Oriolus Traillii Electrostatic Hybrid IEM discussion thread

[sorrick]

Can someone who has owned both tell me how far the Odin is off the Traillii’s pace? And if so, what music genres do you listen to and find best with the Odin vs. the Traillii.

So I just got Trailli, have the Odin, and have been comparing them since the Trailli arrived yesterday morning. I’m still getting to know the Trailli, and I know that I need more time with it to get a holistic sense of its full capabilities (this would be true of any iem this soon after getting it, but I can tell already is particularly true of the Trailli because some of its greatness clearly lies in how well it does certain subtleties.

I listen to a little bit of everything—pretty much anything with the exception of country—and I’ve been listening to a bit of everything over the past two days as I’ve been putting Trailli through its paces. This has included classic rock (Rolling Stones, the Doors, Cream, The Who, The Band, etc.) Prog Rock (Pink Floyd, Rush), acoustic/singer-songwriter (Martin Sexton, Carole King), Electronic (Daft Punk, Prodigy, Crystal Method, Caravan Palace), dubstep, hip-hop, contemporary pop, electro swing, etc etc.

I would certainly say that as a whole the Trailli is better, but at least to my ears, we’re not talking night and day differences. However, the sum of the differences adds up to a overall improved sound in most areas. For me it’s enough to justify the substantial additional investment, but that’s an entirely personal opinion.

On technicalities (particularly resolution, micro and macro detail, soundstage depth) they are actually very close and there are some areas where the Odin reigns supreme. Odin’s tuning accentuates it’s clarity, detail, separation and precision through its emphasis on subbass over midbass, and upper mids over lower mids. The Trailli has more midbass and lower mids, which give notes additional body and adds a naturalness. It matches or exceeds the Odin’s detail, layering, but does so in a more effortless, less emphasized way. In fact, effortless excellence is a really good two-word description of the trailli.

To my ears, Odin edges Trailli out in its delivery that subwoofer-like thump subbass impact at the leading edge of a bass note—there’s a certain robustness there that the Trailli doesn’t quite match. I’m not talking about quantity, because Trailli actually has at least the same about of subbass if not a little more, but the subtle quality of that leading edge of impact that the Odin’s dual weapon ix+ dynamic drivers offer that is really satisfying. However, Trailli is, somewhat shockingly, within whispering distance here—it really has a dynamic driver-like quality to its bass—and matches the Odin on bass texture and realistic decay, while also being a little tighter and faster. Trailli has noticeably more midbass quantity, impact, fullness, and texture, but does this without any bleed or bloat into the mids at all, which is quite the trick

As I mentioned above, the trailli is more balanced in terms of lower mids and upper mids, and the increased lower mids add more body, warmth, and organic naturalness. The Odin is comparatively more neutral, less bodied, with more of an upper mids emphasis that can occasionally add a subtle nasal-y quality in certain circumstances. The trailli matches and perhaps exceeds Odin in terms of detail and I would say exceeds it in terms of texture in the mids, though some of this is less immediately apparent because the effortless presentation doesn’t emphasize these qualities as much.

Both have excellent treble, but the Odin is overall a little smoother. The trailli’s treble really is something special with an edge in detail, texture, sparkle, and shimmer but, again, done in a very natural realistic way without overt emphasis. There’s no hint of sharpness or stridency, in either and Odin’s treble really is excellent—the best I had heard until trailli, but trailli edges out the Odin in subtle ways here that just sound a little bit more natural when going from one to the other.

On soundstage, both are again excellent, but the Trailli is noticeably wider and taller. They match each other with fantastic depth.

One dig against trailli so far is that the cable is pretty stiff and less comfortable than the stormbreaker cable on my odins; however, i expect the trailli cable to become less stiff as I use it, which happened with my stormbreaker. Trailli cable is also noticeably more microphonic, particularly when part of the cable rubs against itself or you move the chin slider. These are purely ergonomic issues though.

However, the sum of everything makes the whole of the trailli, to me, a noticeably better iem, but we’re in such a high echelon of performance here, that both are excellent—trailli just has an effortlessness and naturalness to its performance that is really compelling and astounding. It’s like the difference between two top professional athletes, one (the Odin) that works harder than anyone else and as a result has excellent, almost textbook technique, while the other is just insanely naturally gifted and has an innate effortlessness and almost perfect instinct (trailli).

