The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.

[1TrickPony]

This just in:



Edit: Props to @1TrickPony -- it was largely your rec that pushed me over the edge and I can well understand your love of these utterly enticing and engaging IEMs.

Glad you've gone the distance in securing one of the last ones, happy for you mate. The Reborn certainly delivers in the mids/vocals dept. The fun and cozy bass don't hurt either.

Definitely looking forward how your Isa compares to the Reborn. Congrats again.

 

[Rockwell75]

Glad you've gone the distance in securing one of the last ones, happy for you mate. The Reborn certainly delivers in the mids/vocals dept. The fun and cozy bass don't hurt either.

Definitely looking forward how your Isa compares to the Reborn. Congrats again.

Really loosely--

Isa: more balanced, slight mid-bass emphasis over sub-bass, less technical, more romantic, intimate & coherent, a smoother listen overall, more natural timbre in the highs & mids, single DD charm

Reborn: Maintains a nice balance but is a more fun & musical sound, sub-bass monster, less mid-bass emphasis, which allows it to get away with more bass without sacrificing mids anywhere, more technical (layering, separation & resolution is better), can be a little sharper up top

Both: Bright leaning, open seductive midrange, enticing vocals, Oriolus magic.

 

[Rockwell75]

Has anyone heard the Kann Alpha? I'm hankering for another Sabre DAP in my life and I think it might be either this or the Shanling M6 Pro 21.

 

[DanielListening]

Got some new tips in the mail today too! So grateful to have found a good silicon tip that fits. They sound so good.

CP145 Spinfits

The small size is green and matches my Andromedas.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B07C98KMVD?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

[ranfan]

Has anyone heard the Kann Alpha? I'm hankering for another Sabre DAP in my life and I think it might be either this or the Shanling M6 Pro 21.

I think a good Sabre DAP might be a nice complement to your warmer M8. And for its price, the M6 Pro 21 to me seems like an excellent value. It may have less spacious and holographic soundstage as the M8, but its rather neutral sound sounded clean, clear and imaging well-defined. Supporting down low, the bass also felt quite punchy and tight with slightly above average size. Somewhat like the E01 in character, but sonically cleaner and comes along with in-built 2.5mm + 4.4mm balanced output

 

[endless402]

Coming from a CA Solaris OG, I was looking for an upgrade. I enjoy the wide soundstage, deep bass, warmish mids of the Solaris but I can tell that some of technical capabilities were lacking in terms of speed and definition. I still feel that it is a very musical IEM that is flexible enough for many genres. IEMs are my office setup and I have a full speaker setup for home listening. Overall my benchmark sound is my home system which has very good pace, transparency, wide/deep soundstage and warmish mids. My sig has my full setup. This review is based off a Chord Hugo with a Vertere Red USB cable. Tips used are Final Audio Type E, Acostune AE07 and AE08, spiral dots, multiple types of spinfit. Stock cables were used. Percivali is a balanced 4.4mm version so I had to use a cayin adapter . Ely is also balanced but 2.5mm so a ddhifi adapter was used.


Build quality

Percivali
Very light and tiny. Was worried at first given its size and weight that it would translate into sub-par sound quality and boy was I wrong! Very comfortable fit overall. Bore hole is slightly smaller than Solaris. Faceplate is a wood finish which is nice, but not spectacular compared to VE and QDC or even other Oriolus.

Elysium
Very solid build quality and fits my ear. Bore hole is quite large and borderline uncomfortable over long periods of time.

Soundstage

Percivali
Much wider than Solaris and imaging placement and layering is excellent. There is a sense of space between the images…borderline holographic. Very surprising given the size of the IEM! Images are “bigger” on the Solaris (appears to have more height). Overall the Perci also gives a “speaker” like presentation

Elysium
Fairly narrow soundstage. I would call it intimate. For me this is one of the biggest drawback coming from the 2ch speaker world. I wouldn’t call it congested but in comparison, it is very tight.

Sub-Bass / Bass

Percivali
More sub-bass and bass definition than Solaris. Goes deep! But not overprounced to bass head levels/ I still have an aurisonics gold hanging around and that produces more quantity of bass. Bass notes are very well defined, much better than Solaris.

