[Tristy]

Spoiler: IE900 & Preamble

@xenithon

This was what the staff wrote about IE900:

レスポンスの良い低域から、繊細な広域の描写まで、すべての周波数帯域で
クリスタルのような透明感あふれる
エレガントでニュートラルなサウンドを再現

In all frequency bands, from responsive low frequencies to delicate wide-area depictions
Full of crystal-like transparency
Reproduces an elegant and neutral sound

ー

In my opinion, it does have a high resolution, transparency, and that 'expensive' elegant sound. Some people may like it, especially those who enjoyed the previous IE800 model. Fit may be more comfortable on smaller ears, it's more compact. And the metallic design, as well as weight or feel doesn't seem 'cheap'. Very well-made, good Sennheiser-grade build quality, seemingly durable too. In addition you also get 2 years warranty so.

Sound-wise, the bass delivered had a pretty good DD quality with more focus on sub-bass. Its response was quick, and overall pretty satisfying. The midrange sounded more resolving than previous Sennheiser models. It has good weight and warmth to make it sound natural. However some part in the middle felt slightly veiled or dipped. Treble was great too, very smooth and extended. Not peaky, and without sibilance. So I think some may like it

Sorry if my impressions sounded crude, and my grammar mistake-laden. I just like sharing what I found, and writing my thoughs (as well as improving English and expressing style). If anyone would find them helpful, then hey that's a merry bonus I'm happy with. With that said, YMMV. I don't mean to sway anyone any direction. Always trust your ears.

So onto Isa.. Please enjoy

Yesterday, I tried the newly-announced Oriolus Isabellae (again). This time, I tried two demo units from two different stores. Partly to confirm my previous findings, and partly because one store was offering a discount.. I couldn't resist

(I just like looking and taking pictures of that big D. I know. I'm a pervert..)

(And here's from the second store)

Why couldn't you resist? You may ask
Well have you ever had a 9.8-mm DD driver pounding 2 cm (0.78 inch) away from your eardrum? It's fun

I've explained earlier here some basic details of the Isa. It's a single DD IEM that has been in development for approx 7 years by Oriolus. It has this unique dynamic driver that's tuned to cover the whole frequency (10Hz to 40kHz), with bass sound unheard of in current market

The Isa is tuned with bass that has more emphasis on mid-bass then sub-bass. It has this beautiful design and ratio that exudes quality and elegance. At the same time having plenty of quantity to put its BA sibling to shame. Its quantity gives this impression of the bass being full, well-defined, and solid. The Isa is one of those DD IEMs which renders its bass with big size and high resolution. It managed to combine them both well in my opinion. The best of both DD, and BA bass quality. Relatively tight, and well-controlled, it plays fast bassy tracks with great ease. Each note is just so clean, transparent, and yet substantial and big. With great reach down low, it gives you this sensation of having listened to a 'complete' bass

I also mentioned that it's rather transparent, despite possessing such voluminous lows. Plus, the tone overall was surprisingly leaning towards being bright. It may lack some warmth in the lower-midrange area. As it's not the most adept or proficient in portraying wooden instruments and organic sound. By the way, did I mentioned there was no driver flex? Also not sensitive to hisses.

Mids weren't drowned or recessed by both treble or bass. It has rather neutral slightly colder tone. Perfect for electronic music in my opinion. Crisp, and clear upper-mids. Good extension in the treble. Soundstage is medium sized. But it never feel congested due to its high transparency. It has high resolution as well, with realistic imaging. Just that the tone lacks some warmth to my taste. So I wouldn't describe it as being very natural. That said, I'm hooked with its sound

How does the Oriolus stack up to the Sennheiser?

 

[jhog]

Spoiler: IE900 & Preamble

@xenithon

This was what the staff wrote about IE900:

レスポンスの良い低域から、繊細な広域の描写まで、すべての周波数帯域で
クリスタルのような透明感あふれる
エレガントでニュートラルなサウンドを再現

In all frequency bands, from responsive low frequencies to delicate wide-area depictions
Full of crystal-like transparency
Reproduces an elegant and neutral sound

ー

In my opinion, it does have a high resolution, transparency, and that 'expensive' elegant sound. Some people may like it, especially those who enjoyed the previous IE800 model. Fit may be more comfortable on smaller ears, it's more compact. And the metallic design, as well as weight or feel doesn't seem 'cheap'. Very well-made, good Sennheiser-grade build quality, seemingly durable too. In addition you also get 2 years warranty so.