 

[aaf evo]

So I just got Trailli, have the Odin, and have been comparing them since the Trailli arrived yesterday morning. I’m still getting to know the Trailli, and I know that I need more time with it to get a holistic sense of its full capabilities (this would be true of any iem this soon after getting it, but I can tell already is particularly true of the Trailli because some of its greatness clearly lies in how well it does certain subtleties.

I listen to a little bit of everything—pretty much anything with the exception of country—and I’ve been listening to a bit of everything over the past two days as I’ve been putting Trailli through its paces. This has included classic rock (Rolling Stones, the Doors, Cream, The Who, The Band, etc.) Prog Rock (Pink Floyd, Rush), acoustic/singer-songwriter (Martin Sexton, Carole King), Electronic (Daft Punk, Prodigy, Crystal Method, Caravan Palace), dubstep, hip-hop, contemporary pop, electro swing, etc etc.

I would certainly say that as a whole the Trailli is better, but at least to my ears, we’re not talking night and day differences. However, the sum of the differences adds up to a overall improved sound in most areas. For me it’s enough to justify the substantial additional investment, but that’s an entirely personal opinion.

On technicalities (particularly resolution, micro and macro detail, soundstage depth) they are actually very close and there are some areas where the Odin reigns supreme. Odin’s tuning accentuates it’s clarity, detail, separation and precision through its emphasis on subbass over midbass, and upper mids over lower mids. The Trailli has more midbass and lower mids, which give notes additional body and adds a naturalness. It matches or exceeds the Odin’s detail, layering, but does so in a more effortless, less emphasized way. In fact, effortless excellence is a really good two-word description of the trailli.

To my ears, Odin edges Trailli out in its delivery that subwoofer-like thump subbass impact at the leading edge of a bass note—there’s a certain robustness there that the Trailli doesn’t quite match. I’m not talking about quantity, because Trailli actually has at least the same about of subbass if not a little more, but the subtle quality of that leading edge of impact that the Odin’s dual weapon ix+ dynamic drivers offer that is really satisfying. However, Trailli is, somewhat shockingly, within whispering distance here—it really has a dynamic driver-like quality to its bass—and matches the Odin on bass texture and realistic decay, while also being a little tighter and faster. Trailli has noticeably more midbass quantity, impact, fullness, and texture, but does this without any bleed or bloat into the mids at all, which is quite the trick

As I mentioned above, the trailli is more balanced in terms of lower mids and upper mids, and the increased lower mids add more body, warmth, and organic naturalness. The Odin is comparatively more neutral, less bodied, with more of an upper mids emphasis that can occasionally add a subtle nasal-y quality in certain circumstances. The trailli matches and perhaps exceeds Odin in terms of detail and I would say exceeds it in terms of texture in the mids, though some of this is less immediately apparent because the effortless presentation doesn’t emphasize these qualities as much.

Both have excellent treble, but the Odin is overall a little smoother. The trailli’s treble really is something special with an edge in detail, texture, sparkle, and shimmer but, again, done in a very natural realistic way without overt emphasis. There’s no hint of sharpness or stridency, in either and Odin’s treble really is excellent—the best I had heard until trailli, but trailli edges out the Odin in subtle ways here that just sound a little bit more natural when going from one to the other.

On soundstage, both are again excellent, but the Trailli is noticeably wider and taller. They match each other with fantastic depth.

One dig against trailli so far is that the cable is pretty stiff and less comfortable than the stormbreaker cable on my odins; however, i expect the trailli cable to become less stiff as I use it, which happened with my stormbreaker. Trailli cable is also noticeably more microphonic, particularly when part of the cable rubs against itself or you move the chin slider.

However, the sum of everything makes the whole of the trailli, to me, a noticeably better iem, but we’re in such a high echelon of performance here, that both are excellent—trailli just has an effortlessness and naturalness to its performance that is really compelling and astounding. It’s like the difference between two top professional athletes, one (the Odin) that works harder than anyone else and as a result has excellent, almost textbook technique, while the other is just insanely naturally gifted and has an innate effortlessness and almost perfect instinct (trailli).

Even with my short time with the Odin these impressions are pretty much spot on.

Also to add, the fact the Traillii literally does everything to such a high/masterful level is what makes it hard to go back to other IEMs. Nothing can match this total package, imho.