Elysium
Not as much sub-bass than Perci and Solaris. Bass faster and punchier than Perci and Solaris though

Mids

Percivali
I was slightly worried when I looked at the FR graphs given the dip vs Solaris and Ely. Upper mids / vocals are not in your face but slightly further back in comparison to Solaris. Timbre is excellent and you can hear the detail in the vocals and instruments. Lower mids are slightly thin which doesn’t affect vocals (even male vocals are really nice) but certain types of instruments. Overall the emotion is conveyed very well.

Elysium
Very nice timbre and lush mids. Detail on the mids are the best out of the three for sure. Vivid is the word I would use.

Treble

Percivali
the electrostats shine. Brings a new dimensionality to the sound. Very airy, speedy and detailed. Slightly rolled off in the top end resulting in no sibilance.

Elysium
Very similar to Perci but slightly sibilant to my ears. Slightly fatiguing after an hour for me.

Overall
Percivali
For me this is the better transition from Solaris and hits my goals. Lower mids are a drawback and I would like slightly warmer/lush vocals of the Ely but I can try changing to a copper cable in the future. Very musical presentation and I found myself gravitating to this IEM over the others. Going back to the Solaris was painful given how much detail I was missing. This was a blind buy given that there weren't many reviews out there but a combination of Justrest's review, the oriolus chart and the general oriolus tuning contributed to my purchase.

Elyisum
Love the presentation of the mids and really wanted to love this IEM given the praise it has been given. The unboxing experience was amazing and the accessories are top notch. For me three issues stand out: 1) the soundstage width 2) large borehole 3) slightly sibilant highs. The last item can be counteracted with more tip rolling and cable changes but the first two issues will never change.

 

[SBranson]

Coming from a CA Solaris OG, I was looking for an upgrade. I enjoy the wide soundstage, deep bass, warmish mids of the Solaris but I can tell that some of technical capabilities were lacking in terms of speed and definition. I still feel that it is a very musical IEM that is flexible enough for many genres. IEMs are my office setup and I have a full speaker setup for home listening. Overall my benchmark sound is my home system which has very good pace, transparency, wide/deep soundstage and warmish mids. My sig has my full setup. This review is based off a Chord Hugo with a Vertere Red USB cable. Tips used are Final Audio Type E, Acostune AE07 and AE08, spiral dots, multiple types of spinfit. Stock cables were used. Percivali is a balanced 4.4mm version so I had to use a cayin adapter . Ely is also balanced but 2.5mm so a ddhifi adapter was used.


Build quality

Percivali
Very light and tiny. Was worried at first given its size and weight that it would translate into sub-par sound quality and boy was I wrong! Very comfortable fit overall. Bore hole is slightly smaller than Solaris. Faceplate is a wood finish which is nice, but not spectacular compared to VE and QDC or even other Oriolus.

Elysium
Very solid build quality and fits my ear. Bore hole is quite large and borderline uncomfortable over long periods of time.

Soundstage

Percivali
Much wider than Solaris and imaging placement and layering is excellent. There is a sense of space between the images…borderline holographic. Very surprising given the size of the IEM! Images are “bigger” on the Solaris (appears to have more height). Overall the Perci also gives a “speaker” like presentation

Elysium
Fairly narrow soundstage. I would call it intimate. For me this is one of the biggest drawback coming from the 2ch speaker world. I wouldn’t call it congested but in comparison, it is very tight.

Sub-Bass / Bass

Percivali
More sub-bass and bass definition than Solaris. Goes deep! But not overprounced to bass head levels/ I still have an aurisonics gold hanging around and that produces more quantity of bass. Bass notes are very well defined, much better than Solaris.

Elysium
Not as much sub-bass than Perci and Solaris. Bass faster and punchier than Perci and Solaris though

Mids

Percivali
I was slightly worried when I looked at the FR graphs given the dip vs Solaris and Ely. Upper mids / vocals are not in your face but slightly further back in comparison to Solaris. Timbre is excellent and you can hear the detail in the vocals and instruments. Lower mids are slightly thin which doesn’t affect vocals (even male vocals are really nice) but certain types of instruments. Overall the emotion is conveyed very well.

