[jwilliamhurst]

Tonight on my desk top system I put on John Coltrane Locomotion and I admit I cranked the volume a bit higher than I should. (just for the track) I have to say that the vibrato on John’s sax was palpable, I could taste/feel the vibrato in my mouth, made me salivate. Very Strange sensation indeed. (Sounds even more strange reading what I just typed out…..)

however, it happened and it was as if the music was playing through me…I’ve read others felt this with the mason fs….as feeling the music in the jaw. I’m very excited to get my mason fs in a few months.

On another note……
Something I wanted to bring up that I’ve noticed as of recent with the traillii as maybe one thing that slightly bothers me….In tracks such as the one mentioned above or Oscar Peterson’s Maria where the Piano seems pushed back in the mix. It comes off blunted/veiled/muddy (does not extend) I’m unsure if this is caused by that dip in the treble, wondering if those piano notes get lost in the dip. However in tracks where the piano is forward in the mix, it shines and extends and decays beautifully. Conflicted. The recordings are high res and all other instruments sound natural and dynamic except for the piano but only in certain tracks…

 

[gLer]

I can’t wait. Neither of these will displace the Traillii for me but I can’t wait to own one. The Traillii only leaves when something comes and does it better, which probably won’t happen any time soon.

Great write up. I'm going all-in on the Traillii's natural/organic/life-like sound sig from this point on, inspired by the IE900 but really sparked by my first Bird encounter way back when. I totally get why Bird owners say so many other IEMs just sounds 'wrong' in comparison.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Tonight on my desk top system I put on John Coltrane Locomotion and I admit I cranked the volume a bit higher than I should. (just for the track) I have to say that the vibrato on John’s sax was palpable, I could taste/feel the vibrato in my mouth, made me salivate. Very Strange sensation indeed. (Sounds even more strange reading what I just typed out…..)

however, it happened and it was as if the music was playing through me…I’ve read others felt this with the mason fs….as feeling the music in the jaw. I’m very excited to get my mason fs in a few months.

On another note……
Something I wanted to bring up that I’ve noticed as of recent with the traillii as maybe one thing that slightly bothers me….In tracks such as the one mentioned above or Oscar Peterson’s Maria where the Piano seems pushed back in the mix. It comes off blunted/veiled/muddy (does not extend) I’m unsure if this is caused by that dip in the treble, wondering if those piano notes get lost in the dip. However in tracks where the piano is forward in the mix, it shines and extends and decays beautifully. Conflicted. The recordings are high res and all other instruments sound natural and dynamic except for the piano but only in certain tracks…

I think the recessed piano is due directly to the 4-8k scoop out on the bird. I would just EQ it back in and I'll bet that restores the upper harmonics of the piano that you love.

For me, I just pick up a DX300 and I paired it with my C9 and HD800S. Wow. This is a fantastic pairing for Classical music. The combination of macrodynamics, resolution and soundstage are unbeatable for this genre.

 

[FooFighter]

Hi guys
Am still experimenting with my new desktop rig and with my new Full Size R2R DAC the A90 could be a bottleneck tending towards more bright reveiling signature.
I plan to listen mainly with my 24 Ohms Denon AH-D9200 and the birds.
Do you think that pairing C9 to a desktop DAC is a serious alternative instead of a desktop amp if one likes to switch between SS and tubes? (Mobility aspect to be ignored for that question though I know it's one of the key selling points for C9).
What I find a bummer though is that no constant power line attached operation is possible if I understand correctly and I don't like all the ports to be on the same side as the volume control for a plain desktop usage scenario...

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Hi guys
Am still experimenting with my new desktop rig and with my new Full Size R2R DAC the A90 could be a bottleneck tending towards more bright reveiling signature.
I plan to listen mainly with my 24 Ohms Denon AH-D9200 and the birds.
Do you think that pairing C9 to a desktop DAC is a serious alternative instead of a desktop amp if one likes to switch between SS and tubes? (Mobility aspect to be ignored for that question though I know it's one of the key selling points for C9).
What I find a bummer though is that no constant power line attached operation is possible if I understand correctly and I don't like all the ports to be on the same side as the volume control for a plain desktop usage scenario...