 

[tawmizzzz]

So I just got Trailli, have the Odin, and have been comparing them since the Trailli arrived yesterday morning. I’m still getting to know the Trailli, and I know that I need more time with it to get a holistic sense of its full capabilities (this would be true of any iem this soon after getting it, but I can tell already is particularly true of the Trailli because some of its greatness clearly lies in how well it does certain subtleties.

I listen to a little bit of everything—pretty much anything with the exception of country—and I’ve been listening to a bit of everything over the past two days as I’ve been putting Trailli through its paces. This has included classic rock (Rolling Stones, the Doors, Cream, The Who, The Band, etc.) Prog Rock (Pink Floyd, Rush), acoustic/singer-songwriter (Martin Sexton, Carole King), Electronic (Daft Punk, Prodigy, Crystal Method, Caravan Palace), dubstep, hip-hop, contemporary pop, electro swing, etc etc.

I would certainly say that as a whole the Trailli is better, but at least to my ears, we’re not talking night and day differences. However, the sum of the differences adds up to a overall improved sound in most areas. For me it’s enough to justify the substantial additional investment, but that’s an entirely personal opinion.

On technicalities (particularly resolution, micro and macro detail, soundstage depth) they are actually very close and there are some areas where the Odin reigns supreme. Odin’s tuning accentuates it’s clarity, detail, separation and precision through its emphasis on subbass over midbass, and upper mids over lower mids. The Trailli has more midbass and lower mids, which give notes additional body and adds a naturalness. It matches or exceeds the Odin’s detail, layering, but does so in a more effortless, less emphasized way. In fact, effortless excellence is a really good two-word description of the trailli.

To my ears, Odin edges Trailli out in its delivery that subwoofer-like thump subbass impact at the leading edge of a bass note—there’s a certain robustness there that the Trailli doesn’t quite match. I’m not talking about quantity, because Trailli actually has at least the same about of subbass if not a little more, but the subtle quality of that leading edge of impact that the Odin’s dual weapon ix+ dynamic drivers offer that is really satisfying. However, Trailli is, somewhat shockingly, within whispering distance here—it really has a dynamic driver-like quality to its bass—and matches the Odin on bass texture and realistic decay, while also being a little tighter and faster. Trailli has noticeably more midbass quantity, impact, fullness, and texture, but does this without any bleed or bloat into the mids at all, which is quite the trick

As I mentioned above, the trailli is more balanced in terms of lower mids and upper mids, and the increased lower mids add more body, warmth, and organic naturalness. The Odin is comparatively more neutral, less bodied, with more of an upper mids emphasis that can occasionally add a subtle nasal-y quality in certain circumstances. The trailli matches and perhaps exceeds Odin in terms of detail and I would say exceeds it in terms of texture in the mids, though some of this is less immediately apparent because the effortless presentation doesn’t emphasize these qualities as much.

Both have excellent treble, but the Odin is overall a little smoother. The trailli’s treble really is something special with an edge in detail, texture, sparkle, and shimmer but, again, done in a very natural realistic way without overt emphasis. There’s no hint of sharpness or stridency, in either and Odin’s treble really is excellent—the best I had heard until trailli, but trailli edges out the Odin in subtle ways here that just sound a little bit more natural when going from one to the other.

On soundstage, both are again excellent, but the Trailli is noticeably wider and taller. They match each other with fantastic depth.

One dig against trailli so far is that the cable is pretty stiff and less comfortable than the stormbreaker cable on my odins; however, i expect the trailli cable to become less stiff as I use it, which happened with my stormbreaker. Trailli cable is also noticeably more microphonic, particularly when part of the cable rubs against itself or you move the chin slider. These are purely ergonomic issues though.

However, the sum of everything makes the whole of the trailli, to me, a noticeably better iem, but we’re in such a high echelon of performance here, that both are excellent—trailli just has an effortlessness and naturalness to its performance that is really compelling and astounding. It’s like the difference between two top professional athletes, one (the Odin) that works harder than anyone else and as a result has excellent, almost textbook technique, while the other is just insanely naturally gifted and has an innate effortlessness and almost perfect instinct (trailli).

Excellent comparison, perfectly articulated the differences I also heard.

