[RTodd]

@SBranson asked me an interesting question which I cannot answer not having heard the Elysium.

How do Ely mids compare to the bird of destruction?

Interestingly very similar, the Ely is DD for mids but once again Traillii has a bit of BA magic sauce in there. I find a slight edge to the Elysium’s mids that could be in part the way the bass is less on the Ely. Timbre on certain vocals does sound different more forward on Ely.

 

[MatW]

I am on the floor in spasms!

Someone please correct @gLer’s ears. We need counterpoint!

Well, he is saying that he would combine it with the LX. That would also be my 'counterpoint', if you can call it that, that it can still make sense, depending on one's preferences, to combine it with other IEMs. As good as it is, I still reach for the Thummim, LX(SE) etc. for the more visceral impact of the dynamic drivers.

 

[FooFighter]

Interestingly very similar, the Ely is DD for mids but once again Traillii has a bit of BA magic sauce in there. I find a slight edge to the Elysium’s mids that could be in part the way the bass is less on the Ely. Timbre on certain vocals does sound different more forward on Ely.

+1
Ely is a bit like a reverse V shaped bird with forward mids, less bass but very nice timbre and maybe a tad more decay
Mid bass can thump too but not so very strong

 

[SBranson]

@SBranson asked me an interesting question which I cannot answer not having heard the Elysium.

How do Ely mids compare to the bird of destruction?

Interestingly very similar, the Ely is DD for mids but once again Traillii has a bit of BA magic sauce in there. I find a slight edge to the Elysium’s mids that could be in part the way the bass is less on the Ely, Timbre on certain vocals does sound different more forward on Ely.

My main point in the question is related to my mostly mid centred music choices. I tend to listen to vocalists in small groups, baroque music in small chamber groups or individual instruments like lute or viola da gamba. I don't really listen to rock or EDM or the like on the occasions I would be using the Trailli (home use only in the evenings) so I wonder if something more mid centric like the Elysium is a better stopping point..

Trailli, trailli... I can feel the gears of justification grinding away in my head... but it would require a huge purge down to just having a dap and the Trailli and keeping the Isabellae for work. Having the Isabellae makes me pretty certain about Oriolus' tuning prowess

 

[KickAssChewGum]

Well, he is saying that he would combine it with the LX. That would also be my 'counterpoint', if you can call it that, that it can still make sense, depending on one's preferences, to combine it with other IEMs. As good as it is, I still reach for the Thummim, LX(SE) etc. for the more visceral impact of the dynamic drivers.

I would agree that the Legend X is the perfect complimentary IEM to the Trailli (if you only wanted two... but who am I kidding, this is Head-Fi!).

 

[SBranson]

+1
Ely is a bit like a reverse V shaped bird with forward mids, less bass but very nice timbre and maybe a tad more decay
Mid bass can thump too but not so very strong

That possibility of a recession in the mids for the sake of size of presentation is the one thing I'm wondering about. With my music choices I wonder if that's the wrong direction.

 

[KickAssChewGum]

That possibility of a recession in the mids for the sake of size of presentation is the one thing I'm wondering about. With my music choices I wonder if that's the wrong direction.

I certainly wouldn't say that the mids are recessed on the Trailli.

 

[FooFighter]

I certainly wouldn't say that the mids are recessed on the Trailli.

Also wouldn't call them recessed.
Compared to Elysium I feel like listening to the birds is more engaging in terms of toe tapping and having some kind of (not strong but recognizable) subwoofer engaged which is not there with Elysium which is fully concentrating on mids

 

[SBranson]

This is all good stuff, thanks!

 

[tawmizzzz]

@SBranson

This is all from memory, but Elysium is probably still top 3-4 for me in mids despite many of the summit-fi's I've heard. The "recession" that some folks allude to on the Traillii is in actuality just a by-product of an insanely large depth staging. The detail is all there-it just won't be shoved down your throat. I wouldn't even call Elysium particularly forward (more in the middle of the pack)- especially compared to Infinity/Odin/Erlkonig. Traillii takes Elysium's stage (height, depth and width) and pushes the vocals and mids slightly more back on the staging (think of a huge spherical concert) but with all the organic timbre/clarity easily present. There is that "wetness" factor that makes it very engaging and musical.

