[Skullar]

You're not the first person I've heard say this and (perhaps unsurprisingly) I would not agree. Admittedly it lacks that last but of raw detail and resolution when compared to top tier hybrid and tribrid IEMs it's perfectly fine-- great even-- relative to the more full bodied and analogue sound profile it is going for. Where Trifecta absolutely knocks it out ot the park though, when it comes to techicalities, is with its massive (width, height and depth) holographic stage and impeccable coherence, imaging and layering. There are very few IEMs I've heard-- if any, really-- that can stand head to head with Trifecta in that regard and, coming as it does from what is essentially manifesting as a single DD IEM (and all that entails) more than justifies its price, which in this day and age, even at $3K, is roughly half of the price summit fi IEMs go for. Everything I've heard-- incuding the Xe6 and much lauded Multiverse Mentor-- sound flat and 2-d coming from the Trifecta. Tonally it is certainly not for everyone but one connects with it on that front I think Trifecta more than lives up to its price with everything it brings to the table. YMMV, and all that.

This is a very YMMV iem indeed then.
Im not here to say i am right and you are wrong by no means. Im just surprised how differently we hear that iem.
I personally think its soundstage is the one of the biggest let downs of that iem, so go figure... Especially that most of the time i agree with your impressions on technical performance descriptions on other iems..
In fact i believe it was your impressions about trifecta thst made me doubt my findings at first as they were in CJ. I went and spent some quiet time with one of the demo in stores and it just did not change my mind at all.
For instance something like XE6 tuning is even worse than Trifecta in my book. But i can fully appreciate its technicalities regardless. I feel XE6 is 2 levels above in imaging and staging. The same Mentor is already not high in my list as its just getting old with those few % improvements and 2db retunes every 3 months. yet i could never say that both Trifecta and Multiverse are anywhere near the same league. Mentors imaging is just different and more immersive. But like all UM iems suffers from relatively small stage size.
Saying that, i have had only couple of sessions with that iem and you own one.. For what i know there is something in your chain that makes a massive difference. For instance i see you love the LP6, where i just could not work out a good synergy with dap on any high end iems. Maybe throwing them together would sway my opinion massively.
I mean just recently similar thing happened to me with Storm. The iem that i had mixed feelings to. Ans i had access to that iem while it was in engineering unit state. Yet it took a good sit down and a simple tip rolling to start appreciate it fully.
Some iems also take time to grow on you.
At the end of the day all it matter is what we like ourselves.

 

[Rockwell75]

I personally think its soundstage is the one of the biggest let downs of [Trifecta], so go figure... Especially that most of the time i agree with your impressions on technical performance descriptions on other iems..

I don't know what to say to this beyond...YMMV and all that. The first thing that hit me with Trifecta was its massive sound and stage profile. To me this was one of the most immediate and notable qualities of the IEM. Perhaps music choice, fit, tips were a factor...I dunno. Similarly I am not questioning your impressions I just dont know what to do here except shrug and agree to disagree. I don't think its source because my first initial "wow" experience with Trifecta was through the lowly SR25ii, then again with the M6U and eventually my current bae the LP6.

For instance something like XE6 tuning is even worse than Trifecta in my book. But i can fully appreciate its technicalities regardless. I feel XE6 is 2 levels above in imaging and staging.

I also don't know what to do here but agree to disagree-- I just spent much of the past weekend going back and forth between Xe6 and Trifecta and the only thing to me that Xe6 really had going for it is its superior resolution and extension in the highs-- Trifecta's 3 DDs simply not compete with Xe6's e-stat augmented BAs in this dept. I know there are many who seem to strongly correlate technical ability with detail, resolution and extension, especially up top. It's worth pointing out that "technicalities" is another one of those terms for which there seems to exist no standard definition and for which many different people seem to have their own ideas and priorities around what it entails. There isn't even a listing for it in Holt's glossary. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if there wasn't some FR-is-all-there-art audio nihilist type out there somewhere questioning whether or not technicalities are even a thing at all. That being said where Xe6 excelled in top end extension I found the mids often smoked out by the mid-bass-- over the course of over a year and many demos I've always found the Xe6 a little suffocating to listen to. Trifecta's midrange to me, is. much better presented and it also has what is to my ears the single most layuered, nuanced and technical bass performance I've ever heard. Full stop. Being essentially a single driver (on a much larger scale) Trifecta is much more inherently coherent and on this note has a distinct advantage in terms of depth of stage and unity of imaging on a macro scale that most hybrids cannot match. This is all just personal perception but, again, I cannot agree Xe6 is "2 levels above". It has its strengths to be sure, but so does Trifecta and I'm content to look at this as another YMMV situation.

Some iems also take time to grow on you.

I think part of it might also be that I am well familiar with CFA's house sound, of which Trifecta is imho the epitome, so that it didn't take me long to jive with it whereas others not used to their sound may not know what to make of it

At the end of the day all it matter is what we like ourselves.

