Oriolus Traillii Electrostatic Hybrid IEM discussion thread
May 30, 2021 at 12:52 PM Post #2,012 of 7,856
Checking in, soon to be another bird house in Texas. I gave in too...

My hands were shaking and stomach turning the same way when I bought the Utopia 😂
I felt the same way yesterday. I kept pulling up the order page telling myself I don't need it. Then, every time I look around, I saw a bird. I was even watching the Amy Tan documentary and she loves drawing birds. Then, I just pulled a Tom Cruise.....

 
May 30, 2021 at 1:06 PM Post #2,013 of 7,856
There's nothing wrong with trying different gear but personally I got the bird to get out of this vicious circle.
I also decided against C9 to keep my setup minimal, otherwise I d go into desktop size rig, M30 etc to really step up but I won't do that anytime soon.
Will stick to the most minimum audiophile setup I can get which is M8/W2 for now.
Nevertheless I will keep the additional Elysium for night time listening and just ordered a new PWAudio 1960 cable for it 😉
 
May 30, 2021 at 1:10 PM Post #2,014 of 7,856
There's nothing wrong with trying different gear but personally I got the bird to get out of this vicious circle.
I also decided against C9 to keep my setup minimal, otherwise I d go into desktop size rig, M30 etc to really step up but I won't do that anytime soon.
Will stick to the most minimum audiophile setup I can get which is M8/W2 for now.
Nevertheless I will keep the additional Elysium for night time listening and just ordered a new PWAudio 1960 cable for it 😉

Good for you mate. Hope you get many years of enjoyment out of the bird. I myself still have one toe in the water, but only slightly, the bird keeps on improving over time and there really is nothing that I feel it lacks. It is the epitomy of refinement to my ears.
 
May 30, 2021 at 4:40 PM Post #2,015 of 7,856
I did some testing on Friday, comparing the Traillii with an A&K SE200 and an L&P W2 I just picked up. I’d hoped the W2 would be good enough for me to go totally portable and sell the SE200.

The W2 sounds great, but there’s a noticeable difference with the SE200. Across the board I found the background to be much blacker with better instrument separation. Feels like those two things also make the stage a touch bigger as well.

There was enough difference that I kinda wrote off keeping the W2, until I took the W2 and the Traillii to the store today. It was a great on the go setup! If I’m doing a side by side comparison, there’s a noticeable difference, but without them side by side, the W2 did really well.

I also spent some time comparing the 64 Nio with the Traillii. By comparison, the stage, separation, and layering are all a step or two better in the Traillii. The Nio sounds congested in comparison, which is crazy because I love the Nio and thought it stood up really well against the Ely when I had it on tour.

Side by side, I do miss the DD bass a bit though.
 
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May 30, 2021 at 5:41 PM Post #2,017 of 7,856
May 30, 2021 at 5:53 PM Post #2,018 of 7,856
Why is that?
Because when I'm working I don't need the pristine sound of my TOTL IEMs to distract me, and they're frankly wasted on listening to 'background music'. 03 is light, super comfy, sounds amazing (seriously, it's one of the best tuned IEMs I've heard at any price), and I can throw it on my desk or in a bag without a second thought (whereas the TOTL stuff is treated like royal jewelry). The 03 is also more forgiving when I'm streaming stuff that's not perfectly recorded.
 
May 30, 2021 at 5:59 PM Post #2,019 of 7,856
Because when I'm working I don't need the pristine sound of my TOTL IEMs to distract me, and they're frankly wasted on listening to 'background music'. 03 is light, super comfy, sounds amazing (seriously, it's one of the best tuned IEMs I've heard at any price), and I can throw it on my desk or in a bag without a second thought (whereas the TOTL stuff is treated like royal jewelry). The 03 is also more forgiving when I'm streaming stuff that's not perfectly recorded.
For those use cases, I typically listen to my iPhone with Fiio UTWS3 and UM 3DT or Blessing 2 Dusk. No wire, sounds great, and I can take short phone calls when they come in. But lately, I've just been using the L&P W2 with anything.

I must admit, I've heard enough people speaking highly of the BL 03 that I need to get one to hear it for myself.
 
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May 30, 2021 at 6:01 PM Post #2,020 of 7,856
Side by side, I do miss the DD bass a bit though.
I love my W2. It's a great portable solution with great sound. It's this point that has me most interested in hearing the Traillii. Wondering how the bass compares to what I am used to listening to.
 
May 30, 2021 at 6:06 PM Post #2,021 of 7,856
I love my W2. It's a great portable solution with great sound. It's this point that has me most interested in hearing the Traillii. Wondering how the bass compares to what I am used to listening to.

I initially felt I needed more impact from the Traillii, however the bass, more that anything else, has improved with burn in. It has developed an acceptable slam and expanded its reach as the soundstage has opened up, now it feels as though in some tracks the higher frequencies sit atop a thick syrupy sea of bass. Its quite incredible how it supports the music. Yet it never distracts or detracts but is there if you want to appreciate it.
 
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May 30, 2021 at 7:38 PM Post #2,022 of 7,856
...and it’s 2 bas.

it’s beyond belief.
 
May 30, 2021 at 8:14 PM Post #2,023 of 7,856
HM1000 with the birdie is an insane pairing. I’m speechless 😶. image.jpg
 
May 30, 2021 at 8:42 PM Post #2,024 of 7,856
I love how people who recently got the bird are only now just starting to realize how amazing it actually is...
 

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