Elysium
Very nice timbre and lush mids. Detail on the mids are the best out of the three for sure. Vivid is the word I would use.

Treble

Percivali
the electrostats shine. Brings a new dimensionality to the sound. Very airy, speedy and detailed. Slightly rolled off in the top end resulting in no sibilance.

Elysium
Very similar to Perci but slightly sibilant to my ears. Slightly fatiguing after an hour for me.

Overall
Percivali
For me this is the better transition from Solaris and hits my goals. Lower mids are a drawback and I would like slightly warmer/lush vocals of the Ely but I can try changing to a copper cable in the future. Very musical presentation and I found myself gravitating to this IEM over the others. Going back to the Solaris was painful given how much detail I was missing. This was a blind buy given that there weren't many reviews out there but a combination of Justrest's review, the oriolus chart and the general oriolus tuning contributed to my purchase.

Elyisum
Love the presentation of the mids and really wanted to love this IEM given the praise it has been given. The unboxing experience was amazing and the accessories are top notch. For me three issues stand out: 1) the soundstage width 2) large borehole 3) slightly sibilant mids. The last item can be counteracted with more tip rolling and cable changes but the first two issues will never change.

I find it a shame you aren't enjoying the Elysium more. My music is largely mid centric and the timbre and tone is so spot on and I found the decay of the ESTs to give such a natural sound to vocals, strings and such.. Though I'd agree with the "intimate" nature of the stage, I felt that the same sense of decay from the ESTs gave them a real 3D quality and a very strong room feel with excellent instrument placement and imaging. Perhaps again it is my music choices that benefitted from this presentation but really I find the Elysium easily my second favourite.. I did find that the Eletech Plato was a fantastic cable upgrade for the Elysium giving more air and separation. Also I did feel that the ddhifi adapter did compress the sound a little but I might be imaging things..

 

[HarlanDraka]

Just got a week ago the Oriolus Reborn as well, I had the mkii version in 2018 but at the time I sold them to try something new (big mistake, since I missed them afterward). They are really hidden gems in the iems world, they have a musicality that I struggled to find in many other sets I had or tried in the past years.

If anybody is interested in Oriolus reborn, I bought the last set from amazon jp but as far as I can tell they are “awaiting stock”. I also saw that hifigo had them available in either black or carbon fiber.

@Rockwell75 Try them with original (not++)spiral dots if you hadn’t already. With them, They are super smooth and the mid-bass slams (tested with pwaudio no 5)
At the time most people in the Oriolus thread used the spiral dots with their mkii. You may need a bigger size though due to the shallow fit.

 

[endless402]

I find it a shame you aren't enjoying the Elysium more. My music is largely mid centric and the timbre and tone is so spot on and I found the decay of the ESTs to give such a natural sound to vocals, strings and such.. Though I'd agree with the "intimate" nature of the stage, I felt that the same sense of decay from the ESTs gave them a real 3D quality and a very strong room feel with excellent instrument placement and imaging. Perhaps again it is my music choices that benefitted from this presentation but really I find the Elysium easily my second favourite.. I did find that the Eletech Plato was a fantastic cable upgrade for the Elysium giving more air and separation. Also I did feel that the ddhifi adapter did compress the sound a little but I might be imaging things..

Haven’t fully given up on them yet. Will give them another go tomorrow. I usually give most iem’s a week to see how I feel though my tia trio and jh lola’s only lasted two days lol.

 

[Ace Bee]

Reborn definitely has the more consistently open midrange whereas on Dorado everything is so incredibly disciplined considering how much bass there is, which is something to note-- on Dorado the mid-bass definitely can seem to crowd out the mids at times. It's another one of those things, like the upper mids & comparative lack of mid-bass on the Reborn that is jarring at first but after time you just adjust to it. What sort of music do you listen to?

All sorts...vocal, instrumental, clasic rock, pop, country, jazz occasionally, grunge, post-rock, alternative rock, metal, orchestral, anime and game OST, bollywood....

