[ian91]

Getting ready to hit the road for a variety of errands, not the least of which is a quick meetup with @SBranson and a long awaited Traillii demo. The anticipation is insane, partly because this will possibly be the first time in my life I've experienced what is reputed to be the absolute summit of one of my hobbies, and partly because I'm a little nervous that this experience could ruin all my other IEMs for me and put me down a path of obsessively pining to acquire something which is really well beyond my means in any responsible adult sense.

Enjoy the company and the demo! It's a great IEM, but I don't think it will ruin the experience of your others

 

[blotmouse]

and it definitely has some of the best technique I've heard under $1000

For sure, and that's a great description.

I'd also like to add that its build overall feels very nice.

The fit, the feel of the cable, and the style is all top notch. I was worried they were going to be too small when I pulled them out of the box. I had been fighting with the Blon the other day getting lost in my ears and moving around a bunch, but the Isa just sits nicely. Good seal, no fussing. A rare thing for me.

 

[toaster]

Whenever I hear anyone talk about the CFA Mammoth I think of this cartoon.



I miss the Far Side lol

Far Side is absolutely amazing...so many good ones.

This is one of my favorites:

 

[ranfan]

Isa's finally in my house! Gonna let it chew through some death metal for a few days. I liked the balance of everything right out of the box, but it was pretty rough in the treble. Too bright in the upper mids and highs and needed some technicalities stat. Hoping the full range DD will loosen up and pull off some added detail. From reading previous 1st impressions, it sounds like it will.

Congrats! I don't listen to heavy metals, but do try them on some acoustic tracks The vocals and guitar strings sound fabulous on these. Enjoy!

My initial impressions of the Isabellae are sorta similar. The upper-mids and low-treble are certainly on the more forward side. It has that sizzle-y quality to its transients that give vocals, snare drums, hi-hats and the like a touch of tizz. They're fine with most of my music, though. I only noticed a bit of leanness on vocalists like Rachael Price or Michael Bublé, who tend to rely on their lower ranges for gravitas and power. But, otherwise, I found the tonality fairly natural and pleasing throughout, and it definitely has some of the best technique I've heard under $1000. It doesn't have that fuzziness to its imaging or that pillowy-ness to its dynamics that I often find on in-ears at this price range. Everything sounds tactile, vivid and clean-cut, so there are definitely no complaints there. Like you, though, I'll be burning them in a bit more before I post my more thorough impressions on the threads.

I'd also like to add that its build overall feels very nice. Based on how thick (and evenly thick) its shells are, I'm pretty confident that they were 3D-printed. If they are, then props to Oriolus for getting them as clear as they are. I should note, though, that I only find them impressive for the Isabellae at its price point. It's a different story if it was pricier... much pricier.

Yay, passed through customs. Congrats man!
It is Price to SQ, or on the value side though, they're pretty tough to beat. The sound is fuller on the upper-mids than the lower, so it's going to lean and favor lighter instruments better in my opinion. But the kickdrums have good texture as well from their DD quality mid-bass base. Agree with your impressions. Thanks for sharing them

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday

 

[Rockwell75]

The hype is real. It’s like taking the tonal perfection of Isa and walking into a holodeck from Star Trek Next Generation…I’m speechless, and a little emotional.

 

[normie610]

The hype is real. It’s like taking the tonal perfection of Isa and walking into a holodeck from Star Trek Next Generation…I’m speechless, and a little emotional.

A worthy replacement of your Ely?

 

[aaf evo]

The hype is real. It’s like taking the tonal perfection of Isa and walking into a holodeck from Star Trek Next Generation…I’m speechless, and a little emotional.

Blah. I literally sent mine out Thursday and I feel part of me died. Probably won’t have my custom designed universals until august/sept :/ enjoy

 

[toaster]

you think it sounds good on stock cable?

try it with the orphy...

 

[KutuzovGambit]

The hype is real. It’s like taking the tonal perfection of Isa and walking into a holodeck from Star Trek Next Generation…I’m speechless, and a little emotional.

Obligatory “RIP your wallet”

 

[tgx78]

Obligatory “RIP your wallet”

While driving back home, Mr. Rockwell is contemplating which gear (or organ) he can sell to fund the Traillii.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

The hype is real. It’s like taking the tonal perfection of Isa and walking into a holodeck from Star Trek Next Generation…I’m speechless, and a little emotional.

Congrats. We will be looking forward to the update in your top 10.

 

[Rockwell75]

Pulled over to take a picture of this beautiful sunset. Sums up my experience with the Traillii earlier today. Life’s rich symmetries

 

[Charlyro222]

What a big problem we are going to have.
Every body looking for funds.
Looking forward @Rockwell75 first impressions and selling all our current iems.
LOL

 

[Rockwell75]

It's midnight and I have just arrived home-- it was a long and satisfying day. Grateful to @SBranson for the portable audio opportunity of a lifetime. I don't have the time or energy to write a lengthy post but I'll jot down a few salient points before I crash.

--> Yes the Oriolus Traillii is the single most satisfying listening experience I have ever had with an IEM.

I won't go so far as to say "it's not even close" or anything like that because there are plenty of great IEMs out there and I don't love my own IEMs any less now that I've heard the Traillii. That said the Traillii is a decided step up from pretty much everything else I've heard in a few key ways.