So for your genres, it is possible that Traillii is not the best mid-centric IEM. But like how many others have stated, the mids are still summit-fi and beautifully complimented by the best treble in the game and one of the best bass responses across any driver type. It really is the whole product you are looking at. But if mids is your main priority, Elysium is easily best bang for the buck there.

Hope this kinda helps.

 

[Calfredo826]

@SBranson

This is all from memory, but Elysium is probably still top 3-4 for me in mids despite many of the summit-fi's I've heard. The "recession" that some folks allude to on the Traillii is in actuality just a by-product of an insanely large depth staging. The detail is all there-it just won't be shoved down your throat. I wouldn't even call Elysium particularly forward (more in the middle of the pack)- especially compared to Infinity/Odin/Erlkonig. Traillii takes Elysium's stage (height, depth and width) and pushes the vocals and mids slightly more back on the staging (think of a huge spherical concert) but with all the organic timbre/clarity easily present. There is that "wetness" factor that makes it very engaging and musical.

So for your genres, it is possible that Traillii is not the best mid-centric IEM. But like how many others have stated, the mids are still summit-fi and beautifully complimented by the best treble in the game and one of the best bass responses across any driver type. It really is the whole product you are looking at. But if mids is your main priority, Elysium is easily best bang for the buck there.

Hope this kinda helps.

Best mids in the game would probably go to Supreme MKII

 

[tawmizzzz]

Best mids in the game would probably go to Supreme MKII

Yep! My tentative list would be:

1. Supreme MkII
2. Infinity MkII
3. Erlkönig
4. Elysium/Traillii
5. Mason FS (need more time here)
6. MW10

 

[FooFighter]

Damn I meant to respond last night about the desktop versus portable sources for driving Traillii but had too many brewskies and fell asleep. Thread blew up already since.

But here goes! I’d love to try a full-desktop rig but what I’ve noticed in this hobby is the everlasting dance of finding the right balance between musicality and technicality-something Traillii to my ears sustains excellently by its default tuning and implementation. Usually as you get past a certain technical standpoint (micro detail, huge staging, etc.), engagement can suffer without the right tuning/warmth.

I know @Damz87 loves the DMP since it seems to retain the warmth while being technical as hell, and would love to try that pairing. But I do wonder if some of the desktop solutions maximize the layering and detail to an extent that musicality (subjective, I know), can diminish for the respective listener. For example with C9, I sold it rather quickly a while back because while staging and layering increased with a blacker background, it did so by bringing the sound too far away from me, thus losing engagement. I had to turn the volume too loud to bring it forward, and my ears would bleed (figuratively). As for my other IEMs like the Aure Elixir, C9 actually benefited it both musical and technical-wise.

That’s why the W2 seems to be an excellent option in my case because you still get rich detail, a black background while having a forward enough signature that is engaging and immersive. Tons of sparkle and fast transients.

I guess this is my long way of saying-screw all your temptations . My wallet and I will remain in denial. But I look forward to vicariously living through your alternate ways of making the birdie sing to its true potential. @aaf evo-take another one for the team and get the M30 to test out

@aaf evo is that still up2date regarding test of M30 with the bird?

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Also wouldn't call them recessed.
Compared to Elysium I feel like listening to the birds is more engaging in terms of toe tapping and having some kind of (not strong but recognizable) subwoofer engaged which is not there with Elysium which is fully concentrating on mids

Mids are not recessed. Lower treble is scooped out.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I would agree that the Legend X is the perfect complimentary IEM to the Trailli (if you only wanted two... but who am I kidding, this is Head-Fi!).

I agree that Legend X is the perfect complement to the Traillii. So is the Z1R.

My best 3 IEMs used to be Odin, Z1R and LX. Once I got the Traillii, it is now Traillii, Z1R and LX. Odin is still better than LX and comparable to Z1R, but it overlaps too much with the Bird and Bird is better at far more things than Odin.