 

[Ace Bee]

Just got a week ago the Oriolus Reborn as well, I had the mkii version in 2018 but at the time I sold them to try something new (big mistake, since I missed them afterward). They are really hidden gems in the iems world, they have a musicality that I struggled to find in many other sets I had or tried in the past years.

If anybody is interested in Oriolus reborn, I bought the last set from amazon jp but as far as I can tell they are “awaiting stock”. I also saw that hifigo had them available in either black or carbon fiber.

@Rockwell75 Try them with original (not++)spiral dots if you hadn’t already. With them, They are super smooth and the mid-bass slams (tested with pwaudio no 5)
At the time most people in the Oriolus thread used the spiral dots with their mkii. You may need a bigger size though due to the shallow fit.

Can you give a short comparison between the Reborn and the Mest MkII?

 

[HarlanDraka]

Can you give a short comparison between the Reborn and the Mest MkII?

Apples and Oranges really
First, Mest mkii sound changes a lot between tips and insertion depth, it goes from sparkly, to mid forward, to warmish with excellent bass impact. Oriolus reborn not so much. I’ll go with pros and cons (to my ears and with the tips/sources I’m using)

Mest mkii:
+ Holographic soundstage with sounds floating all around your head
+Musical and technical at the same time
+Emotional vocals
+Bass quality and impact

- A LOT of tips rolling required. They fit more deep than Oriolus so you may feel them more than oriolus. Funny the best tips I found for them were the silicon Oriolus tips
- Vocals in some songs can be intimate. That may be good or bad depending on your personal taste

Oriolus Reborn:

+ They are supercomfortable as the fit is shallow. Especially with spiral dots
+ Musical. VERY musical tuning with warmish bass and lush mids
+ 3d soundstage
+they make you sit and want to listen more and more. They are very euphonic.

- Treble is not as extended as mest mkii
- shallow fit may not be for everybody. They are also bigger than mest mkii but not excessively so
- while soundstage is large and 3d, the mest mkii soundstage is still more holographic
- mest mkii is a more technical iem, reborn is more about musicality
- they have a more present subbass than mest mkii which make them slightly warmer and lush. This can be good or bad depending on your taste

I would add that imo the mkii/reborn trumps for musicality a lot of superhyped iems released in the past years. Unfortunately it seems to me that Oriolus is not very interested in marketing here or other forums so the mkii/reborn didn’t gain as much interested or following like some other brands iems (i.e Campfire or Empire ears).

 

[Ace Bee]

Apples and Oranges really
First, Mest mkii sound changes a lot between tips and insertion depth, it goes from sparkly, to mid forward, to warmish with excellent bass impact. Oriolus reborn not so much. I’ll go with pros and cons (to my ears and with the tips/sources I’m using)

Mest mkii:
+ Holographic soundstage with sounds floating all around your head
+Musical and technical at the same time
+Emotional vocals
+Bass quality and impact

- A LOT of tips rolling required. They fit more deep than Oriolus so you may feel them more than oriolus. Funny the best tips I found for them were the silicon Oriolus tips
- Vocals in some songs can be intimate. That may be good or bad depending on your personal taste

Oriolus Reborn:

+ They are supercomfortable as the fit is shallow. Especially with spiral dots
+ Musical. VERY musical tuning with warmish bass and lush mids
+ 3d soundstage
+they make you sit and want to listen more and more. They are very euphonic.

- Treble is not as extended as mest mkii
- shallow fit may not be for everybody. They are also bigger than mest mkii but not excessively so
- while soundstage is large and 3d, the mest mkii soundstage is still more holographic
- mest mkii is a more technical iem, reborn is more about musicality
- they have a more present subbass than mest mkii which make them slightly warmer and lush. This can be good or bad depending on your taste

I would add that imo the mkii/reborn trumps for musicality a lot of superhyped iems released in the past years. Unfortunately it seems to me that Oriolus is not very interested in marketing here or other forums so the mkii/reborn didn’t gain as much interested or following like some other brands iems (i.e Campfire or Empire ears).

