[toaster]

Queue Queen...

Tweet tweet, and enjoy.

 

[xenithon]

Queue Queen...

Tweet tweet, and enjoy.

Killer Queen has to be one of my all time favorites in terms of both a song and a testing track!

 

[xenithon]

The problem was, I was often thinking how the Odin or MEST mkii could outperform on some aspects of the songs

This is an important point and I think one of the reasons the Traillii receives such high accolades. There are many other IEMs out there that do certain things possibly better (or just difference), and maybe only on certain material. With the bird, its ratio of doing things excellently to not is very high.

And in addition, where it may not be "the best" in those certain aspects, it's still does those very well - better than most. Those areas where perhaps a specialist IEM shines, the bird still manages to deliver to a high caliber, without compromising and offering something offensive or polarizing.

The way I would describe it is a jack of all trades, master of many (or most) - and in so doing does not fall into the trap of being forgetful.

 

[Frankie D]

Killer Queen has to be one of my all time favorites in terms of both a song and a testing track!

Bringing back some memories with that tune!

 

[RTodd]

Bringing back some memories with that tune!

Killer Queen, 1974, 47 years ago

 

[Frankie D]

Thanks for your perspective, much appreciated. Could you pls provide some test tracks that you feel the Bird is much better on?

Putting on the sedna shorts now..

I own both and listen to allot on them. If you go to MusicTeck and then reviews, I wrote a 2 part review for Andrew.

In addition the below are a cross section of what I have used to both listen and compare. As soon as the mids start the timbre of the Traillii just says game over in my book. Also on the jazz pieces (especially Chik Corea) the tighter more lifelike bass of the Traillii is easy to notice. That said, if I could not afford the Traillii and had the Fourte, I would not be losing any sleep.

I will also say this for the Fourte. It is really easy to hear the differences among cables on it ( one has more bass, or softens sibilance for example). I have not compared cables on the Traillii to date, so I do not know if the same is true, though I would suspect it is.

Anyway, below is a short list:

Abraxas
Adele 25
Adele
Aqualung ( Tull)
Begin to Hope ( Regina Spector)
LA Woman
Boston
Both Sides Now
Brothers In Arms
Careless Love ( Madeline Peyroux)
Come Away With Me ( Norah Jones)
Don’t Smoke In Bed ( Holly Cole)
Forever Albums ( Corea)
Forget About It ( Allison Krauss)
Graceland
Hotel California
Zeppelin iV
Simon And Garfunkel
Sounds of Silence ( Disturbed)
Soular Energy ( Ray Brown)
Yes
Thriller
Toto IV
West Side Story ( Oscar Peterson)
Wish You Were Here ( Floyd)
Opiuo
Adam Ben Ezra

 

[MatW]

I own both and listen to allot on them. If you go to MusicTeck and then reviews, I wrote a 2 part review for Andrew.

In addition the below are a cross section of what I have used to both listen and compare. As soon as the mids start the timbre of the Traillii just says game over in my book. Also on the jazz pieces (especially Chik Corea) the tighter more lifelike bass of the Traillii is easy to notice. That said, if I could not afford the Traillii and had the Fourte, I would not be losing any sleep

Thank you! I just read your two part review. Interesting that you see the Bird and the Erl at more or less the same level. This makes me very curious about the Erlkonig.. If it weren't for Brexit I might well have bought it from the good doctor...

In the interim I changed from Xelastecs to the Sedna short light, and that seems to be an improvement for me as well! Thanks for that suggestion! I did more listening and I think the Bird has opened up more. I agree that when switching between them, the Bird is clearly superior overall, vs Fourte. It is just more coherent across the frequency range, does pretty much everything right. (Only the sub bass could be a little stronger for my taste.) Cymbal crashes are for me the best example where the Bird is much more lifelike.

Interestingly, when I don't A/B, I'm not bothered by the Fourte's relative weaknesses vs the Bird, and I really enjoy listening to it. I like how the dips in the mids create 'open space' in the music, making it sometimes even more detailed than the Bird, to my ears. But yes, at the expense of accurate tonality and timbre.

So while the Bird is technically better, I find them both enjoyable, and the question for me remains if the extra investment is worth it. Also because I also have a stable of over-ears to get back to... (I listened to the 1266 TC today, and the bass response just cannot be matched by any IEM. I do think that the bird's tonality is better though.)