Indeed sir.

 

[Skullar]

I don't know what to say to this beyond...YMMV and all that. The first thing that hit me with Trifecta was its massive sound and stage profile. To me this was one of the most immediate and notable qualities of the IEM. Perhaps music choice, fit, tips were a factor...I dunno. Similarly I am not questioning your impressions I just dont know what to do here except shrug and agree to disagree. I don't think its source because my first initial "wow" experience with Trifecta was through the lowly SR25ii, then again with the M6U and eventually my current bae the LP6.



I also don't know what to do here but agree to disagree-- I just spent much of the past weekend going back and forth between Xe6 and Trifecta and the only thing to me that Xe6 really had going for it is its superior resolution and extension in the highs-- Trifecta's 3 DDs simply not compete with Xe6's e-stat augmented BAs in this dept. I know there are many who seem to strongly correlate technical ability with detail, resolution and extension, especially up top. It's worth pointing out that "technicalities" is another one of those terms for which there seems to exist no standard definition and for which many different people seem to have their own ideas and priorities around what it entails. There isn't even a listing for it in Holt's glossary. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if there wasn't some FR-is-all-there-art audio nihilist type out there somewhere questioning whether or not technicalities are even a thing at all. That being said where Xe6 excelled in top end extension I found the mids often smoked out by the mid-bass-- over the course of over a year and many demos I've always found the Xe6 a little suffocating to listen to. Trifecta's midrange to me, is. much better presented and it also has what is to my ears the single most layuered, nuanced and technical bass performance I've ever heard. Full stop. Being essentially a single driver (on a much larger scale) Trifecta is much more inherently coherent and on this note has a distinct advantage in terms of depth of stage and unity of imaging on a macro scale that most hybrids cannot match. This is all just personal perception but, again, I cannot agree Xe6 is "2 levels above". It has its strengths to be sure, but so does Trifecta and I'm content to look at this as another YMMV situation.



I think part of it might also be that I am well familiar with CFA's house sound, of which Trifecta is imho the epitome, so that it didn't take me long to jive with it whereas others not used to their sound may not know what to make of it



Indeed sir.

At the end of the day it just shows that diversity of products is a key here.
Every single product has its place and there will always be people who love it and vise versa.
It reminds me of situation with VE tour where i had a week with Phonix and i sent it out after only 2 days. Because i could not find a single positive word to say about that iem. And yet the following person who received it placed an order on it without even finishing the full weeks evaluation and stated that its his Endgame iem.

I myself have owned and praised so many underdog iems that are not FOTM. And i doubt Trifecta is even considered underdog, based on feedback its getting. Its quite mixed but its getting plenty of love..

 

[Rockwell75]

At the end of the day it just shows that diversity of products is a key here.
Every single product has its place and there will always be people who love it and vise versa.
It reminds me of situation with VE tour where i had a week with Phonix and i sent it out after only 2 days. Because i could not find a single positive word to say about that iem. And yet the following person who received it placed an order on it without even finishing the full weeks evaluation and stated that its his Endgame iem.

That's a great example. It kind of reminds me of Mentor & Xe6 a little bit. Not that I wasn't able to find great things to say about those IEMs, but I never really fully connected with either of them in a way that many others do. On a related note I am quite excited about the Rn6-- Fir has taken elements from both Kr5 (my favorite of the frontiers) and Xe6 and made what is to me a great "total package" IEM.

And i doubt Trifecta is even considered underdog, based on feedback its getting. Its quite mixed but its getting plenty of love.

True but I think there are at least a few folks I know of who would really love it but have shyed away due to the controversy surrounding it. Time will tell there.

 

[LH86]

1. Kublai Khan
2. Odin (sold)
.
.
3. Monarch Mkii with Eros S 8W
4. Z1R (sold)
5. Odyssey
.
6. Monarch Mkii with Stock cable
.
.
10. Solaris 2020
.
.
.

12. Kato
.
.
.
15. 215LTD, XM4
.
.
.
18. AS16 Pro
.
.
.
.
.
.

120. KZ ZST (still can't find the reason they even waste world resources on these too)

Update my personal iems rank.

1. Viking Ragnar with Orpheus Shielding
2. Kublai Khan with Orpheus Shielding
3. Viking Ragnar with Magnus 4 / Kublai Khan with Code 23
4. Kublai Khan with stock cable / Trillii with Orpheus Shielding
.
v
5. Um Le Jardin
v
v
6. Z1R
7. Odin / Monarch Mkii with Eros S 8W
8. Odyssey


Ragnar are my #1 even with stock cable. If you don't want sharpness on highs some cable rolling may help. These like KK on steroid and for me the highest resolution I've heard from IEMs to date.

Trailli with Orpheus Shield have something very special that other sets didn't.

For me nothing (not even Le Jardin) beat Ragnar with Orpheus shielding and KK with Code 23 both are sets I'm find myself enjoy the most.

