[wolfstar76]

Another surprise is the rating for CPA Trifecta, which is widely loved by many and equally hated by some. I regreted that I did not demo it at SoCal CanJam.

 

[Hanesu]

Another surprise is the rating for CPA Trifecta, which is widely loved by many and equally hated by some. I regreted that I did not demo it at SoCal CanJam.

Where does one find this rating?

 

[HPLovecraft]

Another surprise is the rating for CPA Trifecta, which is widely loved by many and equally hated by some. I regreted that I did not demo it at SoCal CanJam.

It is not a surprise, read this

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/campfire-audio-trifecta.965801/post-17320053

 

[wolfstar76]

Where does one find this rating?

check out @Precogvision's signature. It is not in the main detailed list though.

 

[wolfstar76]

It is not a surprise, read this

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/campfire-audio-trifecta.965801/post-17320053

Yeah, the bipolar reviews from many people I know really make me interested in it, hopefully I will have a chance to demo in in next CanJam event.

 

[Precogvision]

Thanks for detailed review. Seems like their DD implementation still need works as contender to TOTL area.
I imagine the bass is blunted like sounded trapped with too much mid-upper bass at the same time?

Which one do you prefer between Prestige and Mest (mk I and II)?

I definitely prefer the MEST IEMs

Where does one find this rating?

Another surprise is the rating for CPA Trifecta, which is widely loved by many and equally hated by some. I regreted that I did not demo it at SoCal CanJam.

Yea, I dump a lot of "bias" ratings for IEMs that I've only heard briefly, usually at shows and stuff. It's under the main portion of my ranking list if you scroll down far enough.

TBH I didn't really feel like talking about this IEM after hearing it at CanJam, so I just snuck in my bias rating haha. Anyways, I think the funny thing is that if one liked the Trifecta's sound, they should give some of KZ's IEMs a shot. It's very possible that they could get something similar for a fraction of the cost. I don't think there's even crossovers in the Trifecta. It's basically three dynamic drivers jammed into a shell with all of them playing the same frequency

Spoiler: Graph

 

[o0genesis0o]

I definitely prefer the MEST IEMs




Yea, I dump a lot of "bias" ratings for IEMs that I've only heard briefly, usually at shows and stuff. It's under the main portion of my ranking list if you scroll down far enough.

TBH I didn't really feel like talking about this IEM after hearing it at CanJam, so I just snuck in my bias rating haha. Anyways, I think the funny thing is that if one liked the Trifecta's sound, they should give some of KZ's IEMs a shot. It's very possible that they could get something similar for a fraction of the cost. I don't think there's even crossovers in the Trifecta. It's basically three dynamic drivers jammed into a shell with all of them playing the same frequency

Spoiler: Graph

You know an IEM is a mess (trifecta) when the staffs at my local hifi store shake their heads in disbelief

Monarch II is a best seller here though.

 

[Hanesu]

check out @Precogvision's signature. It is not in the main detailed list though.

Where exactly? Couldn`t find it? Just remember Precog talking in a video about it?

 

[ekjellgren]

Where exactly? Couldn`t find it? Just remember Precog talking in a video about it?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...J8G_WX1odnOYBJsBNbVskQVt8/edit#gid=1897980432

 

[DynamicEars]

Where exactly? Couldn`t find it? Just remember Precog talking in a video about it?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pUCELfWO-G33u82H42J8G_WX1odnOYBJsBNbVskQVt8/edit?usp=sharing

Its here

 

[AmericanSpirit]

You know an IEM is a mess (trifecta) when the staffs at my local hifi store shake their heads in disbelief

Monarch II is a best seller here though.

we already have KZ DQ6 and DQ6S

 

[Hanesu]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pUCELfWO-G33u82H42J8G_WX1odnOYBJsBNbVskQVt8/edit?usp=sharing

Its here

Thanks a lot!

 

[Fargeg]

ThieAudio Prestige Impressions

Price: $1300
Configuration: 1DD/4BA/4EST
Unit kindly provided for review by Linsoul: https://www.linsoul.com/products/thieaudio-prestige



The bass response of the Prestige is mostly just palatable. It has a really good-looking bass curve on paper, but subjectively, it's less satisfying than I'd expect. It has stereotypical dynamic driver attack transients; that is to say, a more explosive, sharp leading edge to bass notes. Simultaneously, I struggle to find words to describe other aspects of the Prestige's bass transients. It almost sounds overly dry and hollow, lacking in the thickness and generous decay that I associate with good dynamic driver implementations.

The Prestige's midrange shares a fair amount of DNA with the ThieAudio Monarch MKII, which is a good thing given that the midrange was the Monarch MKII's standout. Comparatively, I would say that the Prestige's midrange is generally slightly more reserved, especially in the female vocal presence regions, but not necessarily thicker overall. Simultaneously, it doesn't have the trailing grain - what some listeners will perceive as texture - that the Monarch MKII's midrange has. A lot of this comes down to these two IEMs' respective treble responses wherein the Prestige's is much more emphasized in the upper-treble. In any case, this is a fairly "correct" sounding midrange that appeals to my sensibilities as someone who prefers a more muted upper-midrange. The biggest criticism I would point out is a minor lack of body from ~1-2kHz which - to my ears at least - makes male vocals sound somewhat odd on the Prestige, especially in conjunction with the lack of texture.