IMHO Traillii's magic is largely derived from two factors:

1) Tuning magic. Quite honestly nobody in my experience can tune an IEM like "The Old Man"-- not Campfire, not Empire, not 64, not UM, not Sony, not even Vision Ears (though imho they have come the closest). When the age of Traillii began in earnest earlier this year I had my doubts and lacked a frame of reference to help understand what was going on. It wasn't until I heard the tunefully sweet and perfect tuning of the Isabellae that I gained some sense of what the appeal might be-- and I think the tuning is really the secret sauce of the Traillii.

2) Tuning magic of (1) flawlessly applied to state of the art drivers. When I heard the Tansio Spark I recognized in its sound salient things I'd heard described in Traillii, but the Spark most certainly did not have the magic or potency of the Bird, nor its vivid staging or separation. The Old Man's effortless, natural, peerlessly balanced tuning combined with the summit fi technicalities possible opens up a literal world of auditory perception. Apart from the separation the real technical marvel of the Traillii for me is the scale, vividness and depth of staging. As I alluded to in another post it literally felt I switched on a Holodeck-- the realism and "3dness" was off the charts good and combined with the tuning utterly captures your heart. Oriolus markets the Traillii as an evolutionary synergy of a musical and balanced approaches and I think they nailed it.

--> No I will not be selling off all my gear to fund a Trailliii-- unfortunately it is quite out of reach for me financially and likely will be for some time.

--> No it does not make me love my current IEMs any less. After the meet today I didn't listen to any music for a couple hours, partly to keep my mind clear to sort out my thoughts, and partly to cleanse my palette. That said once I popped my CFA Honeydew back in early in the evening it wasn't long before I was back in the zone and loving its simple and engaging little groove.

--> The only "up in the air" thing for me would be the lack of DD timbre...I didn't notice it at all today but time would have to be the judge there.



Current Top 10

1) Oriolus Traillii
2) Oriolus Isabellae
3) Visionn Ears Elysium
4) Campfire Dorado 2020
5) Sony IER Z1R
6) Campfire Andromeda 2020
7) Campfire Solaris
8) Vision Ears VE8
9) UM MEST
10) Empire Legend X

 

[snapandslide]

It's midnight and I have just arrived home-- it was a long and satisfying day. Grateful to @SBranson for the portable audio opportunity of a lifetime. I don't have the time or energy to write a lengthy post but I'll jot down a few salient points before I crash.

--> Yes the Oriolus Traillii is the single most satisfying listening experience I have ever had with an IEM.

I won't go so far as to say "it's not even close" or anything like that because there are plenty of great IEMs out there and I don't love my own IEMs any less now that I've heard the Traillii. That said the Traillii is a decided step up from pretty much everything else I've heard in a few key ways.

IMHO Traillii's magic is largely derived from two factors:

1) Tuning magic. Quite honestly nobody in my experience can tune an IEM like "The Old Man"-- not Campfire, not Empire, not 64, not UM, not Sony, not even Vision Ears (though imho they have come the closest). When the age of Traillii began in earnest earlier this year I had my doubts and lacked a frame of reference to help understand what was going on. It wasn't until I heard the tunefully sweet and perfect tuning of the Isabellae that I gained some sense of what the appeal might be-- and I think the tuning is a large part of it.

2) Tuning magic of (1) flawlessly applied to state of the art drivers. When I heard the Tansio Spark I recognized in its sound salient things I'd heard described in Traillii, but the Spark most certainly have the magic or potency of the Bird, nor its vivid staging or seperation. The Old Man's effortless, natural, peerlessly balanced tuning combined with the summit fi technicalities possible opens up a literal world of auditory perception. Apart from the separation the real technical marvel of the Traillii for me is the scale, vividness and depth of staging. As I alluded to in another post it literally felt I switched on a Holodeck-- the realism and "3dness" was off the charts cood and combined with the tuning utterly captures your heart. Oriolus markets the Traillii as an evolutionary synergy of a musical and balanced approach and I think they nailed it.

--> No I will not be selling off all my gear to fund a Trailliii-- unfortunately it is quite out of reach for me financially and likely will be for some time.

--> No it does not make me love my current IEMs any less. After the meet today I didn't listen to any music for a couple hours, partly to keep my mind clear to sort out my thoughts, and partly to cleanse my palette. That said once I popped my CFA Honeydew back in early in the evening it wasn't long before I was back in the zone and loving it's simple and engaging little groove.

--> The only "up in the air" thing for me would be the lack of DD timbre...I didn't notice it at all today but time would have to be the judge there.



Current Top 10

1) Oriolus Traillii
2) Oriolus Isabellae
3) Visionn Ears Elysium
4) Campfire Dorado 2020
5) Sony IER Z1R
6) Campfire Andromeda 2020
7) Campfire Solaris
8) Vision Ears VE8
9) UM MEST
10) Empire Legend X

Posted in the Bird thread, but probably best here!

Great observations and the cohesiveness of both the tuning and staging trumps any faults the Bird may have - BA timbre for instance is a bit there, but its still done better than anyone else. After brain burn in, those observations are only reinforced IMO.

And great point on still being able to enjoy other IEMs - I had my Odin's playing for a proper listen for the first time since the Bird, yes the tuning can feel a bit of a mess in a direct comparison, but it's a great IEM on its on and what bass - still the best thing out there for the low end!