That organic and natural aspect to Traillii is the key differentiator and winner IMO.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

So I just got Trailli, have the Odin, and have been comparing them since the Trailli arrived yesterday morning. I’m still getting to know the Trailli, and I know that I need more time with it to get a holistic sense of its full capabilities (this would be true of any iem this soon after getting it, but I can tell already is particularly true of the Trailli because some of its greatness clearly lies in how well it does certain subtleties.

I listen to a little bit of everything—pretty much anything with the exception of country—and I’ve been listening to a bit of everything over the past two days as I’ve been putting Trailli through its paces. This has included classic rock (Rolling Stones, the Doors, Cream, The Who, The Band, etc.) Prog Rock (Pink Floyd, Rush), acoustic/singer-songwriter (Martin Sexton, Carole King), Electronic (Daft Punk, Prodigy, Crystal Method, Caravan Palace), dubstep, hip-hop, contemporary pop, electro swing, etc etc.

I would certainly say that as a whole the Trailli is better, but at least to my ears, we’re not talking night and day differences. However, the sum of the differences adds up to a overall improved sound in most areas. For me it’s enough to justify the substantial additional investment, but that’s an entirely personal opinion.

On technicalities (particularly resolution, micro and macro detail, soundstage depth) they are actually very close and there are some areas where the Odin reigns supreme. Odin’s tuning accentuates it’s clarity, detail, separation and precision through its emphasis on subbass over midbass, and upper mids over lower mids. The Trailli has more midbass and lower mids, which give notes additional body and adds a naturalness. It matches or exceeds the Odin’s detail, layering, but does so in a more effortless, less emphasized way. In fact, effortless excellence is a really good two-word description of the trailli.

To my ears, Odin edges Trailli out in its delivery that subwoofer-like thump subbass impact at the leading edge of a bass note—there’s a certain robustness there that the Trailli doesn’t quite match. I’m not talking about quantity, because Trailli actually has at least the same about of subbass if not a little more, but the subtle quality of that leading edge of impact that the Odin’s dual weapon ix+ dynamic drivers offer that is really satisfying. However, Trailli is, somewhat shockingly, within whispering distance here—it really has a dynamic driver-like quality to its bass—and matches the Odin on bass texture and realistic decay, while also being a little tighter and faster. Trailli has noticeably more midbass quantity, impact, fullness, and texture, but does this without any bleed or bloat into the mids at all, which is quite the trick

As I mentioned above, the trailli is more balanced in terms of lower mids and upper mids, and the increased lower mids add more body, warmth, and organic naturalness. The Odin is comparatively more neutral, less bodied, with more of an upper mids emphasis that can occasionally add a subtle nasal-y quality in certain circumstances. The trailli matches and perhaps exceeds Odin in terms of detail and I would say exceeds it in terms of texture in the mids, though some of this is less immediately apparent because the effortless presentation doesn’t emphasize these qualities as much.

Both have excellent treble, but the Odin is overall a little smoother. The trailli’s treble really is something special with an edge in detail, texture, sparkle, and shimmer but, again, done in a very natural realistic way without overt emphasis. There’s no hint of sharpness or stridency, in either and Odin’s treble really is excellent—the best I had heard until trailli, but trailli edges out the Odin in subtle ways here that just sound a little bit more natural when going from one to the other.

On soundstage, both are again excellent, but the Trailli is noticeably wider and taller. They match each other with fantastic depth.

One dig against trailli so far is that the cable is pretty stiff and less comfortable than the stormbreaker cable on my odins; however, i expect the trailli cable to become less stiff as I use it, which happened with my stormbreaker. Trailli cable is also noticeably more microphonic, particularly when part of the cable rubs against itself or you move the chin slider. These are purely ergonomic issues though.

However, the sum of everything makes the whole of the trailli, to me, a noticeably better iem, but we’re in such a high echelon of performance here, that both are excellent—trailli just has an effortlessness and naturalness to its performance that is really compelling and astounding. It’s like the difference between two top professional athletes, one (the Odin) that works harder than anyone else and as a result has excellent, almost textbook technique, while the other is just insanely naturally gifted and has an innate effortlessness and almost perfect instinct (trailli).

This comparison is exceptional and hits the nail on the head. I concur with all that was written.

 

[Tanalasta]

Don’t have the Odin. But can wholeheartedly concur with the descriptions on the Trailii that I can also.

Hoping to receive my C9 when I get to work Monday.

