[ranfan]

So (in your opinion) who is the winner in this 3DT vs Isabellae fight off - any clear winner or comparisons yet?

Well it depends on one's taste, personally I like the midrange on the warmer more organic side. But I can see why some may prefer the 3DT, especially for rock and EDM genre. The crash of the cymbals also had more bite on the 3DT. Each IEM have their own signature, and the sound on the Isa I feel suited me more

 

[Ace Bee]

Vocals are imho the Isbellae's strong suit, at their best besting or rivalling the best I've heard. Isa is insanely coherent too. In general I felt it was a step up from 3DT with respect to just about everything that matters to me.

While I do love vocals, and it is a key requirement of mine, I cannot live without a healthy dose of Bass, and as Ranfan said

I think the 3DT had more bass (quantity). The Isa had a higher quality, with tighter and quicker release. It also had more definition to its bass notes.

This rang a warning bell for me. Guess I'll have to give a pass to Isabellae...

My test track is this, for the kick drums:

 

[Rockwell75]

While I do love vocals, and it is a key requirement of mine, I cannot live without a healthy dose of Bass, and as Ranfan said

This rang a warning bell for me. Guess I'll have to give a pass to Isabellae...

My test track is this, for the kick drums:

IMHO 3Dt may have a bit more sub-bass but Isa wins in the mid-bass oomph dept...don't write it off so soon . That's one of my test tracks too and Isa rocks it.

 

[twiceboss]

Vocals are imho the Isbellae's strong suit, at their best besting or rivalling the best I've heard. Isa is insanely coherent too. In general I felt it was a step up from 3DT with respect to just about everything that matters to me.

how do you like your vocals? preference i mean. It's good to know

 

[Rockwell75]

how do you like your vocals? preference i mean. It's good to know

Clear, lush, intimate, open, seductive, forward. Isa is so masterfully tuned in this regard...the midrange is beautiful but it's so deftly sculpted as to always gently draw the attention to vocals without feeling intrusive.

Edit: To be perfectly frank I'm not typically a "vocal guy" but Ely and later Isa have really opened my eyes (or rather ears).

 

[Ace Bee]

IMHO 3Dt may have a bit more sub-bass but Isa wins in the mid-bass oomph dept...don't write it off so soon . That's one of my test tracks too and Isa rocks it.

You got me back on track! I felt 3DT sometimes struggles in midbass punch on this track. The kickdrum sounds a bit lighter than my preference. although very slightly.

 

[Ace Bee]

IMHO 3Dt may have a bit more sub-bass but Isa wins in the mid-bass oomph dept...don't write it off so soon . That's one of my test tracks too and Isa rocks it.

But then again, does the kickdrum not sound dry on Isa if the subbass is lacking a bit?

 

[Rockwell75]

You got me back on track! I felt 3DT sometimes struggles in midbass punch on this track. The kickdrum sounds a bit lighter than my preference. although very slightly.

The first thing that got me really excited about Isa was reading a Google translation of a Chinese review that praised its mid bass presence…this is typically the main thing I find lacking in ‘Eastern’ tuned IEMs…suffice to say Isa didn’t disappoint.

I don’t have Isa at the moment so I can’t say for the time being.

 

[Ace Bee]

I am inching closure...

@ranfan does the Isa sound more open and airy, more holographic with improved imaging and separation than 3DT? Also, are the notes better detailed with better dimensionality?

 

[ranfan]

I am inching closure...

@ranfan does the Isa sound more open and airy, more holographic with improved imaging and separation than 3DT? Also, are the notes better detailed with better dimensionality?

I cannot say much since I don't have them at hand to compare. All I could say is that the Isa had smoother treble, with slightly higher resolution (not necessarily clarity), and better depth/layering. The 3DT on the other hand, had a crisper upper-mids, more bite in the snare & cymbals, with bigger sub-bass. I won't say one IEM is definitely better, each can offer something unique. What they can is complement one another in my opinion

 

[Ace Bee]

Has anyone compared the Isabellae with Dunu Zen?

 

[SBranson]

Has anyone compared the Isabellae with Dunu Zen?

@tgx78 did

I feel Zen had a more textured and impactful bass than Isabellae. Lower mids warmth masking Isabellae’s bass definition a little.

 

[drbluenewmexico]

@tgx78 did

But issa she a Bella??

 

[SBranson]

Isabellae arrived about an hour ago.. Very quick listen with the S1/iPhone.
Absolutely love these! From the first seconds I love them. Mid bass is just perfect and these have the similar "sitting within a sphere of music" type presentation that is very similar to the Dorado 2020. Timbre is excellent and they are extremely well balanced in the tracks I've tried so far. No noticeable dips or peaks and great coherence. Very nice!
If I had a drawback it might be that it's a bit on a plane sometimes rather than the sphere I mentioned but vocals have a full quality that is not flat at all.. it's hard to describe but some sounds kind of sound like they are quite close to the ear..

 

[Rockwell75]

Beautiful I'll likely have mine on Monday This is the first set of unboxing pics for an Oriolus IEM I've seen. The packaging is just like I'd imagined it would be-- simple, elegant, minimalist, utilitarian and beautiful...it reminds me a lot of CFA's packaging and lacks utterly the ostentatious excess found in the packaging of many audio products.