Moving on to less green pastures, the treble response of the Prestige is interesting, as it shares a lot of similarities to the ThieAudio Oracle MKII. This is in the sense that it has fantastic extension (well up to the limits of my hearing and even par with something like the Elysian Annihilator), but it simply doesn't sound correct. The Prestige, then, has a number of upper-treble peaks which beget a bright and almost puffy quality to a lot of instruments. Frankly, it's fatiguing at even my quieter listening volumes and the kicker is that the Prestige's treble doesn't sound particularly detailed. Ostensibly, this is a product of masking from the sheer quantity of upper-treble and it being outside the normal, or what I'd consider tasteful, parameters of my HRTF. On the topic of masking, I suspect that the excessive upper-treble presence also contributes to the Prestige's unsatisfactory bass decay.

Technicalities on the Prestige are just decent, especially for its price point. To me at least, the detail on it sounds forced. This is in the sense that it has very little texture to any parts of its presentation, and its timbre sounds highly unnatural. Some listeners might find the heavy upper-treble to be a boon to a sense of detail, though. Generally, the imaging of the Prestige again falls into the bucket of just alright. It sounds very wide to me, but I would not consider its layering ability - the distinction between individual instruments and their position on the stage - to be noteworthy. As most would know, my listening discography leans brighter, and I find it difficult to track between instruments on certain tracks due to how bright the Prestige's treble leans.

Ultimately, the Prestige is primarily interesting - and not in a good way - in that it illustrates the importance of fine-tuning treble response. I wish more time had been taken to refine its EST implementation because I do think there is some potential to the way the ESTs have been implemented on it. For now though, I'm left to ponder where the Prestige falls in today's market. It's not better than the Monarch MKII (at least I don't think so) and it's certainly not better than the Helios which absolutely runs circles around it in the treble tuning department.

Bias Score: 6/10

All critical listening done off of my DX300 and iPhone 13 Mini with the stock cable and stock tips.

At this point, I do wonder whether the IEM market wouldn't be better off if manufacturers stopped using ESTs.
The overly soft timbre resulting from the unnaturally extended upper treble response appears to be an inherent property of the driver, and the attempts to stick a bandage over that via tuning or driver configurations seem to make them sound overly bright.

Another surprise is the rating for CPA Trifecta, which is widely loved by many and equally hated by some. I regreted that I did not demo it at SoCal CanJam.

I think it's worth keeping in mind that Skullcandy is wildly popular in the consumer segment of the audio market. The "everything is subjective so only preferences matter (and it's always the music's or source's fault if the gear sounds bad)" path is the road to liking $3,000 Skullcandies.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

At this point, I do wonder whether the IEM market wouldn't be better off if manufacturers stopped using ESTs.
The overly soft timbre resulting from the unnaturally extended upper treble response appears to be an inherent property of the driver, and the attempts to stick a bandage over that via tuning or driver configurations seem to make them sound overly bright.


I think it's worth keeping in mind that Skullcandy is wildly popular in the consumer segment of the audio market. The "everything is subjective so only preferences matter (and it's always the music's or source's fault if the gear sounds bad)" path is the road to liking $3,000 Skullcandies.

Agree that Sonion EST has a unique timbre that does come with very high resolutions but is not always the most natural-sounding timbre.

I personally like both EST and BA and am sad to see fewer 10+BA sets coming out these days.

Also, Truthear presented LCP dynamic driver if separated from full-range usage (they set another sub-woofer LCD DD), it quite amusing for a dynamic driver. Quite soft and detailed expression Truthear Zero is able to host.

 

[kmmbd]

TBH I didn't really feel like talking about this IEM after hearing it at CanJam, so I just snuck in my bias rating haha. Anyways, I think the funny thing is that if one liked the Trifecta's sound, they should give some of KZ's IEMs a shot. It's very possible that they could get something similar for a fraction of the cost.

I also listened to the Trifecta during last year's High End Munich, and my thoughts back then were:

"The Trifecta are tuned in a way that is very exciting and at times overwhelming. The bass is bold, while the treble is also pushed up near the lower-treble region (around 5-6kHz to my ears).

The lower-mids are recessed but the upper-mids are emphasized to not make the Trifecta sound muddy in the mids. The most spectacular thing about them are the staging and imaging, with a near headphone-like presentation.

However, the lower-treble can be too fatiguing, at least it was for me. Even then, given the show-floor conditions, I am not going to give a final verdict on them."

In the end, I think it's that uneven treble coupled with the now way-too-old dynamic drivers that Campfire keeps using that hold these back. And for the asking price, not something I'd be looking at while shopping at that range.