Sound-wise, the bass delivered had a pretty good DD quality with more focus on sub-bass. Its response was quick, and overall pretty satisfying. The midrange sounded more resolving than previous Sennheiser models. It has good weight and warmth to make it sound natural. However some part in the middle felt slightly veiled or dipped. Treble was great too, very smooth and extended. Not peaky, and without sibilance. So I think some may like it

Sorry if my impressions sounded crude, and my grammar mistake-laden. I just like sharing what I found, and writing my thoughs (as well as improving English and expressing style). If anyone would find them helpful, then hey that's a merry bonus I'm happy with. With that said, YMMV. I don't mean to sway anyone any direction. Always trust your ears.

So onto Isa.. Please enjoy

Yesterday, I tried the newly-announced Oriolus Isabellae (again). This time, I tried two demo units from two different stores. Partly to confirm my previous findings, and partly because one store was offering a discount.. I couldn't resist

(I just like looking and taking pictures of that big D. I know. I'm a pervert..)

(And here's from the second store)

Why couldn't you resist? You may ask
Well have you ever had a 9.8-mm DD driver pounding 2 cm (0.78 inch) away from your eardrum? It's fun

I've explained earlier here some basic details of the Isa. It's a single DD IEM that has been in development for approx 7 years by Oriolus. It has this unique dynamic driver that's tuned to cover the whole frequency (10Hz to 40kHz), with bass sound unheard of in current market

The Isa is tuned with bass that has more emphasis on mid-bass then sub-bass. It has this beautiful design and ratio that exudes quality and elegance. At the same time having plenty of quantity to put its BA sibling to shame. Its quantity gives this impression of the bass being full, well-defined, and solid. The Isa is one of those DD IEMs which renders its bass with big size and high resolution. It managed to combine them both well in my opinion. The best of both DD, and BA bass quality. Relatively tight, and well-controlled, it plays fast bassy tracks with great ease. Each note is just so clean, transparent, and yet substantial and big. With great reach down low, it gives you this sensation of having listened to a 'complete' bass

I also mentioned that it's rather transparent, despite possessing such voluminous lows. Plus, the tone overall was surprisingly leaning towards being bright. It may lack some warmth in the lower-midrange area. As it's not the most adept or proficient in portraying wooden instruments and organic sound. By the way, did I mentioned there was no driver flex? Also not sensitive to hisses.

Mids weren't drowned or recessed by both treble or bass. It has rather neutral slightly colder tone. Perfect for electronic music in my opinion. Crisp, and clear upper-mids. Good extension in the treble. Soundstage is medium sized. But it never feel congested due to its high transparency. It has high resolution as well, with realistic imaging. Just that the tone lacks some warmth to my taste. So I wouldn't describe it as being very natural. That said, I'm hooked with its sound

Out of interest, could you compare this to the Campfire Atlas? Another single DD iem with good bass, but not only good bass - does the Oriolus offering hold its own I wonder?? Am pretty curious...

 

[Xinlisupreme]

Great!!!

 

[snapandslide]

Man I am close to pre-ordering the Isa - gonna sleep on it tonight.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Just pounced on this...the wait is on!

Thanks for taking one for the team, looking forward to reading your impressions!

 

[ranfan]

How does the Oriolus stack up to the Sennheiser?

I did get to demo them side by side, however briefly. So pardon me as I cannot go into much details. From your question, I gather you're inquiring something more specifically in terms of sound quality? If that is so, I'd say the Isa fares herself more than well against the IE900. I do think 'taste'/preference and setup play large roles into determining which would you favor personally. My impression of the Isa was that she emphasized her bass more into the mid region, whereas the IE900 the subs. IE900 felt like having the deeper bass with good quantity, and Isa a bigger, denser/fuller, yet tighter, overall more definition with higher reach towards the upper area. Their tone also differ especially in the mids, in that the IE900 tend towards sounding a bit darker, with slightly reserved 3-4kHz presence. While the Isa has a tendency towards being brighter with more presence in the upper-mids, as well as a wee lift in the 7-8kHz making it sound clearer by comparison. I can't say which one is better, it is for the listener to vote. But for my money, I'd put it on the Isa (also because it's cheaper he he). That said, price doesn't always reflect quality. And my subjective impression is just that

Out of interest, could you compare this to the Campfire Atlas? Another single DD iem with good bass, but not only good bass - does the Oriolus offering hold its own I wonder?? Am pretty curious...