No, i do not think the C9 is a sufficient alternative for a tube amp. My bottlehead crack provides way better tube sound than the C9. But it is otl so only good for high impedance cans.

 

[FooFighter]

No, i do not think the C9 is a sufficient alternative for a tube amp. My bottlehead crack provides way better tube sound than the C9. But it is otl so only good for high impedance cans.

Thx
As I was writing bird + 24 Ohms Full Size cans, so question is which switchable SS/tube amp is better than C9 for that setup?

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Thx
As I was writing bird + 24 Ohms Full Size cans, so question is which switchable SS/tube amp is better than C9 for that setup?

You need a transformer tube amp with several impedance ranges and includes an 8-10 Ohm output impedance. I am looking at ZMF Pendant SE, Amps and Sound Forge. PrimaLuna EVO 100. Or Macintosh MHA200 If you don't want to go that far, then look for a hybrid tube amp.

 

[Calfredo826]

Thx
As I was writing bird + 24 Ohms Full Size cans, so question is which switchable SS/tube amp is better than C9 for that setup?

i personally use the Analog Squared Paper TUR-06 tube hybrid amp and I love it.

 

[ian91]

My tube setup for IEMs - Little Dot1+ hybrid amp (low gain) with MUSES02 opamp, Voskhod 6ZH1P tubes, ifi IEMatch (high sensitivity). If I'm at my desk and a want a real sultry sound signature I use this instead of the C9.

 

[twister6]

My tube setup for IEMs - Little Dot1+ hybrid amp with MUSES02 opamp (low gain), Voskhod 6ZH1P tubes, ifi IEMatch. If I'm at my desk and a want a real sultry sound signature I use this instead of the C9.

Just curios, what is the purpose for iEMatch in series with the bird in this setup?

 

[ian91]

Just curios, what is the purpose for iEMatch in series with the bird in this setup?

I get a bit of hiss on the bird without it.

 

[twister6]

I get a bit of hiss on the bird without it.

Oh, I see, I guess it's due to little dot 1 tube amp. Can't wait for ifi to have a proper 4.4mm iematch.

 

[ian91]

Oh, I see, I guess it's due to little dot 1 tube amp. Can't wait for ifi to have a proper 4.4mm iematch.

I'm currently running the Little Dot on high gain as I've misplaced a jumper switch so I can't set it to low gain. I'm hoping when I switch to low gain it'll drop the noise floor and I can remove the ifi IEMatch. Having said that, the ifi IEMatch does lift the bass of the Bird somewhat which has its own appeal!

 

[FooFighter]

Thx guys for your feedback
I have to confess that after checking the mentioned high end options I don't want to put a 20 kg behemoth onto my small side table at my listening position,the Macintosh is decent with 5kg but a little bit more than I wanted to spend.
Any recommendations for something higher up than little dot in a format of a classic headphone amp such as Lyr3?
What do you guys say about connecting the birds to SE ports of amps like Schiit Lyr3 (single tube option) or Burson 3xp (no tube) using adapter cable?
I am hesitating connecting a 2k balanced bird 4,4mm cable to an additional adapter...

 

[ian91]

Thx guys for your feedback
I have to confess that after checking the mentioned high end options I don't want to put a 20 kg behemoth onto my small side table at my listening position,the Macintosh is decent with 5kg but a little bit more than I wanted to spend.
Any recommendations for something higher up than little dot in a format of a classic headphone amp such as Lyr3?
What do you guys say about connecting the birds to SE ports of amps like Schiit Lyr3 (single tube option) or Burson 3xp (no tube) using adapter cable?
I am hesitating connecting a 2k balanced bird 4,4mm cable to an additional adapter...

I've no experience with more expensive tube amps, but if you can get a cheap Little Dot there's no harm in experimenting with this more 'budget' option. With swappable opamps and the choice of tubes you can really seek your own flavour - not everything has to cost an arm-and-a-leg to sound good. As for connecting an adapter to a 2k cable...I appreciate you're point, but the whole idea of tubing is to introduce 'tasteful' distortion. I would say relax and have some fun!