 

[tawmizzzz]

Another late night session and one thing that just continues to impress me is how pinpoint accurate instruments are for imaging. I am slowly going through my vast library to re-experience each song (and trust me when I say it’s been a “new” journey rediscovering all these songs)-and when expecting a drop or a guitar solo, I get tripped out when I still hear the dead accuracy of the drum or bass hit in the center while the other instruments and vocals rise to the forefront on the peripherals. The left/right separation is just superb. You can just always tell where everything is going on in the stage [and yes this is just from the W2 pairing]

 

[Trunkmonkey44]

So I just got Trailli, have the Odin, and have been comparing them since the Trailli arrived yesterday morning. I’m still getting to know the Trailli, and I know that I need more time with it to get a holistic sense of its full capabilities (this would be true of any iem this soon after getting it, but I can tell already is particularly true of the Trailli because some of its greatness clearly lies in how well it does certain subtleties.

I listen to a little bit of everything—pretty much anything with the exception of country—and I’ve been listening to a bit of everything over the past two days as I’ve been putting Trailli through its paces. This has included classic rock (Rolling Stones, the Doors, Cream, The Who, The Band, etc.) Prog Rock (Pink Floyd, Rush), acoustic/singer-songwriter (Martin Sexton, Carole King), Electronic (Daft Punk, Prodigy, Crystal Method, Caravan Palace), dubstep, hip-hop, contemporary pop, electro swing, etc etc.

I would certainly say that as a whole the Trailli is better, but at least to my ears, we’re not talking night and day differences. However, the sum of the differences adds up to a overall improved sound in most areas. For me it’s enough to justify the substantial additional investment, but that’s an entirely personal opinion.

On technicalities (particularly resolution, micro and macro detail, soundstage depth) they are actually very close and there are some areas where the Odin reigns supreme. Odin’s tuning accentuates it’s clarity, detail, separation and precision through its emphasis on subbass over midbass, and upper mids over lower mids. The Trailli has more midbass and lower mids, which give notes additional body and adds a naturalness. It matches or exceeds the Odin’s detail, layering, but does so in a more effortless, less emphasized way. In fact, effortless excellence is a really good two-word description of the trailli.

To my ears, Odin edges Trailli out in its delivery that subwoofer-like thump subbass impact at the leading edge of a bass note—there’s a certain robustness there that the Trailli doesn’t quite match. I’m not talking about quantity, because Trailli actually has at least the same about of subbass if not a little more, but the subtle quality of that leading edge of impact that the Odin’s dual weapon ix+ dynamic drivers offer that is really satisfying. However, Trailli is, somewhat shockingly, within whispering distance here—it really has a dynamic driver-like quality to its bass—and matches the Odin on bass texture and realistic decay, while also being a little tighter and faster. Trailli has noticeably more midbass quantity, impact, fullness, and texture, but does this without any bleed or bloat into the mids at all, which is quite the trick

As I mentioned above, the trailli is more balanced in terms of lower mids and upper mids, and the increased lower mids add more body, warmth, and organic naturalness. The Odin is comparatively more neutral, less bodied, with more of an upper mids emphasis that can occasionally add a subtle nasal-y quality in certain circumstances. The trailli matches and perhaps exceeds Odin in terms of detail and I would say exceeds it in terms of texture in the mids, though some of this is less immediately apparent because the effortless presentation doesn’t emphasize these qualities as much.

Both have excellent treble, but the Odin is overall a little smoother. The trailli’s treble really is something special with an edge in detail, texture, sparkle, and shimmer but, again, done in a very natural realistic way without overt emphasis. There’s no hint of sharpness or stridency, in either and Odin’s treble really is excellent—the best I had heard until trailli, but trailli edges out the Odin in subtle ways here that just sound a little bit more natural when going from one to the other.

On soundstage, both are again excellent, but the Trailli is noticeably wider and taller. They match each other with fantastic depth.

One dig against trailli so far is that the cable is pretty stiff and less comfortable than the stormbreaker cable on my odins; however, i expect the trailli cable to become less stiff as I use it, which happened with my stormbreaker. Trailli cable is also noticeably more microphonic, particularly when part of the cable rubs against itself or you move the chin slider. These are purely ergonomic issues though.