Hello Thank you for your message. I'm sorry to say, but I've not try the Atlas for a long while. And my memory of it is less than minimal. Afraid I couldn't really help with the comparison. However from the array of selections on the current market, in my opinion the Isa offers something uniquely good. In that it has developed a tuning which struck a nice balance betwen having a powerful bass along with clear resolving mids, while leaning slightly to having a brighter tone. It managed to do this without sacrificing drowning the mids, by overly elevating the low and treble frequencies, consequently resulting in a so called a v-shaped signature. Or excessively elevating either one of the bass or treble, making it sound [muddy, boomy, dark] or [thin, sibilant, glaring].

 

[Scubadevils]

Ugh... hard to resist joining this party, I do love my single DD IEMs having delved in with the ZEN in January and the IE900 this month, feels like it would be rude not to.

Heart pounding, resist, resist...

 

[ranfan]

Like Baileys, it's sweet and intoxicating

 

[jhog]

I did get to demo them side by side, however briefly. So pardon me as I cannot go into much details. From your question, I gather you're inquiring something more specifically in terms of sound quality? If that is so, I'd say the Isa fares herself more than well against the IE900. I do think 'taste'/preference and setup play large roles into determining which would you favor personally. My impression of the Isa was that she emphasized her bass more into the mid region, whereas the IE900 the subs. IE900 felt like having the deeper bass with good quantity, and Isa a bigger, denser/fuller, yet tighter, overall more definition with higher reach towards the upper area. Their tone also differ especially in the mids, in that the IE900 tend towards sounding a bit darker, with slightly reserved 3-4kHz presence. While the Isa has a tendency towards being brighter with more presence in the upper-mids, as well as a wee lift in the 7-8kHz making it sound clearer by comparison. I can't say which one is better, it is for the listener to vote. But for my money, I'd put it on the Isa (also because it's cheaper he he). That said, price doesn't always reflect quality. And my subjective impression is just that


Hello Thank you for your message. I'm sorry to say, but I've not try the Atlas for a long while. And my memory of it is less than minimal. Afraid I couldn't really help with the comparison. However from the array of selections on the current market, in my opinion the Isa offers something uniquely good. In that it has developed a tuning which struck a nice balance betwen having a powerful bass along with clear resolving mids, while leaning slightly to having a brighter tone. It managed to do this without sacrificing drowning the mids, by overly elevating the low and treble frequencies, consequently resulting in a so called a v-shaped signature. Or excessively elevating either one of the bass or treble, making it sound [muddy, boomy, dark] or [thin, sibilant, glaring].

It does indeed sound a very interesting tuning - given the sheer amount of V shaped iems on the market, it's really refreshing to see someone doing something a little different. I also like the idea of no driver flex - it's a major shortcoming of the Atlas in my opinion. What's the isolation like with the ISA? It looks like it's vented, but would it still work as a daily driver?

 

[ranfan]

It does indeed sound a very interesting tuning - given the sheer amount of V shaped iems on the market, it's really refreshing to see someone doing something a little different. I also like the idea of no driver flex - it's a major shortcoming of the Atlas in my opinion. What's the isolation like with the ISA? It looks like it's vented, but would it still work as a daily driver?

Isolation was good, just like ordinary IEMs

 

[tgx78]

Isabellae came in sooner than expected.

So if this is Oriolus house sound, I need to grab the Traillii soon.

 

[aaf evo]

Thanks for the measurements. Traillii has less upper mids and treble and more bass compared to this from what I have graphed.

 

[tgx78]

Thanks for the measurements. Traillii has less upper mids and treble and more bass compared to this from what I have graphed.

sounds like Traillii’s tuning will be perfect for my taste

 

[tgx78]

Compared to my current favorite Tansio Mirai Spark

 

[drbluenewmexico]

Trigger finger went off. …ordered Isa from Andrew at Musicteck. Now comes the wait
for my Birthday iem! More reviews please!!