the 2pin connector.
It's hollow...I'm almost wondering if the shell aids in venting and tuning of the IEM.
Ah, I think you're right. It's the other way around - resin/glue at the base of the 2pin and hollow beneath that point. That played with my head for a second there!
Charlyro222
500+ Head-Fier
The bird is in the nest.
Just arrived, first impressions, Oh my God!. This is just what I was looking for many time ago. Thank´s @Rockwell75 , You´re my Idol.
Gregory Porter, Aloe Blacc.... awesome male vocals on Isabellae.
Just arrived, first impressions, Oh my God!. This is just what I was looking for many time ago. Thank´s @Rockwell75 , You´re my Idol.
Gregory Porter, Aloe Blacc.... awesome male vocals on Isabellae.
The bird is in the nest.
Just arrived, first impressions, Oh my God!. This is just what I was looking for many time ago. Thank´s @Rockwell75 , You´re my Idol.
Gregory Porter, Aloe Blacc.... awesome male vocals on Isabellae.
Cheers man glad you're enjoying them
Charlyro222
500+ Head-Fier
Any suggestions on Cable amd Tips rolling on Isabellae?
SteveKiwi
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2011
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Mine have just arrived, I've not bothered swapping cables since the stock seems fine to me.
For the tips I'm using some old spinfits that came with my Andromeda.
I've only been listening for an hour or so but wow! What a beautiful sound from these.
As others better qualified than me have already said, these are amazingly coherent, detailed yet musical.
If anyone is concerned about "lack of bass", with spinfits, don't worry about it, it's there in spades.
Spinfits definitely bring out the bass which is nice, but I found it took too much air away from the treble for my liking. Swings and roundabouts... It all depends on your preferences and taste!
Happy to hear you're enjoying them @SteveKiwi
Happy to hear you're enjoying them @SteveKiwi
SteveKiwi
100+ Head-Fier
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Out of curiosity which tips are you using?
Just the stock silicones at the moment with the very wide and shallow bore. I'm going to experiment a bit more with various tips over the coming days.
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