However, the sum of everything makes the whole of the trailli, to me, a noticeably better iem, but we’re in such a high echelon of performance here, that both are excellent—trailli just has an effortlessness and naturalness to its performance that is really compelling and astounding. It’s like the difference between two top professional athletes, one (the Odin) that works harder than anyone else and as a result has excellent, almost textbook technique, while the other is just insanely naturally gifted and has an innate effortlessness and almost perfect instinct (trailli).

So well said. I have both, and while the bird isn’t twice as good as the price difference suggests, I do think it is better. The Odin are something special, though, and the build and fit is amazing. I like the lighter cable better too.

For my not-so-young-anymore ears, they seem to have similar sound signatures, so for me there is no point in keeping both. I just have to convince myself to list my Odins...

 

[iDesign]

So I just got Trailli, have the Odin, and have been comparing them since the Trailli arrived yesterday morning. I’m still getting to know the Trailli, and I know that I need more time with it to get a holistic sense of its full capabilities (this would be true of any iem this soon after getting it, but I can tell already is particularly true of the Trailli because some of its greatness clearly lies in how well it does certain subtleties.

I listen to a little bit of everything—pretty much anything with the exception of country—and I’ve been listening to a bit of everything over the past two days as I’ve been putting Trailli through its paces. This has included classic rock (Rolling Stones, the Doors, Cream, The Who, The Band, etc.) Prog Rock (Pink Floyd, Rush), acoustic/singer-songwriter (Martin Sexton, Carole King), Electronic (Daft Punk, Prodigy, Crystal Method, Caravan Palace), dubstep, hip-hop, contemporary pop, electro swing, etc etc.

I would certainly say that as a whole the Trailli is better, but at least to my ears, we’re not talking night and day differences. However, the sum of the differences adds up to a overall improved sound in most areas. For me it’s enough to justify the substantial additional investment, but that’s an entirely personal opinion.

On technicalities (particularly resolution, micro and macro detail, soundstage depth) they are actually very close and there are some areas where the Odin reigns supreme. Odin’s tuning accentuates it’s clarity, detail, separation and precision through its emphasis on subbass over midbass, and upper mids over lower mids. The Trailli has more midbass and lower mids, which give notes additional body and adds a naturalness. It matches or exceeds the Odin’s detail, layering, but does so in a more effortless, less emphasized way. In fact, effortless excellence is a really good two-word description of the trailli.

To my ears, Odin edges Trailli out in its delivery that subwoofer-like thump subbass impact at the leading edge of a bass note—there’s a certain robustness there that the Trailli doesn’t quite match. I’m not talking about quantity, because Trailli actually has at least the same about of subbass if not a little more, but the subtle quality of that leading edge of impact that the Odin’s dual weapon ix+ dynamic drivers offer that is really satisfying. However, Trailli is, somewhat shockingly, within whispering distance here—it really has a dynamic driver-like quality to its bass—and matches the Odin on bass texture and realistic decay, while also being a little tighter and faster. Trailli has noticeably more midbass quantity, impact, fullness, and texture, but does this without any bleed or bloat into the mids at all, which is quite the trick

As I mentioned above, the trailli is more balanced in terms of lower mids and upper mids, and the increased lower mids add more body, warmth, and organic naturalness. The Odin is comparatively more neutral, less bodied, with more of an upper mids emphasis that can occasionally add a subtle nasal-y quality in certain circumstances. The trailli matches and perhaps exceeds Odin in terms of detail and I would say exceeds it in terms of texture in the mids, though some of this is less immediately apparent because the effortless presentation doesn’t emphasize these qualities as much.

Both have excellent treble, but the Odin is overall a little smoother. The trailli’s treble really is something special with an edge in detail, texture, sparkle, and shimmer but, again, done in a very natural realistic way without overt emphasis. There’s no hint of sharpness or stridency, in either and Odin’s treble really is excellent—the best I had heard until trailli, but trailli edges out the Odin in subtle ways here that just sound a little bit more natural when going from one to the other.

On soundstage, both are again excellent, but the Trailli is noticeably wider and taller. They match each other with fantastic depth.

One dig against trailli so far is that the cable is pretty stiff and less comfortable than the stormbreaker cable on my odins; however, i expect the trailli cable to become less stiff as I use it, which happened with my stormbreaker. Trailli cable is also noticeably more microphonic, particularly when part of the cable rubs against itself or you move the chin slider. These are purely ergonomic issues though.