 

[Vamp898]

After listening to the Moondrop S8, i am putting that one as well in my Ranking

1. IER-M9 (+EP-NI1000)
2. IER-Z1R
3. FitEar TG335
4. Final A8000
5. Moondrop S8 (+MIS T55)
6. CHIKYU-SEKAI 5/COSMOS e-earphone Edition
7. FiiO FA9 (+MIS T55)
8. Vision Ears EXT
9. Acoustune HS1300SS
10. Final E5000
11. Final A4000

 

[Skullar]

On a related note I am quite excited about the Rn6-- Fir has taken elements from both Kr5 (my favorite of the frontiers) and Xe6 and made what is to me a great "total package" IEM.

Rn6 is basically a XE6 without that horrible midbass and lower mids bloat. Which was a dealbreaker for me. Its still warm but now its more subbass focused. And its not far off technically from XE6.
The problem is, those shells just dont fit me well. Although RN6 is quite light, so much better than XE6 fit wise.
But Sonically yes, Its the best Fir tuning so far in my book.

Ragnar are my #1 even with stock cable. If you don't want sharpness on highs some cable rolling may help. These like KK on steroid and for me the highest resolution I've heard from IEMs to date.

Man i need to somehow get hold of Ragnar.
Im Loving my KK so much on H7. If Ragnar improves on what KK is, im all ears. Im just not sure about that tuning. Definitely not a blind buy scenario here. Trying to bump into someone who owns one currently.

 

[LH86]

Man i need to somehow get hold of Ragnar.
Im Loving my KK so much on H7. If Ragnar improves on what KK is, im all ears. Im just not sure about that tuning. Definitely not a blind buy scenario here. Trying to bump into someone who owns one currently.

Definitely must try before. As Ragnar is cleary brighter than KK. Give it like at least 30-45 minutes when you try it for some brain burn in. Then switch back to KK to compare. And then you may end up fall for them so hard(like me) or not like them at all(like my friend).

 

[alavenue]

I just received the UM multiverse mentor. Intitial impression. The thing is on par with Susvara, I was sad to sell my Susvara, circumstances with work meant I couldn't listen to it often. But this iem brings back the happyness lol.

I've had Anole VX for 2 years (my only high end iem reference) and I was just hoping it would sound a bit better but holy S* it blows it away. Technally better in every way plus more musical and dynamic.

Now I just need a better source than my W2 dongle but for now it's good enough. Maybe wm1am2?

Thanks a lot @Tex Irie for your input on the MM

 

[khachonphat]

64 audio nio>64 audio U18T>sennheiser ie900>westone w80 and meow

 

[draytonklammer]

64 audio nio>64 audio U18T>sennheiser ie900>westone w80 and meow

Have you compared the A12T/U12T to the Nio/N8 and A18T/U18T?

 

[khachonphat]

Have you compared the A12T/U12T to the Nio/N8 and A18T/U18T?

I have tried u12t before but didn't compare with u18t and nio. But in term of sound profile nio and u18t are 2 completely different thing which nio sounds more fun and more bassy/thump due to the hybrid drivers and more laid back. As compared to u18t.
I would say if I recalled correctly u12t's high frequencies are abit sharper than u18t but the bass is more energetic than the u18t.

 

[toaster]

I don’t agree that u12t treble is sharper than u18t at all.

In fact, I went with the a18t largely because I found it to have significantly more treble energy and sparkle than the 12t.

 

[khachonphat]

I don’t agree that u12t treble is sharper than u18t at all.

In fact, I went with the a18t largely because I found it to have significantly more treble energy and sparkle than the 12t.

Hmmm I don't really know thou. It just sound smoother and more right to my taste. I mean the u18t. U12t's highs give me a more fatiguing feeling. So maybe personal preference?

 

[nocturne19]

Have you compared the A12T/U12T to the Nio/N8 and A18T/U18T?

All 3 of them are good iems, it just depends on what you need.

N8: Neutral with bass boost. In fact the best bass within the 64 lineup due to its DD driver. Bass extends deep with enough weight. Mids and Highs are well-tuned with good clarity and extension. Technicalities are good.

U12t: Neutral. In fact the most neutral iem I've heard. Good extension at both ends with excellent clarity. Very good technicalities. One of the legend iems that still competes fairly well at the price range.

U18t: Neutral with a hint of brightness. Doesn't go that deep in the bass, but teriffic extension into the highs. Excellent technichalities with superior soundstage.

Ranking by components:
Bass: N8 > U12t > U18t
Mids: U12t (neutral) > N8 (hint of warmthm) > U18t (occcasion sibilance)
Treble: U18t > N8 = U12t
Detail: U18t > U12t > N8
Separation & Layering: U18t = U12t > N8
Soundstage: U18t > U12t > N8

At the end of the day it just turns down to what you prefer. Mind that customs and universals are noticeably different in sound, so you may think twice before your order