[ian91]

I'm biased, but I would say Isa for a bit of refined single DD flavour!

 

[blotmouse]

Been eyeing the Isabellae for a while, wanting to hear any suggestions. Between the UM 3DT, Moondrop Variations, Thieaudio Oracle, possibly Mini MEST, and Isa, which one would compliment (or outperform) my DUNU SA6 best?

Preferred music genre and tastes play quite a roll in recommending one or the other, in my experience. If you primarily listen to Hip hop and electronic/pop music on the Isa (for example), your impressions are gonna be a 180 from the person who listens to acoustic music, classic rock, or jazz, etc.

 

[ian91]

Preferred music genre and tastes play quite a roll in recommending one or the other, in my experience. If you primarily listen to Hip hop and electronic/pop music on the Isa (for example), your impressions are gonna be a 180 from the person who listens to acoustic music, classic rock, or jazz, etc.

Very good point here. It will depend on how attached you are to that subbass presence. If you do want something lighter, then Isa will do just the job I reckon. If you want a similar tuning to the SA8 but with DD characteristics obviously then go for the 3DT, its got some lovely bass and is quite affordable, just appreciate that you may need to pop a filter on if you have a sensitive ear.

 

[Alino]

The Pipa pairs beautifully with the A8000, but I haven't tried it on my other iems. Similar to the Hulk with VE8, it's a cable that gives a feeling of being completely adequate for the final flagship. Bass + treble control and extension, mids naturalness, stage dimension and coherency : it's all there. That's synergy in my book. Voice tessitura and string textures / vibrancy are particularly a treat.

Tessitura/ texture is so cool a detailed audio definition.
Waiting for my "Isa" to compare to UM 3DT too.

 

[kadinh]

Preferred music genre and tastes play quite a roll in recommending one or the other, in my experience. If you primarily listen to Hip hop and electronic/pop music on the Isa (for example), your impressions are gonna be a 180 from the person who listens to acoustic music, classic rock, or jazz, etc.

Very good point here. It will depend on how attached you are to that subbass presence. If you do want something lighter, then Isa will do just the job I reckon. If you want a similar tuning to the SA8 but with DD characteristics obviously then go for the 3DT, its got some lovely bass and is quite affordable, just appreciate that you may need to pop a filter on if you have a sensitive ear.

Good points. I listen to pretty all genres of music. Not really looking for something similar to SA6, but more of a compliment that offers a different listening experience.

 

[9bphillips]

If you loved it, I think you have your answer! Isa is brighter with a slighter smaller stage and lighter note weight. 3DT is for those prefer rumble and less top end detail. I think you're referring to my post, I did say the 3DT is better for rock and metal and I think I would stand by that, for my tastes atleast.

Isa has the better tuning stock overall, much more refined IMO.

Would you stay away from the isabellae if you listened mainly to Rock? How well does it pair with rock/classic rock?

 

[ian91]

Would you stay away from the isabellae if you listened mainly to Rock? How well does it pair with rock/classic rock?

It really comes down to a matter of taste. I don't listen to alot of classic rock, it's mostly metal here and there and for my tastes I prefer a stronger bass impact and slightly duller treble so I can boost the volume for maximum enjoyment.

I would wait for someone with better experience in classic rock to comment!

 

[blotmouse]

Would you stay away from the isabellae if you listened mainly to Rock? How well does it pair with rock/classic rock?

I use Isa with rock.
Duties are split between Solaris and Isa for most rock recorded to tape. Modern rock gets a bit harder to pinpoint due to all the various compression techniques throughout the later years. Isa is almost perfect for late 70's to mid 90's. 60's are a split with some better on Solaris. Some metal is fine with it, extreme technical metal I prefer MEST. It's complicated man, lol. But in general, yes, Isa is great for general rock, but may be too bright on certain recordings if they too were mastered brightly. But its mid-bass punch is just addictive and sublime on thin sounding classic rock.

 

[gLer]

Hey guys, briefly jumping into your thread to let you know I've just published my Isabellae review here. Hope you find it useful. And in case you need some extra motivation to read it, here's some eye candy from the review. Lots more where this comes from...

 

[Scubadevils]

Hey guys, briefly jumping into your thread to let you know I've just published my Isabellae review here. Hope you find it useful. And in case you need some extra motivation to read it, here's some eye candy from the review. Lots more where this comes from...

​

Nice review and definitely share your impressions vs IE900. Something I need to get my head around though in terms of my own learnings is sub-bass, mid-bass etc. An area of frustration for me with Isa is within the lows, one of which is too much at times - that being what it occupies in terms of the stage, it seems too much with some music. I thought it was sub-bass but I feel I'm probably wrong there. I'm off on holidays tomorrow for a week, Isa coming with me along with IE900 so plenty of time to properly compare and focus... work getting in the way of that luxury of late.

 

[gLer]

Nice review and definitely share your impressions vs IE900. Something I need to get my head around though in terms of my own learnings is sub-bass, mid-bass etc. An area of frustration for me with Isa is within the lows, one of which is too much at times - that being what it occupies in terms of the stage, it seems too much with some music. I thought it was sub-bass but I feel I'm probably wrong there. I'm off on holidays tomorrow for a week, Isa coming with me along with IE900 so plenty of time to properly compare and focus... work getting in the way of that luxury of late.

I know exactly what you mean because I've heard it myself. One of Isabellae's biggest conundrums, for me, is how a generally bass-light IEM can actually have too much midbass 'bloat' with some music. That's why I generally prefer IEMs with a healthier sub-bass focus and more linear midbass, because they add the necessary weight and gravity to the music without coming across as thick or wooly. I think the reason for Isa's midbass bump is to balance out the upper midrange bump, which would be too strident and even thinner sounding were it not for some midbass warmth balancing it out. That's my take on it anyway.

 

[ian91]

I'm off on holidays tomorrow for a week, Isa coming with me along with IE900 so plenty of time to properly compare and focus... work getting in the way of that luxury of late.

Enjoy your break and the music too!

I think the reason for Isa's midbass bump is to balance out the upper midrange bump, which would be too strident and even thinner sounding were it not for some midbass warmth balancing it out. That's my take on it anyway.

+1, the midbass bump is what i think we're all hearing but it just wouldnt work without it. You sort of need that warm undercurrent.

 

[ian91]

Hey guys, briefly jumping into your thread to let you know I've just published my Isabellae review here. Hope you find it useful. And in case you need some extra motivation to read it, here's some eye candy from the review. Lots more where this comes from...

​

Going to enjoy reading this tomorrow. Cheers!

 

[blotmouse]

Yeah, its that mid-bass.
I love it for my use case and library. Punk, Indy rock, and acoustic stuff. Just went through New Order's catalog and Isa rules with 90% of their stuff. Old synths, etc.
But it is sometimes "Holy crap! Too much", and at other times, anemic. Probably a huge reason why the reviews are all over the place.

 

[Joe-Siow]

The Pipa pairs beautifully with the A8000, but I haven't tried it on my other iems. Similar to the Hulk with VE8, it's a cable that gives a feeling of being completely adequate for the final flagship. Bass + treble control and extension, mids naturalness, stage dimension and coherency : it's all there. That's synergy in my book. Voice tessitura and string textures / vibrancy are particularly a treat.

Thanks for the impression man. Much appreciated