However, the sum of everything makes the whole of the trailli, to me, a noticeably better iem, but we’re in such a high echelon of performance here, that both are excellent—trailli just has an effortlessness and naturalness to its performance that is really compelling and astounding. It’s like the difference between two top professional athletes, one (the Odin) that works harder than anyone else and as a result has excellent, almost textbook technique, while the other is just insanely naturally gifted and has an innate effortlessness and almost perfect instinct (trailli).

As a member of Head-Fi for the past 17 years, this is one of the best, most honest replies I've ever read. I appreciate that you're able to set aside the excitement of the Traillii and its higher price and provide objective impressions. And based on your post and others, the Odin may better suit my preferences and classical music (I don't listen to EDM, J-pop. etc.). I've narrowed my sights on the Traillii and Odin and I need to audition them.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

As a member of Head-Fi for the past 17 years, this is one of the best, most honest replies I've ever read. I appreciate that you're able to set aside the excitement of the Traillii and its higher price and provide objective impressions. And based on your post and others, the Odin may better suit my preferences and classical music. I've narrowed my sights on the Traillii and Odin and I need to audition them.

I have to say that with the Odin, Jazz trio and chamber music is euphoric.
However the upper mid spike would hurt my ears in just about any track. For me, that was my sole reason for selling Odin.

 

[sorrick]

As a member of Head-Fi for the past 17 years, this is one of the best, most honest replies I've ever read. I appreciate that you're able to set aside the excitement of the Traillii and its higher price and provide objective impressions. And based on your post and others, the Odin may better suit my preferences and classical music (I don't listen to EDM, J-pop. etc.). I've narrowed my sights on the Traillii and Odin and I need to audition them.

Well gosh, that’s just about the best feedback I could ask for, thank you (and @aaf evo, @tawmizzzz @jwilliamhurst, @Tanalasta, and @Trunkmonkey44). I’m so glad my post resonated and was helpful.

Both the Odin and Trailli are very special iems and real achievements in terms of their capabilities and excellence as all-rounders. The Odin’s upper mids are clearly their most polarizing aspect. They were never an issue for me and I think they help contribute to the Odin’s initial (and ongoing) wow-factor and their comparative emphasis on the technical chops. Trailli is a little less in your face about its technical prowess.

 

[SeeSax]

@sorrick I thought it was a fantastic write-up as well. In fact I pinged a few of those mutual friends and said as much, but didn't quote the post. Oops.

Anyway, I have Odin and Traillii as well and agree with your post. The Odin really does prioritize detail front and center, where the Traillii just seems to effortlessly exude it. I'm not ready to let go of Odin just yet, but who knows.

All that said, I'm listening to Mason FS currently for the different experience all together. I think Traillii has the upper hand in bass and overall technical abilities, but Mason FS is quite special in its delivery of vocals and realistic sound. All the IEMs mentioned have silly price tags, but you only live once right?

-Collin-

 

[jwilliamhurst]

Well gosh, that’s just about the best feedback I could ask for, thank you (and @aaf evo, @tawmizzzz @jwilliamhurst, @Tanalasta, and @Trunkmonkey44). I’m so glad my post resonated and was helpful.

Both the Odin and Trailli are very special iems and real achievements in terms of their capabilities and excellence as all-rounders. The Odin’s upper mids are clearly their most polarizing aspect. They were never an issue for me and I think they help contribute to the Odin’s initial (and ongoing) wow-factor and their comparative emphasis on the technical chops. Trailli is a little less in your face about its technical prowess.

This is the best community I’ve been blessed to be a part of. I feel that all of you are my friends in my very busy, city fueled life. I’m thankful and always happy to contribute to the community. It’s great to be able to have an opinion and not be judged.
I agree that the Odin is very special and the Bird is very special. Traillii just won my heart.

 

[riverground]

Well guys I’m taking one for the team… I ordered the ORIOLUS CRASSIROSTRIS
A new hybrid based off the MK2 with a wider soundstage and higher quality of sound so they say. Ordered from Andrew at musicteck and no one has heard it yet….I’ll let y’all know

I see that you’re getting the Isabellae as well, I’m more curious about that one actually. Do let us know your impressions once they arrive.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

I see that you’re getting the Isabellae as well, I’m more curious about that one actually. Do let us know your impressions once they arrive.

I most definitely will.

 

[bigbeans]

I most definitely will.

Did you already order the Isabella? Where did you order it from?