At this point I am very happy with the Bird and strongly inclined to keep it. The IEM stable will first grow a little more (Trio and LXSE, maybe Erlkonig if I can find one), and will then be downsized. I also see why one would sell all other IEMs and keep only the Bird... (Not the outcome for me, I think, I am a bit of a collector...). I never thought it would happen, but the Fourte may be looking for a new home, at that point... I'm not in a hurry, however. I feel so blessed to be able to spend time with these fabulous head and earphones.

 

[Frankie D]

Thank you! I just read your two part review. Interesting that you see the Bird and the Erl at more or less the same level. This makes me very curious about the Erlkonig.. If it weren't for Brexit I might well have bought it from the good doctor...

In the interim I changed from Xelastecs to the Sedna short light, and that seems to be an improvement for me as well! Thanks for that suggestion! I did more listening and I think the Bird has opened up more. I agree that when switching between them, the Bird is clearly superior overall, vs Fourte. It is just more coherent across the frequency range, does pretty much everything right. (Only the sub bass could be a little stronger for my taste.) Cymbal crashes are for me the best example where the Bird is much more lifelike.

Interestingly, when I don't A/B, I'm not bothered by the Fourte's relative weaknesses vs the Bird, and I really enjoy listening to it. I like how the dips in the mids create 'open space' in the music, making it sometimes even more detailed than the Bird, to my ears. But yes, at the expense of accurate tonality and timbre.

So while the Bird is technically better, I find them both enjoyable, and the question for me remains if the extra investment is worth it. Also because I also have a stable of over-ears to get back to... (I listened to the 1266 TC today, and the bass response just cannot be matched by any IEM. I do think that the bird's tonality is better though.)

At this point I am very happy with the Bird and strongly inclined to keep it. The IEM stable will first grow a little more (Trio and LXSE, maybe Erlkonig if I can find one), and will then be downsized. I also see why one would sell all other IEMs and keep only the Bird... (Not the outcome for me, I think, I am a bit of a collector...). I never thought it would happen, but the Fourte may be looking for a new home, at that point... I'm not in a hurry, however. I feel so blessed to be able to spend time with these fabulous head and earphones.

Glad you like them. I also agree, top HP’s can provide superior bass. My Empy can also trounce the Traillii and Erlk. But they are the only 2 IEM’s that I feel can compete.

As you have probably read from my other posts I am interested in the 1266 TC. That sounds like a special HP. That is why I am always interested in your comparisons to it. Tks.

 

[CL14715]

So I squeezed some Final E tips on the bird. It actually wasn’t bad sounding at all.

 

[Tybot]

I now know what all the hubbub is about...

 

[aaf evo]

I now know what all the hubbub is about...

Hey you have them finally. How do you like them?

 

[Damz87]

I now know what all the hubbub is about...

Nice! With a Horus cable too interested to hear your thoughts on that pairing

 

[Damz87]

Cross-posting from the High End Cable thread:

Being in Australia, I'm always a couple of days behind @aaf evo with new arrivals, but I'm happy to finally have this chunky boi arrive
big thanks to @MusicTeck for the impeccable service as usual!

Some general thoughts on build and packaging... Expectations were high given the insane price tag, but to be honest this cable feels worth it's price purely based on unboxing experience and build quality, at least in my opinion. The box and metal case feel extremely high quality, and the black packaging aesthetics look sleek and luxurious.

The cable itself is surprisingly supple despite its thickness. I love the matte black 2-pin barrels and Y-splitter. They are smooth to touch and have a good amount of weight without feeling too heavy.

I won't say too much regarding sound because its early days, but I have been listening for about 30 minutes now with my Traillii and DMP-Z1 and there is a noticeable change to the midrange and bass note weight and texture, sounding somewhat more analogue. Like @aaf evo , I am hearing a bit of a reduction in stage expansion with midrange notes being brought forward with more prominence, and it sounds generally more intimate. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as the Traillii has plenty of space to spare anyway, but I'll see how this changes over time and report back

 

[Tybot]

Nice! With a Horus cable too interested to hear your thoughts on that pairing

Absolutely love the sound. I think the Horus opened them up even more. Still early though. I was actually close to giving up the C9 because of how great they sounded straight out of the WM1Z until I switched the C9 to Pre.

minutes really surprised how good this combo sounds...said no one, ever.

 

[aaf evo]

Absolutely love the sound. I think the Horus opened them up even more. Still early though. I was actually close to giving up the C9 because of how great they sounded straight out of the WM1Z until I switched the C9 to Pre.

minutes really surprised how good this combo sounds...said no one, ever.

i haven’t even tried my c9 in pre amp mode. Is this something I should be doing?