The improvements in highs, stage, and technicalities is understandable as the price of Mest MkII is almost twice than that of Reborn. I actually want a good DD+BA hybrid in my collection. That's why snooping around. I have on my radar the Rose QT9 Mk2, but would not mind going for the Reborn either if the price justifies its performance.

 

[Ace Bee]

Apples and Oranges really
First, Mest mkii sound changes a lot between tips and insertion depth, it goes from sparkly, to mid forward, to warmish with excellent bass impact. Oriolus reborn not so much. I’ll go with pros and cons (to my ears and with the tips/sources I’m using)

Mest mkii:
+ Holographic soundstage with sounds floating all around your head
+Musical and technical at the same time
+Emotional vocals
+Bass quality and impact

- A LOT of tips rolling required. They fit more deep than Oriolus so you may feel them more than oriolus. Funny the best tips I found for them were the silicon Oriolus tips
- Vocals in some songs can be intimate. That may be good or bad depending on your personal taste

Oriolus Reborn:

+ They are supercomfortable as the fit is shallow. Especially with spiral dots
+ Musical. VERY musical tuning with warmish bass and lush mids
+ 3d soundstage
+they make you sit and want to listen more and more. They are very euphonic.

- Treble is not as extended as mest mkii
- shallow fit may not be for everybody. They are also bigger than mest mkii but not excessively so
- while soundstage is large and 3d, the mest mkii soundstage is still more holographic
- mest mkii is a more technical iem, reborn is more about musicality
- they have a more present subbass than mest mkii which make them slightly warmer and lush. This can be good or bad depending on your taste

I would add that imo the mkii/reborn trumps for musicality a lot of superhyped iems released in the past years. Unfortunately it seems to me that Oriolus is not very interested in marketing here or other forums so the mkii/reborn didn’t gain as much interested or following like some other brands iems (i.e Campfire or Empire ears).

How is the vocals on Reborn, and crispness of notes, say, for example, snare drums?

 

[ranfan]

Not sure if this is going to be very useful, but I wrote a comparison between the Mk2 and Mason II a few years back, in case anyone is wondering how it sounds compared to the likes of UM Mentor V3 and Maestro (they share similar tuning)

Spoiler

Comparison:

Oriolus 2 ($800, Hybrid; 1 DD x Low, 1 BA x Low, 1 BA x Mid, 1 BA x High) :



Both IEMs have an overall smooth, and clear tonality. Oriolus 2 has a smaller stage dimension in comparison. Which is mainly due to its warmth, and note size. The MASON 2 on the other hand, has a cleaner, more transparent background. Mainly as a result of its resolution, and clarity.

They both present a rather warm atmosphere, with rich, and dynamic sound. The Oriolus 2 has a weightier note size due to its larger bass. This makes for a more engaging, fun listen with some genres.

The instrument notes are both relatively full-bodied. Oriolus 2 however has less space in their layering, and separation. Creating a more crowded, less coherent stage.

Spoiler

Bass is pretty similar for both IEMs. Depth is almost equal, the Oriolus 2 being deeper. Surprising; given their different driver source (i.e. DD x BA). Oriolus 2 still, has slightly more impact width from its dynamic driver. Albeit with the expense of less control, and slower decay/transient. You can feel the reverberation and its interaction with the stage. The Oriolus 2 has a voluptuous bass that you can feel rumbling. While MASON 2 has a quicker bass, with finer resolution. Both similarly are very satisfying.

Midrange are both pretty natural, smooth, and clear. The MASON 2 with its tonality, and resolution. While the Oriolus 2 with its warmth, and increased upper-mid. Oriolus 2 has a slightly warmer air, and as a result less detail. The MASON 2 is more detailed, and tonally accurate.

Spoiler

They both have a lift in the upper-mid frequency. With Oriolus 2 a sharper one, and MASON 2 a gentler one. Sensitive listeners may find the Oriolus 2 upper-mid a bit overwhelming sometimes (e.g. cymbal, snares).

MASON 2's treble extension is longer in comparison. This creates an airier stage that is more transparent than Oriolus 2. The Oriolus 2 has a peakier, more fatiguing treble that is not as forgiving as MASON 2.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/unique-melody-mason-ii.22391/review/18609/